I've never been able to get away with this, but I like the concept - must be fairly popular as I'm pretty certain it made King of Shaves quite a bit of money. Anyone rate these? - Doesn't seem to be much mention (that I can see) of these but they are an easy product to make at home potentially.
Shaving Oils
- Thread starter Coschem
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- 1,636
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I find soaps dry my face, so over the last few years my daily shave has been facilitated by either Somerset's Shaving Oil or KoS shaving oil.
Usually I alternate between making a bit of a lather with Simple soap, and then the next day just use the oil.
I did find that the oil clogged blades (and during my Mach 3 period would avoid using oil for this very reason).
Personally I like them, but I gather that on here they are not favoured.
This said I have never tried wool fat soaps and many other specific shaving soaps (other than stuff from a tin, which disagreed with me).
Currently Im using Somersets with the Ikon and having no issues, though this morning I used a new KOS (because I was early start so got washed downstairs to avoid disturbing the family) which was a bit too oily, almost like engine oil n its smell and feel.
I also used the cheapo Boots DE razor and a Gillette 1970 Thin blade which was horrific.
Usually I alternate between making a bit of a lather with Simple soap, and then the next day just use the oil.
I did find that the oil clogged blades (and during my Mach 3 period would avoid using oil for this very reason).
Personally I like them, but I gather that on here they are not favoured.
This said I have never tried wool fat soaps and many other specific shaving soaps (other than stuff from a tin, which disagreed with me).
Currently Im using Somersets with the Ikon and having no issues, though this morning I used a new KOS (because I was early start so got washed downstairs to avoid disturbing the family) which was a bit too oily, almost like engine oil n its smell and feel.
I also used the cheapo Boots DE razor and a Gillette 1970 Thin blade which was horrific.
I've just had a scoot round a few sites which list their ingredients:
Somerset's
Hybrid Vegetable Oils, Menthol, Natural Fragrance, Aloe Vera, French Lavender Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Borage Oil, Safflower Oil, Rosemary Oil, Palmarosa Oil, Organic Sandalwood Oil, Cinnamon Oil, Comores Ylang Ylang Oil, Organic Brazil Alpha Bisabolol, Organic Chilean Rosehip Seed Oil.
Not sure what is meant by Hybrid Vegetable Oils - but no problem getting hold of the other ingredients - I'm wondering whether the "Aloe Vera" is the oil as there's no emulsifier.
King of Shaves (Azor Hybrid)
Vitis Vinifera (Grape) seed oil, Laureth-4, Silica, Calophyllum Inophyllum seed oil, PTFE, Eucalyptus Globulus leaf oil, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) leaf oil, Cinnamomum Camphora (Camphor) bark oil, Menthol, Tocopheryl acetate, Bisabolol, Myristoyl / palmitoyl oxostearamide / arachamide MEA, Glycine soja (Soybean) sterols, Lecithin, Glycerin, Cetearyl alcohol, Stearic acid, Limonene, CI 61565 (Green 6).
I couldn't get all those ingredients.
REN Tamanu
Sesamum Indicum (Sesame Oil)
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut Oil)
Cyclopentasiloxane (source Silicon)
Cetearyl Octanoate (source Palm Oil)
Laureth 3 (source Coconut Oil)
Glyceryl Dibehenate (source Rape Seed Oil)
Tribehenin
Glyceryl Behenate (source Rape Seed Oil)
Calophyllum Inophyllum (Tamanu Oil)
Bisabolol (source Chamomile)
Tocopherol (Vitamin E)
Parfum (100% Natural Fragrance)
The Tamanu oil is way down the list.
Somerset's
Hybrid Vegetable Oils, Menthol, Natural Fragrance, Aloe Vera, French Lavender Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Borage Oil, Safflower Oil, Rosemary Oil, Palmarosa Oil, Organic Sandalwood Oil, Cinnamon Oil, Comores Ylang Ylang Oil, Organic Brazil Alpha Bisabolol, Organic Chilean Rosehip Seed Oil.
Not sure what is meant by Hybrid Vegetable Oils - but no problem getting hold of the other ingredients - I'm wondering whether the "Aloe Vera" is the oil as there's no emulsifier.
King of Shaves (Azor Hybrid)
Vitis Vinifera (Grape) seed oil, Laureth-4, Silica, Calophyllum Inophyllum seed oil, PTFE, Eucalyptus Globulus leaf oil, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) leaf oil, Cinnamomum Camphora (Camphor) bark oil, Menthol, Tocopheryl acetate, Bisabolol, Myristoyl / palmitoyl oxostearamide / arachamide MEA, Glycine soja (Soybean) sterols, Lecithin, Glycerin, Cetearyl alcohol, Stearic acid, Limonene, CI 61565 (Green 6).
I couldn't get all those ingredients.
REN Tamanu
Sesamum Indicum (Sesame Oil)
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut Oil)
Cyclopentasiloxane (source Silicon)
Cetearyl Octanoate (source Palm Oil)
Laureth 3 (source Coconut Oil)
Glyceryl Dibehenate (source Rape Seed Oil)
Tribehenin
Glyceryl Behenate (source Rape Seed Oil)
Calophyllum Inophyllum (Tamanu Oil)
Bisabolol (source Chamomile)
Tocopherol (Vitamin E)
Parfum (100% Natural Fragrance)
The Tamanu oil is way down the list.
- Thread Starter
- #4
Somerset's seems to be the least "adulterated" with regard to natural content, but that's no indication of performance. Interesting jojoba isn't included - that would have been my choice of base oil, or meadowfoam - also interesting that KoS has cinammon bark - could be irritating on shaved skin
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Shaving oils can be very beneficial if you have naturally dry or sensitive skin. If you have oily skin, I wouldn't recommend using one. As a product they tend to be very over priced, it's very easy to make an excellent pre-shave oil at home.
1 bottle of Sweet Almond oil from your local chemist around £2.99 for 200 ml.
1 bottle of Grapeseed oil from a health food shop £3.99 (approx) for 150 ml.
Mix them in equal quantities.
You can add essential oils if you wish but it really isn't necessary.
Smear the mixture (a drop about the size of a penny) across the area to be shaved and massage well in.
Lather and shave as normal.
The oils will be absorbed into the soap, they won't clog the razor and there will not be any gunge left in the sink afterwards. You get an extra layer of protection under the soap from the razor, and the grapeseed oil will leave the skin with a satin smooth feeling afterwards.
So for about £7 you can make enough to last at least a year.
1 bottle of Sweet Almond oil from your local chemist around £2.99 for 200 ml.
1 bottle of Grapeseed oil from a health food shop £3.99 (approx) for 150 ml.
Mix them in equal quantities.
You can add essential oils if you wish but it really isn't necessary.
Smear the mixture (a drop about the size of a penny) across the area to be shaved and massage well in.
Lather and shave as normal.
The oils will be absorbed into the soap, they won't clog the razor and there will not be any gunge left in the sink afterwards. You get an extra layer of protection under the soap from the razor, and the grapeseed oil will leave the skin with a satin smooth feeling afterwards.
So for about £7 you can make enough to last at least a year.