www.zirh.com
ShavingStuff.com visitors receive 15% off all orders of $30 or more.
To receive your discount, please enter code 'ShavingStuffZ' at checkout.
Shaving Oils
January 24, 2008
Review of The Art of Shaving's Unscented Pre-Shave Oil
The Art of Shaving is one of the most prestigious and preeminent brands in the shaving world. Born out of a modest kitchen, and grown into a prominent brand with several boutique stores and a presence in many upscale department stores, The Art of Shaving has put luxury shaving products on the map. I've been looking forward to trying their products out for a long time now.
Even before you start shaving with The Art of Shaving products, you'll notice their packaging. Sturdy, thick, glass jars where appropriate. Minimalist labels. Classy design. They look great on your bathroom counter.
As we've mentioned before, there are shaving oils and pre-shave oils. With a shaving oil, you shave with just the oil; nothing else. With a pre-shave oil, you typically add a layer of shaving cream on top and then shave. It's basically the first layer of protection on your face before you start slicing.
The Art of Shaving's Unscented Pre-Shave Oil falls into the latter category, and really should be followed by their shaving cream. In fact, if you're interested in trying these products, I'd definitely recommend getting the pre-shave oil. They've developed a system. Pre-shave oil is part of it. Don't skimp.
And follow the directions:
Before shaving, rub a small amount of The Art of Shaving Pre-Shave Oil in the palm of your hands and massage into beard. Lather Shaving Cream or Shaving Soap over oil and shave.
Pretty simple. Actually, the only tricky part is the "lather..." step, but we'll talk about that tomorrow.
The Art of Shaving's Unscented Pre-Shave Oil has a mild, pleasant scent. Reminds me vaguely of chartreuse. It's simple to dispense and smoothes easily onto your face. Again, if you're interested in these products, and I think you should be, get the pre-shave oil.
Got a friend who travels a lot for work and was interested in trying a different shaving system. I suggested he try Pacific Shaving Oil. You only need a few drops per shave so the bottle lasts forever. And it's small enough to pass TSA scrutiny. Here's his review:
So the first thing I like about the palm oil is that it feels miraculous--you only need 8-10 drops (drops!) for a shave. You put them in your hands and rub onto your face--it feels like nothing--and yet your face is not raked into hamburger. I still get a charge from that. Plus eight drops per shave means that there are 400 shaves in a tiny 2 oz bottle--good for airports.
Some words of caution: I have a light beard (I look like a tough 8th grader), so it may not hold up to a heavy beard, or need a bigger dose of oil (12 drops?). In the same vein, it is not so good if you've gone a couple of days without shaving. But for a daily shave, especially on the road it is terrific--light, easy with that little frisson that it shouldn't possibly work and yet it does.
(For the vocab-challenged, including me, here's a link to the definition of frisson.)
We're doing things a little backwards here. Yesterday we wrote about Musgo Real Glycerine Lime Oil Soap and today we're going to talk about Musgo Real Pre Shave Oil. When you shave you'll use the oil first and then the soap. Mixing things up! Making sure everyone is still awake.
Musgo Real Pre Shave Oil comes in a glass bottle with a design reminiscent of the early part of the last century. Kind of reminds me of a flask you might stash in your overcoat for a cold night. The oil comes out easily (perhaps a little too easily). A small amount is all that is needed to cover your entire shaving area. I must say, after using products from Gentlemen's Refinery I've become a fan of the layer of pre-shave oil followed by a layer of cream.
Once you're lubed up it's time for the Glycerine Lime Oil Soap which we talked about yesterday. One thing I didn't mention yesterday was that when I was spreading a lathered up Glycerine Lime Oil Soap with my shaving brush, I'd invariably get some in my ears. The lather, made up of tiny soap bubbles, would start popping, and for the next 60 seconds I'd listen to a loud snap-crackle-pop of Rice Krispies. Funny the first time. Kind of annoying after that.
The overall shave was decent. Not the best I'd had, but not the worst. Very little irritation or cuts, but just not the closest. I imagine old-school jedi-shave masters might do the second pass against the grain, but in the morning I often need to shave and then move on. I'm curious to know what other people's experience with these shaving products is. I think I may be a little too amateur to appreciate them, and I wouldn't be surprised that some straight-razor shavers swear by this stuff. For me, I'll probably stick with something a little more modern.
Once in a while I come across a line of shaving products which is in a league of its own. It's happened again with The Gentlemen's Refinery, sent over by our good friends at Details for Men. Quite frankly I've been dreading writing this review because it means that afterward I will be moving on to another set of shaving products. So we're going to stretch this out all week - one product from Gentlemen's Refinery per day. That way I get another couple shaves in before I have to say goodbye.
For a little history on the Gentlemen's Refinery, master barber Perry Gastis, and the quest for the ultimate organic shave, visit our first post from back in March. Then come on back as we dive into some pre shave oil.
The Oil Pre Shave Oil from Gentlemen's Refinery comes in a handy pump-top container. I'll skip my usual accolades for the pump-top and go directly into the oil itself, which you apply to a dry face after a shower or hot towel treatment. (Master barber Perry Gastis says that a shower or hot towel before shaving is enough to soften up your face for shaving. Washing your face is not necessarily a prerequisite.)
I tended to use a fair amount of the oil - three to four squirts. You could definitely experiment with less. The pump-top made it easy to get the oil in the palms of my hands, and then on my face. This may seem like a minor point, but try getting the right amount of oil out of an unforgiving bottle and you've got a mess. Or a waste.
Ingredients and Aroma
The oil has a mild scent, somewhere between woody and floral. Key ingredients include
Sunflower seed oil is certified organic for a level of purity
Jojoba oil provides fast penetration and will carry essential fatty acids found in the sunflower seed oil into the skin
Lime essential oil has antiseptic properties as well as restorative, astringent and toning action to clear oily skin and acne, and also helps with herpes, insect bites and cuts.
Roman Chamomile is used to treat rashes and irritated skin as well as to calm acne, eczema, rashes, wounds, dermatitis, and dry, itchy skin and other allergic conditions in general.
Vitamin E is an antioxidant known for healing skin.
Get Some
If you are at all interested in Gentlemen's Refinery products I strongly suggest you include the Pre Shave Oil in your order. It's clear from my usage that these guys have spent a large amount of time coming up with the ultimate shave, and Pre Shave Oil is an essential part of that. We'll talk more tomorrow about "The Standard" Shaving Cream and the shave itself, but my recommendation is you go all in and buy the complete shaving line.
ShavingStuff reader "Mr M Evans" wrote in recently to tell us about his great experience at WholeMan, a store in London specializing in "body maintenance for men". Says Bob Ager, Chairman of WholeMan:
We have scoured the world to bring you the very best in men's grooming, with products from established companies as well as smaller, more specialist brands.
So if you're in London, head on over to WholeMan at 67 New Bond Street where not only do they have the storefront (pictured above), but also a full-services spa. And if you're not in London (but still in the UK), click on over to www.wholeman.co.uk where you can browse virtually. (Do they still use that word anymore?) Tons of shaving products from high-quality brands like Baxter of California, REN, MenScience, Jack Black, and Lab Series, and many that I've never even heard of before.
Here's another men's grooming and shaving website which is worth a look - Foreman.
Many guys want to look good, but they want to streamline the process of getting there. Instead of sorting through every product available they would rather get right to the best. The Foreman concept was developed by a couple guys and a girl (just to get that female perspective) to achieve that very goal. [...] We do the testing and provide only the highest quality products for a man’s daily regimen.
Hallelujah. Nothing worse than reading tons and tons of opinions, only to be more confused than when you started. (Hmm... maybe I should condense some of the posts on this site.) Anyway, Formen offers quality brands like Jack Black, bullie, Anthony Logistics for Men, and The Art of Shaving. They've also got you covered in areas like face, sun, and tools. If you're still into the Mach3, check out their selection of eShave 3 Blades Razors with cool translucent handles. Are those from the future?
If you're in a pinch this holiday season, check out Foreman's kits and gifts page for some great suggestions at reasonable prices.
Finally, check out the Grooming Tips section of the site too. Clear and concise articles on all topics including shaving, face, hair, and fashion. And when no one else is looking, scroll down to the "Sensitive Subjects" section and read every single entry. If any of these apply to you, remedy the situation immediately. Don't worry, they've got recommended products ready to go.
ShavingStuff reader Cam recently wrote in and asked that we mention a few shaving sites which ship outside of the US. Shame on us for being so Ameri-centric. Cam recommends SkinStore.com, GroomingLounge.com (which wasn't up when we checked last night), and MenEssentials.com.
SkinStore has a regular mail catalog which you can request here. Get 10% off your next order if you sign up. MenEssentials has gift certificates if you want to let your giftee decide what to get. All the brands you know and love are represented, plus a bunch you've probably never heard of. Plenty of other gift ideas too.
I was able to confirm that SkinStore will ship all around the world. MenEssentials may only ship to the US and Canada.
Trying to figure out the perfect gift for a loved one this year? You've come to the right place. It's the 2006 ShavingStuff Holiday Guide, and it's jam-packed with home runs from the shaving world. Hey Santa - I've been good. Real good.
Accessories
Sometimes you have to dress your shave up. Accessorize! For that old-school barbershop shave experience right in the comfort of your own home, we recommend the Conair Hot Lather Machine. For those ingrown nasties which verge on requiring surgery, we recommend the Tweezerman. And for hair growing in places it shouldn't, we recommend the Remington Nose & Ear Trimmer. ConAir Chrome Hot Lather Machine - $29.99 Tweezerman Stainless Steel Ingrown Hair Splintertweeze - $8.97 Remington Nose & Ear Trimmer - $5.99
Back Shaving
You may think you're bringing sexy back, but if you're bringing hairy back, you're bringing lonely back. Luckily there's a solution, aside from being mistaken for Azamat from the Borat movie. MANGROOMER Back Hair Shaver - $39.95
Pubic Shaving
Last, but certainly not least, we have the category of pubic shaving. Men just love that extra optical inch provided by the BodyGroom, and women (and men) just love that smooth, clean... well... you know. Philips Norelco BG2020 Men's Bodygroom - $34.99 Seiko Cleancut - $53.25
Shaving oils are a leap of faith. The first time you oil up your face, you'll swear there's nothing there. But for some, shaving oils are the wave of the future. They're small in size which makes them ideal to travel with. A few drops cover your entire face, so they last forever. Shave for shave they're the best bang for the buck.
Shaving oils are not for everyone. Experience indicates that they're best for lighter beards and heartier skin, but that's an unscientific survey of only a couple people. Also, shaving oils shouldn't be confused with pre-shave oils, which go on before a layer of shaving cream or gel. When using shaving oil, you don't use anythng else.
The two best shaving oils we've tried are the all-natural Pacific Shaving Oil and the mostly natural King of Shaves Formula Alpha Shaving Oil Supercooled Menthol. Both are available online for about six bucks, and King of Shaves has recently become available at local drugstores. You can read the ShavingStuff review of Pacific Shaving Oil here. You can read the review of King of Shaves... oh wait - you can't read the review because the reviewer never wrote one. (You know who you are.) But I have heard back from him that King of Shaves scored very highly, and he used up the whole bottle.
ShavingStuff reader Mark wrote in yesterday with a light scolding. How could I mention Target's Caldo Razor and not the fact that they're now selling Proraso shaving product? "This is HUGE news with the Old School Shaving crowd." Looks like the roll-out of Proraso products at Target is scheduled for the week of March 8th - 15th.
For those who don't know, Proraso is an Italian brand of shaving products designed for use with brushes and straight razors, although many of their products can be used with modern safety razors as well. Their shaving creams and soaps feature ingredients such as eucalyptus and wheatgerm, although they also have the straight up "shave cream" without the fancy ingredients too. Prices are in the totally reasonable range of $10 to $20.
It appears that Target hasn't added these products to their website yet, although most are available at Amazon if you want to buy online. If you want to go brick and mortar, here's Mark's advice:
Proraso appeared in my local Target this morning. They had not only the shaving cream, but also shaving soap, pre/post cream, aftershave, and a decent-looking boar brush as well. It was located in a new "spa" section, adjacent to the women's cosmetics, and not in the men's shaving isle.
Look for the distinctive old-world Italian red and green packaging. Oh, and if anyone can tell me how to get past the first page of Proraso's website, I'd be eternally grateful.
Just got word of a quick survey running over at TrueGentlemen.com where you could win a $75 gift certificate to their site. Seem they're looking to learn more about how often you shave, where you buy your products, who taught you to shave - standard marketing questions. It's quick and painless.
Created distinctly for men, the True Gentlemen shaving products are prepared with the purest ingredients and botanical extracts available. The fine blend of True Gentlemen shaving products combined with traditional shaving methods assure a comfortable shave while drastically minimizing common shaving problems.
The luxurious collection of shaving products is designed specially to bring out the "true gentleman" in today's modern mad. Paired with proven benefits of aromatherapy the True Gentlemen shaving products bring to every gentleman the True Ultimate Shaving Experience.
Browse their site and check out their full range of premium high-end shaving products. Pre-shave oils, shave creams, after-shaves - all available in unscented or infused with lavender oil. Bushes, stands, and razor handles which fit Mach3 blades. Even gift sets. They've got you covered. Prices range from $20 for some of the oils to $125 for gift sets, but oh... the luxury.
Review: Pacific Shaving Company All Natural Shaving Oil
I've been shaving for a while now with Pacific Shaving Oil and have been duly impressed. I had an underwhelming experience with a previous shaving oil, so going into this I wasn't sure what to expect, but this stuff is a winner. Great shave. Easy shave. Clean shave.
Let's get one thing straight right away - Pacific Shaving Oil is all you use when shaving. It's not a pre-shave oil so you're not using it as a base or in conjunction with a cream or gel. Just splash some warm water on your face, squeeze five drops into your hands, and rub it into your face. You're good to go.
One of the huge benefits of a shaving oil is that it's clear, so your face isn't hidden by all this white stuff. That means it's much easier to avoid cuts or blemishes, or even facial hair you're trying to keep. It also means that your razor isn't constantly getting gunked up with cream which you've got to clean out. A while back I reviewed the shaving oil from Total Shaving Solutions, which is a similiar type of shave. One thing I didn't like about Total Shaving Solution's oil was that it was so clear I couldn't tell if I had covered all parts of my face. When you are applying Pacific Shaving Solution's oil to your face, it actually foams up just slightly so you can tell if you've missed a spot. I really liked this. Once you work the oil into your face for a minute the foam disappears, and you're back to shaving in the clear. Not sure if this is intentional, but it's a great touch.
Shaving oils work by applying a thin layer of lubricant to your skin, so the razor glides over the oil and can cut the hair without damaging the skin. This is similar to the way creams and gels work, just without all the extra junk which gets caught up in the razor. Think of it as a back to the basics shave. The fundamentals. You're only applying to your face the bare essentials of what's needed. It's a good philosophy.
One other thing I really liked about Pacific Shaving Oil was its smell. I know that I'm going to sound corny here, but let me try to describe it. Many shaving products are overly perfumed. Some make you smell like a man (from the '50s). And others smell like crap. Pacific Shaving Oil smells vegetal. In a good way. I swear. Perhaps it's because it's made with all natural ingredients - sunflower oil, tangerine oil, grapefruit oil, avocado oil, cucumber oil. (It also contains kukui nut oil, so be careful if you have nut allergies.) I don't know. The stuff smells good. Trust me. It smells different than any other shaving product you've tried, and I applaud that.
Here's another thing to consider - the actual bottle of shaving oil is tiny. Since you only use five drops at a time, a little bit goes a long way. So if you're really into your current shaving system but want a compact travel shave, here's your solution. The bottle takes up no space, and you're going to get 100 shaves out of it. Throw it in your travel kit and forget about it. You're covered.
So have I convinced you that this stuff is worth trying? Still got questions? Click on over to their FAQ, directions for use, or home page for more info. Pacific Shaving Oil is available at www.pacificshaving.com and costs $6.95 a bottle plus shipping, which starts at $1.
We know what your thinking - this has to be for women right? Wrong. Lavender is a great scent for men and we've used lavender shave oils in the past along with lavender shaving soaps. What makes this Lavender shave oil interesting is the blend of botanical ingredients as well as essential lavender oil.
We've found time and time again that using pre-shave oil is the way to go. I'll have to let my current shave oil run out before trying this one but I'm pretty sure this is next.
One last thing: only buy shave oils if they come in glass containers. We can't confirm or deny that a non-glass would be bad - but we like the cool feel of the glass bottle and we don't expect the oil to absorb any plastic material if it's in glass.
As a counterpoint to yesterday's five step shaving procedures, Pacific Shaving Company offers a much simpler solution. A couple of drops of their All Natural Shaving Oil and you're off to the races. Easy to use (see their simple directions), packed with natural ingredients, and backed by a money-back guarantee.
Shaving oil is not for everyone. My personal experience with other shaving oils is that they can make a great base for whatever shaving cream you're normally using, however I know a lot of people have success with just the oil. It's certainly less messy and easier to see your face. See if it's right for you!
Review of The Art of Shaving's Unscented Pre-Shave Oil
Trying to figure out the perfect gift for a loved one this year? You've come to the right place. It's the 2006 ShavingStuff Holiday Guide, and it's jam-packed with home runs from the shaving world. Hey Santa - I've been good. Real good.
ShavingStuff reader Mark wrote in yesterday with a light scolding. How could I mention Target's Caldo Razor and not the fact that they're now selling 
Mailing List
Subscribe - RSS
