Are you wondering if shaving oil is right for you? Could it help you do a better job shaving the areas of your face that you shave? Is it any better than shaving cream? And why is there so much recent talk about it?
We have some answers for you.
For reasons as varied as eliminating irritation and being able to see what you’re doing when you shave your face, shave oil is catching on fast. But people have been using vegetable oils, lards and other oil-based products to shave with for years, and it makes sense that the trend would come into public focus again.
Clearing Up Some Confusion
There are many, many articles online that seem to create confusion about shave oil and pre-shave oil. While there is a difference in how the products are used, they can usually be used interchangeably. A shaving oil is used instead of shaving cream. A pre-shave oil is applied as a moisturizer and a conditioner before using cream.
But since this site is about having a better bearded life, why is there even a discussion of this topic here? That’s easy: Some of us shave sometimes. And many of us shave our necklines, cheek lines and sometimes sculpt goatees, mustaches and sideburns.
Benefits Of Shaving Oil
Choosing an oil rather than a cream is an intelligent and responsible thing to do. Here are a few of the reasons that’s true:
You can see what you’re doing with an oil. Creams obscure your view, and if you’re shaving around a beard, you need to see what you’re doing to get clean lines. Otherwise, you’ll make a real mess of your hard-earned beard.
You get fewer bumps, less irritation and reduced ingrown hairs. When you use something oily, the blade glides smoothly across the skin and doesn’t tug, pull or tear. And because the cut is smoother and a second pass may not be required, there’s less irritation and fewer of the bumps that cause hairs to grow inward.
It’s usually more natural. Creams are chemical concoctions made to feel a certain way; oils are almost always more natural. They rarely contain harsh chemicals because they don’t need to. They work without using things that you probably don’t need to put on your skin.
It’s more environmentally friendly. Oils are in smaller packages, so they require less energy to transport, less packaging to contain and create less waste for landfills. And they aren’t in dangerous pressurized cans that you don’t need in your home.
It’s great for travel. Because these shaving lubricants often come in small containers that don’t take up much room and comply with liquid regulations for carry-on bags, they’re great for traveling without the hassles or dangers of those metal canisters.
It costs less. You might not realize it immediately since the containers are small, but shave oils are usually less expensive than other products. It takes so little to do the job that you can get hundreds of uses from a single small bottle.
Wrapping Up
There are benefits to you and the world when you choose a shave oil over a traditional cream. And whether you have a beard all the time, none of the time or from time to time, you can probably benefit from a smoother shave, being able to see what you’re doing and having softer, more conditioned skin when you finish.
Taking care of your skin is just as important to being well-groomed as taking care of your beard.
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