Natural Shaving Oil Recipes
Most men have their own distinct shaving routine and even a preferred shaving cream or razor!
Despite the traditional belief that wet shaving is the only way to shave, there are other methods too that are just as effective and can even improve the quality of the skin. One such method is applying pre-shave oil to the face before shaving it but after washing it.
Though this might seem like a strange thing to do, it actually has very good long-term results and makes the skin soft and supple with consistent use. Using pre-shave oil provides the lubrication that is needed while shaving since it helps the blade glide smoothly across the skin. This, in turn, makes the shave cleaner and decreases the odds of skin irritation.
That said, if you’re wondering how to make some pre-shave oil at home, we have a great selection of natural shaving oil recipes in this guide. So, without further ado, let’s dive right in!
Benefits of Using Shaving Oil
Irrespective of whether you use shaving oil or not, it’s always a good idea to know the benefits of the product you’re using. One of the primary functions of using shaving oil is to provide lubrication to the face; however, it has additional benefits too.
Firstly, shaving can turn out to be a painful process since if the hair is coarse, you’ll have to tug harder at the razor or the trimmer to get the hair to go. This can, in turn, lead to scratches.
So, shaving oil can come in handy if a painless, clean shave is what you’re looking for. If shaving oil is rubbed onto the skin before one starts to shave, then it becomes much easier to shave.
Once you wash your face with water, rub some oil onto the face and let it sit for some minutes. This makes the hair incredibly easy to shear off and lowers the chances of scrapes and cuts on the skin.
In addition to the above, shaving oil also helps to protect and nourish the face. It contains essential oils that help cool the skin down and prevent razor burn, inflammation, and irritation. Not to mention, it also makes you smell nice!
The one downside of shaving oil could be that some of its constituents can be pricey, especially if you want the best quality ingredients. However, that’s a small price to pay for amazing skin!
How to Use Shaving Oil?
Using shaving oil is incredibly easy, and though it increases the time spent on a shaving routine, it is most definitely worth those extra minutes, especially for sensitive skin types. That being said, there’s, however, no particular shaving oil for sensitive skin.
Rather, one must experiment with different concoctions to find out the best mix of carrier oils and essential oils that will work for sensitive skin.
So, how must shaving oil be used?
Step 1: First, put a few drops of the oil onto your hand. Then, vigorously massage it onto your damp facial hair, and once that is done, let the oil stand for at least a minute. In most cases, a standing time of two-three minutes is recommended, within which you can prepare the rest of your shaving paraphernalia.
Step 2: We suggest using this waiting time to wash your hands since they must have gotten greasy because of the oil. Having non-oily hands is important because there’s always the risk of the razor slipping and cutting the skin if you aren’t gripping it correctly.
However, we strongly advise against using shaving oil if you’re thinking of using a shaving brush. This is because the oil doesn’t react well with the hairs on the brush and will render your brush useless relatively soon.
Despite the above, if you have an inexpensive and easily replaceable brush, you can go ahead and use a few drops of oil with the brush.
Constituents of Shaving Oil
Most standard shaving oil recipes1 have a combination of two to three carrier oils, which are essentially the oil that is procured from pressing seeds. In addition to that, they also contain essential oils, which make the shaving mixture smell fragrant.
For people new to this, an essential oil is a concentrated oil that is made after distilling it out of plants, which is the same method used to make hard alcohol. Apart from having a lovely fragrance, essential oils contain a host of healing properties that are widely used for cosmetic, therapeutic, and medical purposes.
Moving on, it is important to keep in mind that not all kinds of essential oils are suitable for every skin type. This is more so if you’ve got extremely dry, oily, or sensitive skin. However, the good news is that there are essential oils directed toward the resolution of all these common skin problems. So, if you use them with a carrier oil, your skin will definitely get better.
What’s more, some essential oils are known to decrease the speed of aging and the appearance of wrinkles. Thus, for any man wanting to make their skin look youthful, adding essential oils to shaving oil is a great idea.
In addition to picking an essential oil for the effect it has on the skin, we also recommend picking one that smells nice since the smell of shaving oil lingers for a while. Some scents that are popular among men are cedar, pine, and sandalwood.
What Are Some Popular Recipes For Shaving Oil?
The Right Amount Of Essential Oils
Most shaving oils contain a bunch of oils mixed together. A standard shaving oil uses a few carrier oils mixed with one to two essential oils in a small amount. So, if you want to make your own shaving oil, it’s necessary to read up on recipes for it.
We recommend using anything between five to fifteen drops of essential oil per cup of carrier oil. However, you can modify this amount on the basis of how strong a scent you want from the oil.
In addition to that, also keep in mind that all carrier oils don’t suit all skin types. So if this is your first time making shaving oil, you might have to experiment with recipes to figure out one that works. This is why we suggest making a small batch when you’re trying a recipe out for the first time.
After all, you never know how your skin might react to it, so it’s more economical to not waste too many products.
Types Of Carrier Oils
We recommend choosing a high-end carrier oil for your shaving oil recipe. This is because the expensive carrier oils are usually cold-pressed and contain fewer impurities than their cheaper counterparts. This means that the odds of them reacting to your skin are lower.
Moving on, most natural shaving oil recipes2 use castor oil and olive oil.
Notably, olive oil has been around for thousands of years and has been an active ingredient of skin care products for centuries. Its popularity is primarily because it has squalene, which helps hydrate the skin and provides antioxidants. In addition to that, it is known for its anti-aging properties since using olive oil helps smooth fine lines on the face.
Now, as for castor oil, it is a hot favorite in the world of skincare because it has undecylenic acid. This is an acid that fights germs and helps soothe burns, prevent itching, and can even tame ingrown hairs and acne because it is a great cleanser.
Another reason for its popularity is that it has a very thick consistency. This creates a protective barrier atop the skin while one shaves and helps reduce the risk of cuts. However, if used on its own, castor oil can be heavy, clumpy, and tough to apply. So, to lower its viscosity and make it more manageable, it is mixed with other oils.
Now, there are around a hundred different ways to make shaving oil; however, we’ve listed three of the most popular recipes in the upcoming section of this guide.
Recipe 1
The first recipe on our list contains castor oil and olive oil, but it also has vitamin E oil. This provides much-needed nourishment to the skin and helps keep the skin youthful-looking by fighting radicals. In addition to that, it is a sort of natural preservative as well since it prolongs the shelf lives of DIY products that use primarily natural ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2.5-3 fl. oz. castor oil
- 1 fl. oz. olive oil
- 15 drops of lavender essential oil
- 5 drops of vitamin E oil
- Funnel
- Amber glass bottle
Preparation Method
1. Use the funnel to put all the ingredients into the amber bottle.
2. Seal the bottle firmly to ensure that no oil leaks out.
3. Swirl the amber bottle around. This will make sure that all the ingredients mix well together. And that’s it- your oil is ready!
Recipe 2
Next up, we have this recipe that contains, among others, pine oil and jojoba oil. Jojoba oil helps moisturize the skin and soothes any irritation or burning sensation that might be there. It also helps prevent acne since it works to unclog the skin pores. On the other hand, pine oil is mostly used because of its strong, woody scent, but it’s also incredibly refreshing.
Ingredients
- 0.5 fl. oz. castor oil
- 0.5 oz. jojoba oil
- 4 drops of tea tree essential oil
- 4 drops of pine oil
- Funnel
- Amber glass bottle
Preparation Method
1. Put the ingredients into the bottle using the funnel.
2. Tightly screw on the bottle cap to ensure that no oil accidentally leaks from it.
3. Swirl the bottle to mix the ingredients with each other.
And there you go- you have yet another fantastic recipe for shaving oil that smells like a dream!
Recipe 3
The final recipe on our list has a strong, masculine scent that is sure to leave an impression on whoever smells it! This recipe uses lavender oil, cypress oil, patchouli oil, frankincense oil, and grapeseed oil as a carrier oil. Cypress has a lovely woodsy scent, and the smell of patchouli reminds one of the outdoors. Additionally, lavender smells heavenly and helps soothe the skin.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil
- 15 drops of lavender essential oil
- 15 drops of cypress essential oil
- 15 drops of patchouli essential oil
- 15 drops of frankincense essential oil
- 10 drops of vitamin E oil
Preparation Method
1. Take all the above ingredients, and put them into a glass jar carefully. We recommend using a dropper to put exact amounts of the oil into the jar.
2. Tightly close the lid of the jar.
3. Gently shake the jar until all the oils mix with each other.
The infusion of four kinds of essential oils in this pre-shave oil creates a truly magical scent that we just can’t get enough of!
Final Thoughts
These DIY recipes are fully natural and easy to replicate. They are sure to leave your skin feeling soft and supple from the outside and nourished from within. What’s more, they smell great, and they’ll leave you smelling great too!
To put it in a nutshell, pre-shave oil does a great job at making the skin healthy and smooth during and after the shave. Moreover, it also helps avoid unnecessary cuts, which hurt a lot and may even cause infections.
However, we do have one final recommendation to make. While making the oil, use lesser amounts than are mentioned in the recipes. This is so that in case the shaving oil doesn’t suit your skin, you don’t waste too many of the ingredients.
With this, we’ve come to the end of the guide, and we hope to see you again soon with another one of these!
Endnotes
1. https://www.rebootedmom.com/how-to-make-your-own-shaving-oil/