Thanks. I made some with equal parts castor oil and avacado oil, and added eucalyptus. Avacado is a nice this oil high in Vitamin E, and a few others. I haven't used it yet.
For a trip to Florida a week or two ago, I brought the AOS PSO instead of my homemade (1 part castor, 2parts X(olive, jojoba, grapeseed) and boy did I miss my homemade! It was superior in every way. Got a large bottle of the AOS that I either will need to doctor up (it's only castor and olive I think) or just use it up. I have to thank all those here, especially Sara-s for posting the original recipe. It has been working great.
My mother, who used to work in cosmetics, commented to me: castor oil does not wash off easily even with fairly strong soap. What this means is that it "sticks" to your face even if as you lather up three passes of a typical shave soap. I think this is one of the reasons why it's the backbone of a lot of pre-shave oil recipes.
I haven't read the whole thread, I don't quite get the mixing of base oils. I have tried Olive- this was on it's own. I was given a large bottle that wasn't for cooking, unfortunately I don't do salad and prefer butter on bread. Eventually it went off. My homemade shave oils have been made with Apricot Kernel, then Sweet Almond, and lastly Grape Seed. I will try Jojoba next. Peach Kernel and Cherry Pit are also on the try list. I add a citrus EO for aroma - Grapefruit or Lime. I now have Lemon, Sweet Orange, Mandarin and Yuzu - so may try one of these. I add a conditioning EO, I have used Calendula and Geranium. These both condition the skin. I may check out the EO suppliers for similar EO's. I have added Tea Tree and will probably add Lavender too for the antiseptic qualities. Should I add Castor or glycerin?
This will improve your shave to a more closer one in a Low humidity winter place especialy or any enviroment. 1- wet the face with water and let stay on wet. 2- brush the teeth (2 minutes) 3-wet face-put a hot or warm wet face cloth on the beard for 30-40 seconds and do it again for 30-40 seconds.(That is relaxing) 4- wet the face with water again. 5- put some clear Aloe vera Gel on the beard area.(this hydrates the beard to maximum)>(I bought some at Walmart) 6- leave the aloe on the beard while mixing up the lather to let the hair follicles soak it up for optimum results. 7- Put the Shave lather right over the Aloe and shave with a rinsed warm wet razor! (I was applying the Aloe Gel on 1st stepand its not as effective-apply on the 5th step for better results IMO) This sequence of steps have given me excellent results in a cold dry climate like Northern Canada. Worth trying if you are not getting the good results with same equipment in the summer months-adds a few minutes to the shave if time is available. Check your humidity gauge if you have one Aloe has been a known for centuries as a healing agent for burns, minor cuts and moisturizer of skin, heck even the cartridge manufactures have a Aloe moisturizer wear strips on their latest generation of blades. Its my new pre-shave holy grail, you can add a little oil to this to do trials and I have used Nivea natural body milk. The skin just loves it with a straight application of Aloe vera gel and getting excellent close shaves with good skin tone. This clear aloe vera after the Pharmist asked me what I was searching for , found it in the essential natural oils area not in the maze of body lotions at our local Walmart. Ask if you can not find it there.
Hi Sara, I'm new to the Den and like the idea of making my own products. As I was a teenager in the late 60s I think I'll will try using patchouli (far out man) essential oil in the mix,what do you think?
If you like the scent, I can’t see any reason not to use it. But add it in moderation. Too much of an essential oil can irritate. Start with a teaspoon to 4 ounces of pre-shave oil & take it from there.
thread revival.... whats your opinion on argan oil? i want to make labels for friends' bottles last time i got labels around oil (infused olive oil) they didn't last, silver sharpie also dissolved any suggestions?
I've used argan oil on my hands (pretty good for that) and like it. It's only problem is that it's kind of expensive, but I suspect it would be nice as a pre-shave. As for labels, no matter what you use, it will be handled by wet or oily hands which will mess it up. Covering your lebal with some clear packing tape will probably help more than anything else.
i've been reading some commercial bottles of shave oil..... does glycerin stay mixed with oil or does it separate?
I've never used it. Hemp is easy to grow without too much fertilizer, so it's relatively easy on the environment. I don't know if it has any noticeable odor.