I'm asking cuz I've found some essential oils that are a bit cheaper, about $6.00 for 10 ml. Just the scents I want, Lavender, vanilla and sandlewood,(maybe rose). But the price makes me feel like maybe they are not good quality. I just wanna learn more

Good point. Here's one for you to consider.
I have tried numerous pso's and decided one day "hair conditioner" its made for hair and scalp. Formulated in a lab and millions of consumers use it daily to condition, moisturize and soften hair. Beard? Thats hair, why not? I now use .99¢ coconut conditioner and cannot tell the difference between it and "good" pso.
But then,nI cant tell a difference in shave quality with or without pso of any kind.
Just sayin'

Some are under the impression that essential oils are bad. There are essential oil that have bactericidal, fungicidal,antiseptic and even anti inflammatory properties. Plus essential oils should make up the very miniscule % of a PSO ingredients. Worth noting 2 of the oils that possess properties above I mentioned are Lavender and Sandalwood, coincidence, I don't think so.

Do you know that hair conditioner kills lather? It can be used as a fabric softener in your laundry. The function of a fabric softener, remove and eliminate excess lather softening the cloths. Thats the same way it softens hair..it removes any excess lather left after rinsing shampoo.Same as olive oil. You cant see it but where the lather meets your skin hair conditioner would be removing some of the lathers most redeeming qualities. Also I dont think the primary function of a pre shave oil is to soften the whiskers, I think it is to prepare the skin, improving skin elasticity and suppleness and increasing moisture content. The nice thing about this is to each his own, that being said slathering on olive oil or grapeseed oil etc in my mind does not constitute trying pre shave oil.

Never had a problem with any pso or conditioner destroying lather, allways have tons of that. I TRULY cant tell the difference with or without , the ONLY thing I notice is with the conditioner, my razor slides with much less effort. As a final product however I get no more or less bleeding with or without. I can shave with water and not get irritation so I wouldnt be able to tell if it worked in that area or not.

As I said , visually it doesn't, but at the skin surface it does. Its chemistry, its happening, whether or not it is making a substantive difference for you or not is a subjective thing. Im not saying everyone needs to or should use a Pre-Shave Oil. I am saying if you are going to you should use one that is much more than just a couple oils off the grocery store shelf mixed together. Thats part of what makes this hobby so interesting, what works for me and for you may be very different, yet our goal remains the same. What route we take to get there may be very different. A quality Pre-Shave Oil should bring benefits to the table that go well beyond (yet must include) a better shave in my opinion. Regardless it definitely shouldn't be overpriced vegetable oil that clogs pores, lays on top off the skin, and ultimately does more harm than good.

For more years than I care to remember, my shave routine was Dial soap and an old Schick or a straight. I didnt discover various soaps, brushes etc. until I wound up here. Having said that, I dont doubt the facts you quoted however, if conditioner does indeed brak down lather, would the 2 inches of unbroken down lather not come into play? If I left the lather on my face for an hour or so, the conditioner probably would eat the lather. The 17 minutes it takes me to shave, I dont believe is enough time to break down anything. As I said, unless the top lather floats above my face, it will replace the broken down lather in turn, in my mind anyway.
Again, I dont doubt your information and appreciate your posting it. I just dont think that severe a chemicle reaction can do that much in 17 minutes.

How long do women leave conditioner in their hair...2 mins? So prob 2 mins....and again Im not saying its going to do so to the point where your lather will disappear, im saying it is doing so where it matters the most, where the lather is touching your skin...where the conditioner was applied. Either way the point is moot, if you found something that is working for you by all means Im not saying do not do it. I am simply pointing out some facts. If you have a formula for a personal best shave technique I would not change a thing. As I said our goal is the same, the route we take to get there can be very different, and thats ok.

Another great point.

What you say makes sense. I don't use PSO, but have tried a few and just found them messy and didn't help my shave at all. I've found if I lather my soaps right, that's what really makes the difference in my shaves.

So I has tried a blend of castor oil/olive oil, 50/50, with eucalyptus essential oil.

I decided to get some new oils, 3 new EOs, sweet almond oil and cold pressed castor oil. Let the mixing begin!

I smelled a face cream that had cedarwood and vanilla, it's a great combination, but I didn't find a plain vanilla EO. Only a mix of vanilla and ylang yland(don't know what that is, but did not like the smell)

I did not know that, hmm.. But you know IF I get the same scent I smelled in the shop last week its totally worth. I don't know if you make something with those scents but the combination was really great. But hey, maybe it was just that product, who knows =P

You can make your own vanilla EO using the enfleurage method which consists of simply soaking thee vanilla in a room temp carrier oil for some time and then slightly warming and filtering through a coffee filter. It is not as strong or as effective as steam distillation but it is effective, and vanilla EO has fantastic skin softening properties as long as it is not overused in your blend. Technically the method is for fats that are solids at room temp but liquify at low temp but it would work in a liquid carrier oil as well.

Im not even ready taking on make my own soap, making EO is a bit further as Im willing to go =P

I have no idea, you know better than me =) but Its not unlikely =P. I read somewhere that fragrance oils is not for someone who is new to DIY stuff =P

So because CO2 extraction is the method used for obtaining the vanillin - not steam distillation-they really shouldnt call it an essential oil at all, as steam distillation is the process used in essential oil manufacture. I wonder what the vanillin content would be via enfleurage. I also wonder how many companies are selling Vanilla EO that is really Vanilla FO. That being the case whatever vanillin you get via enfleurage would prob be better than many so called Vanilla EO's.
Maybe even use something like this if you want to experiment with vanilla in your PSO. http://www.bestflavors.com/product_info.php/products_id/4616?osCsid=f44458002432500dec2b871fefc88b99

I learned something too, even though there was a a lot of words I didn't understand =P I'll be on the lookout for that =P