Shaving with Baby Oil
Shaving With Baby Oil
What I like
- Extremely cheap
- Widely available
- Very good protection against nicks and irritation
- Provides a close, comfortable shave
What I don’t like
- The gunk factor is a little high
- Can be greasy
Overall
- The best value in a shaving lubricant anywhere, bar none.
Review
Baby oil can be purchased at virtually any drugstore or supermarket. The most common variety is primarily mineral oil, with a bit of scent added. I’ve tried both Johnson & Johnson brand and generic baby oil, and there’s no significant difference that I’m aware of.
You use baby oil in the same way as most shaving oils: after thoroughly wetting the skin surface, put 4 or 5 drops of baby oil in your hand with a tiny bit of water, and rub it in to your skin. You only need a small amount of baby oil to be effective; if you use too much, it will tend to clog your razor very quickly, and it won’t provide any additional benefit. Once you’ve thoroughly rubbed it in, shave normally.
Shaving is quite comfortable. Irritation tends to be very low, and there’s very good protection against nicks and cuts.
On the downside, shaving with baby oil will tend to gunk up your blades more easily than many other shaving lubricants, though it’s not the worst I’ve seen. Also, being an oil, it will tend to leave your skin feeling a bit greasy after shaving. That’s not much of a problem for me; I normally shower after shaving, and soap makes a big difference, but I know some shavers really hate feeling greasy afterwards.
Because of the very good quality of the shave, and because of it’s incredibly cheap price, I consider baby oil the standard on which other shaving lubricants should be judged. If a shaving lubricant can’t provide at least as good a shave as baby oil, why pay for it? A local dollar store sells a 250ml bottle of baby oil for $1 (Cdn); that’s enough baby oil to shave every day for at least a year, probably 2.
Overall, baby oil is undoubtedly the best value available for shaving lubricants. The quality is very good, and the price is unbeatable. There are better shaving lubricants available, but they are all significantly more expensive, and the improvements over baby oil are relatively modest. If you haven’t tried baby oil for shaving, give it a shot.