Eric has been using some high-end shaving products that he’s been mostly happy with, but when I stumbled upon recipes for pre-shave oil and aftershave I thought it was worth making up a batch for him to try.
Pre-Shave Oil:
* 1 oz. Olive Oil
* 4 drops Vitamin E
* 8 drops Young Living Lavender Essential Oil
* 4 drops Young Living Orange Essential Oil
Pre-shave oil is used to prepare your skin for shaving so that the razor glides across it without dragging. Lavender is great for the skin and pairing it with Orange oil makes for a fantastic smell. The Vitamin E is also great for the skin.
For the After Shave, you want something that is pleasant smelling since it’s the last thing that gets applied. The original recipe called for Valor Essential Oil, which is a Young Living Blend that includes Rosewood, Blue Tansy, Frankincense, and Spruce Essential Oils. It’s a blend that helps encourage confidence and courage, and I couldn’t argue with that. Witch Hazel is an astringent which tightens pores and is also anti-inflammatory. The first time I made this for Eric I used Valor, but when he asked for a refill, I switched over to Palo Santo which he has been very happy with.
After Shave recipe:
* 1 oz. Witch Hazel
* 4 drops Vitamin E
* 12 drops Valor Essential Oil (or another oil of your choice – Sandalwood would be awesome!)
*Shake before use
I have to say that after Eric used up the first batch of Aftershave, he went back to his old store bought aftershave to use up what he had left. He quickly found though that those red bumps and ingrown hairs that he’d fought with previously were now back. So, that was the end of the store bought aftershave. Now Eric only uses this DIY version, and since it’s chemical-free, that’s a huge bonus!
Then I was down to what to do for shaving cream/shave soap. The original post I found the pre-shave and after shave recipes on didn’t have a shaving cream recipe, so I went in search of one. Eric uses a shaving brush and shaving soap, so I had to find something that would lather up but not gum up the bristles of the brush. I found this recipe online that looked like it might be good.
Minty Fresh Shaving Cream:
* 1/3 cup of Shea Butter
* 1/3 cup of Coconut Oil
* 3 TB raw olive oil (I used Jojoba oil)
* 1 tsp. Castile soap
* 7-8 drops of Peppermint or essential oil of your choice (I used lavender and orange again)
Directions
Put your shea butter and coconut oil in a double burner. Put on low heat and let the fats melt. Take off of heat and pour your oils into a glass bowl. Add your olive oil. Let slightly cool and add your Castile soap and essential oil. Put in refrigerator for about an hour or until the solution starts to solidify. Then remove from fridge and whip your solution with an immersion blender until it forms a whipped cream texture. Scoop into your glass container. Close with lid and store in a dark, cool place.
Unfortunately, my first run at this recipe was 90% of the way there, but needed some tweaking. I ended up adding a little more of the Castile soap so that it would lather up a bit better and not be quite so “gummy” on the brush. That worked much better. I will probably tweak this a little bit more the next time around.
