Shaving // Oil, Gel or Foam?
When entering the world of beard care it can be tricky to start off with, deciding what products and routine work best for you. It will take little time and effort to figure out what suits you and your beards needs.
One question we get asked a lot is what is the difference between shaving foam, shave gel and shave oil. Obviously they all aid in the inevitable task of shaving, some of us will have to do this more often than others and will know how integral these counterparts are to getting a clean shave that doesn’t leave you blotchy and stinging ear to ear.
As always it’s personal preference so you may need to give all three a try to see which one you prefer and would want to work with to get that ideal shave.
Gels are great for those with sensitive skin as they create a moisture barrier over the skin which helps reduce irritation and redness. Gels are also good for those wanting to give very definitive shaping to their face as the lather makes this easier to see. One set back is that they do tend to gunk up the blades and so you will need to make sure to clean it thoroughly after each use.
Foams will give an instant lather unlike gels which you have to work up into a foam, and it will also be a thicker foam than your average gel. So if you like it foamy this is probably a good option. Just like the gels this will probably gunk up your razor and so again you’ll have to give it a good rinse after each use. Foams are okay for most but can cause irritation for those with sensitive skin.
One of the downsides of using foams and gels is often the synthetic ingredients that create the foaming action are very drying and more likely to cause skin irritation. They also tend to be less environmentally friendly in terms of packaging - more often than not they also come in non-recyclable packaging and as we should all know by now aerosols take their toll on the environment.
Shaving oil is quite different texturally compared to gels and foams - obviously they don’t lather at all but rather provide protection by reducing the friction on the blades. Oils are great for those with dry skin as the oil provides moisturisation from the start to the end of the shave and long after. Just like our beard oil our shave oil contains only natural ingredients so you won’t be putting anything synthetic or drying on your skin. Oh and just in case you haven’t seen we’ve got a new sustainable double edged safety razor that is an absolute beaut and a match made in heaven with our shave oil. Nice to give new things a try ey!
Anyway we hope that’s cleared up some of the differences between shaving lubricants, now all you need to do is figure out which is best for you.