Wm. Neumann & Co. 1911 Pre-Shave Oil

The Wm. Neumann & Co. Pre-Shave Oil is unlike any other pre-shave I have tried in the past.  It is thinner than your average pre-shave, but that is by design.  A wide array of oils, such as grape seed, cranberry seed, wheat germ, red raspberry seed and a touch of olive offer excellent protection for the skin against a razor blade.  The thin nature of many of these oils makes the pre-shave easy to spread over your beard while aiding in not “gunking” up your razor.  Straight razor users may find this quality particularly advantageous, as it rinses easily off of the blade under hot water.  Surprisingly though, despite the pre-shave’s thin qualities, it stuck around on my skin, even through three or four passes.  I found a quarter-size amount to be just right for the job. 

After the shave, a good hot-water rinse was all it took to get the last remnants of the oil off of my face.  The 1911 fragrance smells great in the pre-shave as you apply it, but it didn’t seem to linger after the rinse, which is perfect if I choose to follow up with any of my favorite colognes.  Now, Neumann’s shave soap works wonderfully, but its effectiveness at providing a barrier for your skin seems to be reduced without the use of the oil.  These two products are meant to be used in tandem, and after having tried the soap both with and without the oil, I can say there were big differences in the comfort level of the shaves.  While the soap still provided a good shave by itself, the soap/oil combo was where my absolute best shaves came from.  These were the ones where I could go against the grain with no problem, and my skin liked me better for it, too!

The Wm. Neumann & Co. 1911 Pre-Shave Oil comes in a small plastic bottle with an ingenious little lid that unscrews slightly to allow a small, controlled amount of oil to come out.  This reduces the risk of pouring out too much oil, and therefore helps the bottle to last longer.  After going through an entire puck of soap, I still have half the bottle of pre-shave left!

Many experienced wet shavers can’t stand using pre-shave oil. Most cite that pre-shaves are too thick, don’t rinse off well, mess up your brush, or clog the razor.  I invite you to give this thinner oil a try.  See if it doesn’t add just a touch of protection to your favorite soap or cream and make your shaves that much more luxurious and beneficial.  Check out the Wm. Neumann & Co. Pre-Shave Oil in all of its available fragrances on wmneumann.com.

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