4000 years’ ago men and women began to experiment with ways to remove whiskers and other body hair. Since that time, people have  produced a vast number of contraptions, lotions, foams, brushes and cleverly marketed razors. But those products do little to reduce the problems of razor bumps, ingrown hairs, irritation or razor rash that are commonly associated with shaving.

Yes, 4000 years ago man started to shave by using a lotion formulated with ash from campfires and actual animal lard. They used a sharp flint stone as a razor. This was a crude method to shave but much better than pulling out the hairs with a couple of sharpened clam shells as they had done for thousands of years prior.

The lotion made from ash and lard were the beginnings of what is now called soap. Later on it was produced in the form of a bar and people used it to shave because it would strip away natural oils that the coated hair. This would allow water to penetrate and ultimately soften the hairs using water prior to shaving. If left on the surface of the skin, the soapy suds also provided a slick surface that allowed the blade to pass over the skin reducing nicks, cuts and irritation. Needless to say, there was room for improvement. Using a sharpened flint stone did not produce the ideal shaving experience.

As time went forward, razor blades made from copper resulted in a giant leap forward for razor blade technology. The race was on to produce better razor blades and the emphasis on a better lotion wasn’t really an issue because soap technology wasn’t as easy to improve or sell. By the 1900’s razors were finely honed to produce "razor sharp" instruments. Today, razor blades come in a disposable cartridge with as many as seven blades microscopically sharpened or honed to perfection. On the other hand, shave cream has stayed the same but  eventually was produced in tubes making it less expensive to manufacture and even more profitable for the manufacturers. Today the most popular shave lotions are still just soap and most are dispensed from an aerosol can to provide a little more glide than they did back in the 1800’s. Today, the majority of shaving lotions are not much better than bar soap except for the fact might have a sweet fragrance or it comes out of a can.

Common types of shave lotions made are, hard soap that lathers up with a brush and water, a water and soap mixture in a tube and applied without a brush, in a clear or opaque gel from a bottle or the most popular, a Gel or foam from a can that expands uncontrollably. In any case these are all relying on technology from 4000 years ago. That is, all of these products are just soap and in most cases the manufacturers are kind enough to include water. As a matter of fact, the most widely used ingredient is actually water. Take a look at a few different ingredient lists from modern shave lotions. These ingredient lists are from some of the most popular shave lotions. Note: by law, ingredients are always published so they list the largest volume ingredient as the first one. Notice what ingredient is listed first... WATER!

#1. Shave Foam in a Can- Ingredients: Water, Palmitic Acid, Triethanolamine, Stearic Acid, Sunflower Seed Oil Glyceride, Isopentane, Sorbitol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Fragrance, PVP, Isobutane, Peg-90m, Blue 1.

#2. Shave Foam in a Can- Ingredients: Water (Aqua/Eau), Palmitic Acid, Triethanolamine, Isopentane, Glyceryl Oleate, Stearic Acid, Fragrance (Parfum), Isobutane, Sorbitol, Glycerin, Hydroxymethylcellulose, Ptfe, Peg-90M, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Tocopheryl Acetate, Peg-23M, Propylene Glycol, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Pvm/Ma Copolymer, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Green 3, Blue 1.

#3. Shave Foam in a Can- Ingredients: Water, Palmitic Acid, Triethanolamine, Sunflower Seed Oil Glyceride, Isopentane, Sorbitol, Stearic Acid, Isobutane, Lanolin Alcohol, PVP, Tocopheryl Acetate, PEG-90M, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Fragrance, Titanium Dioxide, Red 40.

#4. Shave Cream in a Tube- Ingredients: Water (aqua), glycerin, sodium laureth sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, polysorbate 20, triethanolamine, acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate copolymer, retinyl palmitate, tocopheryl acetate, allantoin, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, chamomile recutita (matricaria) flower extract, calendula officinalis flower extract, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, fragrance, lactose, cellulose, benzophenone-4, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, disodium EDTA, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, ultramarine blue (CI 77007), yellow 5 (CI 19140), blue 1 (CI 42090).

As you can see, water is the most widely used ingredient followed by a number of synthetically produced ingredients that most people don't want or care to apply to there skin. That's another story!  Let’s face it, water is the least expensive liquid on the planet and they’re diluting they’re products with it! That’s how they make them so cheap! All of these shave lotions and hundreds of others sold today use water as their number one shave ingredient. Its common knowledge that water is essential to soften hairs prior to shaving. It’s what allows the blade to easily penetrate and slice off hairs and reduce razor drag. But isn’t it less expensive coming from your faucet? Yes it is, but that wouldn’t be as profitable for the makers of shave lotions!

As mentioned before, the soap provides a slick surface to reduce the chances of nicks, cuts,razor bumps and irritation. Recently, the use of natural oils have been introduced to provide a slick surface for the highly sharpened, modern razor blades. Formulators at Foster and Lake have removed all of the water, soap, synthetic ingredients, alcohol, preservatives, colorants and other harmful toxins. Products are formulated with two or three plant oil ingredients. Many ask, “what else is in it?” The answer is nothing. Just two or three plant oils make up the entire formulation of the Shave Answers Shave Oils.

Shave Answers has changed the way people shave. Instead of using just soap to shave, they have developed and perfected an ingenious method of shaving that incorporates softening the hairs and skin using soap and warm water first, then by adding a small amount of Shave Answers Shave Oil as a lubricant, it locks in the moisture and allows the razor to glide over the skin, much better than soap. This virtually eliminates or greatly reduces problems associated with shaving and especially for those with sensitive skin. We're referring to problems like razor rash, razor nicks and cuts, ingrown hairs, razor bumps, razor irritation and especially those problems when shaving sensitive areas like bikini lines.

Here's how they do it.

#1. Prepare for the shave by washing the surface of the area you want to shave. Use warm water and a mild Face Wash for at least one minute. As mentioned before, this removes some of the natural oils from the hairs allowing it to become  saturated with warm water. At the same time, this cleans the skin by removing dirt and excess skin. It also softens the skin as it hydrates. Then, remove the soap and rinse to maximize hydration for one to two additional minutes.

#2. Now that the surface of your skin and hairs are fully hydrated and saturated with water, it's time to lock in that moisture with your choice of four different Shave Answers Shave Oil fragrance options. Unscented, Sweet Orange, Bergamot or the newest option Shave Answers Light Shave Oil - Lavender Fragrance. All fragrances are produced using natural ingredients made from natural plant oils and essential oils. Squeeze the bottle to drop just 4 or 5 drops in the palm of your hand. Then rub that into the surface of the skin so that you cover all areas where you plan to shave. Begin shaving with a clean razor that's been maintained with Blade Bath or is fairy new. Should the razor ever begin to drag, just add a small amount of water to the desired area and resume shaving. Additional oil is not necessary. Always shave in the direction of your hair growth or if your skin isn’t too sensitive, shave against the growth for the ultimate close shave.

We suggest to wash with warm water and soap to remove any excess shave oil or rub the remaining oil into the area you just shaved. This will moisturize the skin throughout the day. Always end your shave with a splash of cold water to cool down the skin and close the pours. For those that have typically dry skin, apply Bermotti After Shave to immediately soothe the skin and lock in natural oils.

There is no better way to meet the challenges of today’s modern, high tech razor blades than to incorporate Shave Answers Shave Oils into your shaving regiment.