I first got hooked on pre-shave oil after buying a bottle of Art of Shaving’s pre-shave oil from a mall kiosk over 15 years ago. It undeniably led to a closer daily shave for me while also reducing skin irritation. As a result, I routinely bought bottle after bottle of it for years since there weren’t many obvious alternatives at the time. This turned out be a super expensive process since they cost about $25/each and are sold in containers which are conducive to dumping out more than you need.
Other competitors figured out that pre-shave oil is really just a combination of various readily available oils, namely grapeseed oil, and can be easily replicated and sold. As a result, now there are a variety of pre-shave oils and balms available on the market. The issue is that most are still expensive and/or come in very small sizes (1-2 oz.) making them still just as costly as before.
Finally, a company on Amazon called Henna Guys came out with an 8 oz. bottle. At under $20, it provides, by far, the best value versus any other oil we have seen while still fulfilling the basic functions of a good pre-shave oil. There are better oils out there which aren’t as thick/viscous and don’t leave you having to wipe your hands after using, but most are like 4x the cost. All-in, I prefer using the Henna Guys 8oz. Sandalwood version as the scent, bottle size and functionality is good enough to provide me with the basic skin softening/moisturizing I’d want in a pre-shave oil.