Can You Shave Your Legs With Olive Oil?

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It was such a short sentence at the end of the article I was reading that I almost missed it. The author had been describing a face cleansing method using oils and in the very last paragraph added a final thought along the lines of “oh by the way, I love to shave my legs with olive oil – it’s excellent”.

Huh ?? What now ?? Use your olive oil as a shaving cream?

Well. I decided I would certainly have to give that Make Your Own version of shaving cream a try. Maybe this could be a simple way to always have a homemade alternative to shaving cream on hand that would be great for your skin too.

shaving legs with olive oil
Are we cooking or shaving?

Can You Shave Your Legs With Olive Oil?

After giving the olive oil shaving method a test, here’s my answer to the question “Can You Shave Your Legs with Olive Oil?”

Yes – and – No

Yes . . . because it was oily.

And No . . . . because it was oily.

Indeed, it was all very oily. And rather disappointing.

I opted to use my Misto Olive Oil Sprayer thinking that would give me a nice easy way to get the olive oil on my legs. But the olive oil didn’t seem to be making the razor glide very smoothly. And that’s important! In fact that’s the whole point, in my opinion, to using some kind of shaving cream. So I kept spraying on a little more and a little more wondering how much oil it would take to make the razor glide about smoothly, until finally, well, things got rather oily and disappointing. It took more oil than I thought to get it spread around evenly and thickly enough to do any good. The razor seemed kind of gunky with oil by then too.

The upside to this method was that when I was done, my legs did feel quite soft and moisturized { and oily }, BUT – I didn’t feel like I got a very close shave. I’ve gotten smoother, closer shaves just using plain old soap and water.

Once I was done shaving I sort of stood there thinking, now what? My legs were still oily. Should I wash them with soap and water? If I was going to wash them with soap and water I could have just used that method to shave my legs in the first place. I was worried about getting oily stains on my bath towels too. Maybe dry them with a paper towel? No, that meant having to wander over to the kitchen. I ended up just grabbing a few tissues and wiping off the excess oil.

I thought about giving this a second try without using the Misto sprayer thinking that some other method that gave a heavier layer of oil might work better. But then I decided if I was not enjoying the oiliness the first time around, a heavier layer of oil was not going to make it any more enjoyable.

Thanks, But No Thanks to Shaving with Olive Oil

When it’s all said and done, I just didn’t find this method to be worth it. I didn’t get a close enough shave and was worried about getting oily stains on my bath towels from trying to clean my razor and to somehow dry my legs off. I missed the nice lather of a soap or cream, and I don’t think this would work well in the shower at all. The oil does leave your skin soft, but if that’s what you’re going for, I would just use the olive oil as a moisturizer and skip trying to shave with it.

I noticed the label on my olive oil bottle says “Best for grilling, sauteing, and marinades”.

OK. Probably true. My olive olive oil usually stays in the kitchen too. I do like to use my olive oil in my homemade furniture dusting spray but I haven’t used olive oil yet as a personal care or beauty item.

Have you?

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8 Comments

  1. Ha! oh yes, I’ve tried this, too. Many years ago when I volunteered at a kibbutz in Israel, I was amazed at the myriad household products that women used for their personal care, including olive oil for shaving. Aside from all you described, Bev, there is the issue of extreme slipperiness! Not a joke in the shower, believe me! It was very hard to clean from the floor and walls of the tub, and I really felt like an oil slick. Gave it a try, but No Thanks!

  2. Hi, I tried to use some shower oil we have in ALDI here in Germany, a very cheap thing for people with very dry skin. Since it’s a mixture of oil and some hydrophil substance it wont leave the oil on the skin but washes away – but leaves the soft feeling on the skin – perfect!

  3. I use olive oil and baking soda on my face as an exfoliate. I get really dry skin and it works wonders on getting the dead skin off and moisturizing a little as well. I keep it in my bathroom and use while in the shower so that I don’t make a mess everywhere. I also add baking soda to my shampoo to help get any buildup out of my hair and enhance the shine.

  4. Olive oil has many personal care applications – hot oil treatments for hair and nails etc. After months of trying to find an effective moisturizer for my sensitive and increasingly dry skin, I started applying olive oil to wet skin immediately after my shower! No more dry skin issues and I’m not sticky or greasy either! Add a few drops of the essential oil of your choice (I use lavender) to avoid smelling like a salad!

    As for shaving, I use conditioner instead of shaving cream. The conditioner works quite well on its own but I’m thinking of adding a few drops of olive oil to the conditioner. The razor should still glide well over skin because of the conditioner with the added benefit of soft skin from the oil. Will post my findings when I try it!

  5. I tried the oil prep for leg-shaving once….had the same experience you did. I’ve decided that I’m just a “lather-with-soap-and-then-shave” kind of gal. But. I do use kitchen products (oils, Crisco, cocnut oil, baking soda, salt) as a regular part of cleaning & moisturizing, & I do like that. :o)

    Brenda

  6. Hi

    Yes I have used olive oil for a beauty treatments.
    I teaspoon of olice oil and one teaspoon of cooking salt makes a great hand scrub. Gets rid of any rough snaggy bits of skin.
    Dry feet?
    Rub in olive oil and slip on a pair of cotton socks before bed. In the morning your feet will feel nice and soft.

    Cheers

    Linda