This morning I stumbled across an article about shaving with common household items, including peanut butter. I assumed the peanut butter idea was filler for a clickbait article, but I thought “what the hell” and shaved with Peter Pan Creamy. Who knows, maybe it would be a pleasant surprise. This post won’t be a masterpiece…it’s fast, unedited streaming thought. It’s raw – kind of like my face.
Setup
Razor: Merkur Futur
Blade: Feather
Cream: Peter Pan Creamy
Aftershave: Residual peanut oil
I had to decide which razor would have the privilege of destroying my face this morning. I decided on the Merkur Futur adjustable. My rationale was that the Futur has big washout channels that would allow me to rinse away the thick PB without too much clogging. It also gave me the ability to adjust the blade gap if the PB became too much of a problem.
For blades I used a Feather. I thought that the added sharpness would be necessary to contend with the sticky peanut butter. I think this was a wise choice.
My cream was an artisan “brushless” cream called Peter Pan. The scent was reminiscent of peanuts, with rich base notes of earth and smoke. I may have even detected some top notes of sea salt and legume.
Experience
Applying the peanut butter to my face was more difficult than I expected. I thought it would spread on like making a PB sandwich. But the peanut butter turns into little clumpy pebbles when you work it too much. My first application was a failure because I tried to warm it in my hands. Don’t do that, my friends. Go straight from jar-to-face. Better yet, don’t shave with peanut butter.
My first pass was a little rough. There was no glide and a lot of buildup on the razor. But surprisingly, it wasn’t too difficult to clean the razor. A few seconds under screaming hot water and the PB would rinse away.
I took it slow and worked my way through the first pass with care. I “achieved” a first pass without any nicks and just a little bit of razor burn around my mouth. I credit this to technique and not the PB.
Slightly better second pass
I was ready to abandon the PB after my first pass. This was a novelty shave – kind of like my Dollar Tree razor review. It wasn’t worth destroying my face.
Rinsing off the shaving cream was difficult (it’s a bunch of peanut oil after all). But the remaining oil WAS pretty slick. I decided not to pull the plug and I went back for a second pass. It actually turned out to be much better than the first. There was no clumping because the bulk of the PB was gone. The oil didn’t give a lot of protection, but it did give a reasonably decent glide.
I completed my second and third pass without re-applying the PB and generally without incident. My skin feels more abused than on a normal day, but it doesn’t look any worse for wear. My cheeks and neck a perfectly fine, but around my chin and mouth feels a little more raw.
PB “Aftershave”
If there is one slight positive to gain from the experience it is the “aftershave” – the peanut oil slick left on my face after the shave. It didn’t rinse off with water and I had to use a dry towel to reduce the residual oil to a tolerable level. But the peanut oil has left my skin surprisingly soft – and not too shiny. I won’t be making a habit of lubing my face with peanut oil, but the residual isn’t the worst thing in the world.
A quick google search tells me that peanut oil has a low risk of clogging pores. Supposedly it has a lower risk than castor oil – the base of many shaving oils. By Saturday I should know if the google knows what it is talking about.
Final take
There is no reason to shave with peanut butter. If you want to shave with an oil rather than a cream you could just as easily rub peanut oil on your face. Or better yet use an oil product that is meant for shaving. In a pinch you can pick up Shave Secret at any WalMart for about $4.
BTW – just like there are better options than shaving with peanut butter, there are better options than shaving with aerosol shaving cream/gel. If you are still using canned shaving cream and have stumbled upon this post, please take a look at the “Further Reading” section below to learn the benefits of traditional wet shaving.
Now forgive me while I run to the hardware store for some drain cleaner. My bathroom sink is no longer draining – not sure why.
Further Reading
The purpose of this blog is to share how double-edge shaving can help men get better shaves and clearer skin. Here are some additional posts you may find interesting:
Intro to Wet Shaving – A primer on how DE shaving helps give better shaves and clearer skin
Shaving Technique – A “how-to” guide for shaving with a safety razor
DE Shaving Cost Comparison – Analysis comparing the cost of DE shaving vs cartridge shaving (spoiler: DE razors are cheaper than dirt!)
Gear for Beginners – The low-cost tools that introduced me to DE shaving
Razor Aggressiveness Basics – An explanation of what makes a razor “mild” with recommendations for beginning DE shavers
Save Your Shave 