Thread: How Wet is shave-ready wet?

Hey Guys


I've been str8 shaving for a couple months now, but am not sure I've been doing things right so far.

I either prep by showering with conditioner - ending up with a fogged up mirror I can't see well in - or using Jack Black Pre-shave Face Buff, and feel like I'm shaving on over-dry skin.

How can you tell when you've got just the right amount of water on your face?
What should it feel like when it's ready to shave?

newb,

I wish I could help, but I prep differently than most - or all. Considering the fogged mirror phenomenon, I shave before showering. My prep is rinsing my face with water a warm as I can stand it (hands are more sensitive than is one's face), wash with soap to get rid of facial oils, and rinse again with hot water. Now I make some lather - I use tubed creams mostly cuz it's easier for me to get water to cream ratios correct and lather my face. That done, I strop my razor and shave away. Then I relather and make a second pass and I'm done shaving; at the second pass start I run the water in the shower to get that warm, so once the razor is rinsed and wiped and the brush is rinsed and shaken out, it's on to the shower.

good shaving,

Use a dry towel for your mirror and should be fine, or wipe it with hot water- the same result

+1 on the dry towel on the mirror

I typically make my lather in a bowl while periodically splashing some warm water on my face throughout the process so that my face doesn't dry, then just before I apply the lather to my face I splash some warm water over my face again.

I never really put any thought into how 'wet' your face should be for it to be shave-ready, but for me its always been the above process and it seems to work well.

I shave after showering. As far as water goes I just wet my face and apply the cream or soap. I don't worry about what it should feel like if there is such a thing. If you get a good shave that's all that matters.

Don't know that there are surefire methods that work for everyone, but it's good to hear a variety of answers so you can try different approaches. With that in mind, I personally believe that some of the prep regimens I've heard about and tried are over the top, at least for folks with sensitive skin. Way too much heat, scrubbing, exfoliation, etc. If vigourously washing one's face with soap and hot water can dry the skin out without shaving, why incorporate that into a pre-shave routine? Not only would the skin be slightly irritated before the blade even touched it, it might even be dry enough to suck some of the moisture out of the lather right at the surface, where that thin layer of water is needed most for lubrication.

In any event, what's been working for me lately is simply to splash some comfortably warm water on and then face-lather for a while. I start with a relatively moist lather that I massage around with the brush (gently) for a good 3-4 minutes. Afterwards, I let it sit while I strop. When I'm done stropping, I'm ready to go. This seems to allow plenty enough time for the soap + water to soften my whiskers, without the need to cook or overly scrub the skin in the process.

Originally Posted by newbiehippie

Hey Guys


I've been str8 shaving for a couple months now, but am not sure I've been doing things right so far.

I either prep by showering with conditioner - ending up with a fogged up mirror I can't see well in - or using Jack Black Pre-shave Face Buff, and feel like I'm shaving on over-dry skin.

How can you tell when you've got just the right amount of water on your face?
What should it feel like when it's ready to shave?

I'm seeing a BIG gap here...where's your lather? Meaning--do you not shave with soap or cream?

Pre-Shave means a treatment BEFORE you apply your lather...and usually, if you've got a good lather, any kind of pre-shave treatment is redundant.

Lather is a stable combination of water, soap/cream and a wee bit of air, which creates a nice slick cushion which hydrates your hair/face and gives the blade something to help it slide along without hitting your skin too directly. If you aren't getting that, then you pretty much ARE shaving over dry skin.

I'm using Mama Bear soaps with a little added Glycerin, so the soap isn't much of the problem as I see it. Maybe switching to creams would work a little better?

I can just never really tell what should be "Lubricating" when I lather up. I don't know if I'm prepping wrong or there is something wrong with how I'm actually shaving.

Originally Posted by newbiehippie

I'm using Mama Bear soaps with a little added Glycerin, so the soap isn't much of the problem as I see it. Maybe switching to creams would work a little better?

I can just never really tell what should be "Lubricating" when I lather up. I don't know if I'm prepping wrong or there is something wrong with how I'm actually shaving.

newb,

Aha! This has attracted the attention of some of the heavyweights. This is good. While I've never used any of Mama Bear's soaps I have never read anything but good reviews of them, so I think you're on the right road there. And I don't know about the "conditioner" you mention using while showering, but I imagine it's an after shampoo hair conditioner, nor am I familiar with the Jack Black face buff. Regardless, I think you could eliminate both and just use the Mama Bear lather on your shower softened stubble and get a fine shave. It may warrant a try as I'm guessing that both conditioners contain oils which may prevent water uptake in your whiskers and it's the water that softens the hairs. Once out of the shower and towelled off try re-wetting your face before lathering - the wet face before lathering seems to work for me.

This "lubricating" aspect is a function of a good lathering agent, be it cream or soap. It enables the razor to glide over your skin while it slices stubble.

more good shaving,

Hi,

After washing my face, I actually don't worry about keeping it wet-- it usually drys out by the time I'm done stropping or prepping my lather.

I lather on my face, and i start out with a pretty dry brush, then keep adding a drizzle of water into the base of the brush until I get the right mosture level. My lather is too dry if when I swipe the brush across my face it leaves distinctive tracks from the brush. It is just right when the tracks kinda melt into each other. It is too runny when the cream breaks down into a runny paste...

It has the consistancy of mayonaise when it is just right.

-Chief