Thread: Shaving without preparation or lather

I did an experimenet last year and shaved 2 days in a row without lather, water only. Its definitely doable. I use lather always now, just wanted to see how it would be. I got a great shave both times although the last pass on the second day I could feel not as smooth and a hair of irritation. As far as pre shave goes, I dont find it gives me a better shave in any way so I dont bother. I ran out of preshave and used regiualr hair conditioner as I was told, same result, then scratched it altogether and same result.

this is something i've thought about, because it may depend of different skin types.
my face is like a chopping block, so its not a big problem for me to shave dry or with water. i just like the process of doing a preshave and then lathering up, it really adds to the experience of shaving.

Good mercy you are toughYou must really have a nice sharp razor.What kind of razor do you have?

I used to do that in the army, where the water was ice-cold, you had 2 bathrooms for 50 people, and every second of sleep is precious....
For 3 years I had dry skin, severe irritation, pimples, nicks and cuts, and leftover whiskers inside my shirt.

Never again.

I usually use just olive oil in my face when in a hurry, washing before with any ordinary soap. Be able to see what the blade is doing real time, without lather, is very interesting too. This kludge often runs smooth for me.

Originally Posted by james6141

Good mercy you are toughYou must really have a nice sharp razor.What kind of razor do you have?

i have a few different ones. the one i use most is the de-pews perfect razor.
that being said, i do still regularly lather up and shave the traditional way. just sometimes i do it the lazy way.

There was a thread about using only almond oil a while back http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?t=106531 .basically I do that when in a real hurry, but prefer the whole deal.

Originally Posted by Haim

I used to do that in the army, where the water was ice-cold, you had 2 bathrooms for 50 people, and every second of sleep is precious....
For 3 years I had dry skin, severe irritation, pimples, nicks and cuts, and leftover whiskers inside my shirt.

Never again.

From name and location I assume I spent 3 years in the same army ( though might be earlier - my enlistment was 20 years ago). My solution at the time was to keep my full beard, which in part earned me the nickname I use here, as well... +1 about the sleep [emoji42]

Originally Posted by ace

I think that no prep, no lather shaving will tell you a lot about your blade. If you can get a good shave that way, then you're shaving with a truly shave ready edge. If showers, hot towels, lots of fluffy lather and pre-shave oils are required for a good shave, that brings the edge quality into question. If you want to know whether your edge is shave ready, then just shave with it. If it doesn't do the job with just water on the face, then you have to deal with the fact that all the prep and lather is just compensating for what the blade should be capable of by itself.

Ace I think your logic is falling down here. Your thread starts off by questioning how necessary soaps and preparation are - but this post then concludes that they can make a difference. Furthermore, you are inferring that preparation and lather are masking a sub-standard edge. Now I can't argue that you achieved a perfectly good shave with no prep or lather, but the other conclusions just don't seem to fit to me as I prepare well, prefer lots of thick lather and happen to think that my edges are pretty good - what I don't conclude is that the prep and lather are the reason for the good end result.

You have a point regarding the logic here. I was attempting to fit my comments into a forum that preaches that preparation makes all the difference in the quality of a shave. At one point I referred to the term 'compensating', not equating that with "making a difference". Earlier, my point was meant to be that all the showers, hot towels, re-lathering, and all the rest of it became so much a part of the shave that the quality of the shave was judged by the ritual more than the result. Still, the point you are making is correct.

Perhaps if I gave up on satisfying Forum myths and stated my point more clearly, that would help. Moistening the beard has little scientific basis. Stiff whiskers may cut more easily than soft ones that bend away from the blade. The value of hot water applied to the face flies in the face of reason. Ask the cold water shave lovers about that. Thick lather is fun to create, but is a pain to get off the face. I've shaved with Dawn dishwashing liquid, hand-applied, and I have shaved without lather, the resulting shaves all being fine. These threads all seem to end in "Your Mileage May Vary" which is equivalent to saying that not much can be concluded in these arguments. If YMMV is the case, then all these discussions are a waste of time. But a shave ready edge doesn't vary. It cuts whiskers easily and requires no preparation for doing so.

Ace, your conclusions are correct and I applaud you to do your own experimenting and not just follow the crowd over the cliff. It is all about the " truly Shave Ready and properly honed and stropped razor" or feather blade! Better prep , better lather , all help , just as stretching does, I stated early in this thread it just isn't my cup of tea to do it " hardcore" anymore as I have done it as hard core as it gets ,, a single edge disposable from the PX and the sweat that the jungle provided for you. You can get a great shave with the razor being right ,, just all the other stuff is pleasure and I guess could be covering up a less than perfect edge. Though I will still use my MDC lather and balms , and all the prep, it just makes the better experience. Thank you for bringing this point to the forum, I'll not join you in your path towards minimalism, but there are plenty who would like to and you have provided them with the knowledge. Tc