Thread: Shaving without preparation or lather

I posted yesterday that I was going to attempt a shave without lather to see if it could be done. I did it last night, and it can be done. I splashed warm water on my face five times and shaved without lather. I got a fine shave and noticed no difference whatsoever. It certainly made the shave go a lot more quickly, and it does make one wonder how necessary lather, soaps and brushes are. I would rather use them for the enjoyment, but they don't seem necessary.

I have always heard that head trauma in our earlier years, sometimes does not reveal itself until we get old.

If i try and shave an area with no lather on i find it very uncomfortable, pretty sure i wouldn't like to shave without a good lather

Probably a lot depends on the individuals facial hair. Coarse facial hair would be the most uncomfortable I believe.

Interesting experiment but I doubt I'd ever attempt it.


A nice, rich, warm lather is half the enjoyment IMO.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

I have always heard that head trauma in our earlier years, sometimes does not reveal itself until we get old.

I thought up a really nice response to your post, but now I've forgotten what it was. Dang it!

[QUOTEsomeonee;1345262]I posted yesterday that I was going to attempt a shave without lather to see if it could be done. I did it last night, and it can be done. I splashed warm water on my face five times and shaved without lather. I got a fine shave and noticed no difference whatsoever. It certainly made the shave go a lot more quickly, and it does make one wonder how necessary lather, soaps and brushes are. I would rather use them for the enjoyment, but they don't seem necessary.[/QUOTE]

I saw someone do that a few months ago with a Gillette Fusion. He said with foam he experienced irritation but when he tried nothing but the hot water the irritation was gone.

I did this quite a bit too a few years ago. It was brought on by a shaving section in one of the old 'man' books (not barber's manuals) which said it was quite possible (and pleasurable) to do it without lather or water when you knew how. That, and being the unorthodox fellow I am, when everybody said you need a good lather to get a good shave, a bell would go off in me saying you don't need any lather to get a good shave. lol.
That bell has cost me dearly in life, but I think it was right with this. It's a masterclass in skin stretching, direction of hair growth, amounts of oil in your skin, wtg/atg/xtg, angle, etc.

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.

When I do touch ups after a shave I do those with water only. A full shave with water only seems a lot like playing in the sandbox without all the Tonkas. Sure you can do it but why?