Well, with everybody chiming in ere's my two cents. Have tried all the different approaches and had very mixed results. Finally stumbled on the following. Last thing in the shower rub a small dollop of hair conditioner on your beard, do not rinse off. When ready to lather splash face with choice of temperature tap water. Apply a small amount of Cremo or Kiss My Face shaving cream and rub well into beard. Lather over that and shave. A heck of a lot more cushion and easy clean up.