How I Prepare My Beard

Gentlemen,

Proper beard preparation is essential to a good shave and each shaver has his own method. Here is the way I do it:

After the hot shower, I face lather with a silvertip brush and a quality soap or cream. The lather is then massaged onto my face, about a minute or so, followed by a 30-second hot towel treatment. I wipe the lather off my face and apply Castle Forbes pre-shave — I don't like oils; Castle Forbes is a water soluble cream that does wonders for the skin. Now I lather once again and proceed to experience a delicious shave. You might want to give method a try.

Agreed, Obie. Beard prep seems the most oft-overlooked things to share about getting a good shave! Everyone has their variations. I shower at night and shave in the morning. I apply vitamin E oil before bed. The oil has soaked-in and mostly dissipated by morning. Really helps me! Before shave next morning, lather-up well and apply a hand-towel sized towel sopping with the hottest water I can get from the tap. I keep it on for a full minute and repeat the towel. Then, lather up and proceed to shave. I have tried skipping it and the shave is not NEARLY as good.
Some sort of prep must be done, esp for us with tough facial hair. ;)

Ya know that I've got to chime in with a contrarian view. I'm a cold water shaver due to sensitive skin and a mild case of Rosacea which is acerbated by heat/hot water. Last thing in the morning shower is a cold (as cold as I can stand it) facial rinse. Then I apply a thin coating of hair conditioner to my face and leave my face wet. After lather building and stropping choice of the day I re-wet my face and rub in a small amount of Cremo or Kiss My Face ATG, then lather and shave to my hearts content. I concur with Obie pre-shave oils don't work. This has been just another stream in the river of life. Shave happy.

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Originally Posted by Razorfeld

Ya know that I've got to chime in with a contrarian view. I'm a cold water shaver due to sensitive skin and a mild case of Rosacea which is acerbated by heat/hot water. Last thing in the morning shower is a cold (as cold as I can stand it) facial rinse. Then I apply a thin coating of hair conditioner to my face and leave my face wet. After lather building and stropping choice of the day I re-wet my face and rub in a small amount of Cremo or Kiss My Face ATG, then lather and shave to my hearts content. I concur with Obie pre-shave oils don't work. This has been just another stream in the river of life. Shave happy.

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The cold water shave business is fascinating. I've wondered how it is that so many (most for sure) SR aficionados swear by the need (not just the preference) for hot water treatment of some kind, along with preshave oils, conditioners, lather/relathers, etc., in order to have a smooth, close shave, while some slap some cold water on their face, lather up, and have a smooth, close shave. Can our skins and whiskers be so different? Maybe so. But I ask you experienced shavers: have you tried the cold water shave without pre-treatment? Was it different? In what way?

I tried cold water shaving after about three months in and have never looked back, it's the only way to fly for me. It's refreshing, and I find I get a much better shave and far less irritation.

Here's a link to a book from 1905 called, "Shaving Made Easy", that puts some context around it. Also, keep in mind that we take hot water for granted these days.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...made-easy.html

I just love hot lather soooooo much!!!!

Me too. But have you had success with a cold water shave? Does the hot water and hot lather, etc., result in a closer shave?

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Originally Posted by Smyth

Me too. But have you had success with a cold water shave? Does the hot water and hot lather, etc., result in a closer shave?

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no, but it feels great, so I don't care about closeness of shave, I started this to spoil myself and my face!

A 'better' shave isn't always dependent on how close it is....

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Originally Posted by Smyth

But I ask you experienced shavers: have you tried the cold water shave without pre-treatment? Was it different? In what way?

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In my case, because of the Rosacea I need any extra glide I can get, hence the Cremo, etc. I'm sure some cold water shavers will chime in, maybe BobH, a very dedicated cold water shaver.

Previous to starting to use straight razors and joining this forum, for decades I simply used to shave with hot water and no beard prep. From this forum I learned about beard prep and tried it using various preshaves which did not make any difference to my shaves. I was also a face latherer but learned of using a scuttle to generate a nice warm lather from this forum. Found that made no difference to my shaves and took a lot of time up to do. I also read of cold water shaving from this forum which I tried and found I was getting as good or better a shave as with using hot water.

The upshot is that I eliminated all that did not work for me. I now use no prep, splash on cold water, face lather and shave. Back to my decades old routine with the exception that I now use cold water instead of hot. Try different ways to see what works and doesn't work for you as everyone is different. There is no standard magical shave routine that works universally for everyone.

Bob