Thread: What is the best beard softener you know of?

I use a small towel with hot tap water and hold against face for a couple minutes. I read some place hair/beards hydrate in about four minutes. Sometimes I do this with a pre-shave oil/cream applied and have gone so far as to do it again with the shaving lather applied.

Originally Posted by RezDog

Porcupine quills are hollow and pull out better if you clip the end off first as it brakes the vacuum which is what helps keep them in or work deeper.

I've never seen a porcupine in Australia, but if one of the little buggers ever shows it pointy face around here I'll be all over it now. Learning every day

As time has gone on I have eliminated beard prep steps. I used to wash my face in the shower, apply Suave hair conditioner with shea butter, rinse, apply either Proraso or pre-shave oil, lather, strop, etc. Too many steps with inconsistent results.

Now I wash my face in the hot shower and take my time about it. I've found that for me the #1 ally for beard prep is to allow plenty of shower time. Then I lather, take my time stropping, freshen the lather if it is drying out, and shave.

As I've simplified my prep while simply allowing enough wet beard time my shaves have greatly improved in both closeness and consistency.

I used to joke that simplifying my prep somehow resulted in my blades getting sharper!

I have Noxema and Proraso and prefer the menthol smell for pre-shave. With that said I just had a shower this morning and got just as good a shave as when using those. For me some of the extra prep is just for the journey rather than the outcome....