Thread: Pre-shave Preparation

Originally Posted by gcbryan

I do no prep other than to splash warm water on my face before I start to lather. I don't even shower first. I don't personally think it's necessary to soak a brush, shower first, use pre-shave oil or use a hot wet towel before shaving.

Try it without doing anything and then try it doing everything and see if you can tell much difference.

Same here, although I try to shower beforehand but only because I like to have my head first with an electric and then shower to clear off any left over hair clippings.

My face air dries in seconds and I've tried to pre-soak my Tweezerman and even use a mug but I'm not getting much out of that. I just wet my brush under hot water, shake off excess, get a bit of soap (D.R. Harris Ltd, something from England), and onto the face it goes. If the lather starts to get too thick I put a touch of water onto the brush, shake off excess, and continue.

I don't need aftershave and have never in my life used it. I sometimes apply a bit of Oil of Olay to my face.

I pre-shave. I run the hot water through my bowl and let the brush soak. I find this gives me a nice warm bowl and my lather holds heat the whole shave. I usually let this run why I take a shower. I do a face wash in the shower as part of that routine and a beard wash after that. After the shower, Strop my blade and lather up. The pre-shave has become some of my favorite time. The few times I sorta skipped through that part I felt like I had been robbed of some me time.

Has anyone menioned conditioner? I swear it softens my beard as well as my hair.

Originally Posted by Rfcjr

Has anyone menioned conditioner? I swear it softens my beard as well as my hair.

My face wash is a beard 2 in 1. Works great.

Originally Posted by Rfcjr

Has anyone menioned conditioner? I swear it softens my beard as well as my hair.

I used to do it, but I don't anymore. According to this "The small amount of acid in the conditioner makes the cuticle flakes fall tightly against each other and hair feels smooth again, even after you rinse the conditioner out", which means the hair is smoother, but it's probably harder to shave as the gap between the flakes is exactly what the razor edge seeks to enter, and closing it probably doesn't help.

I splash on hot water and then a dab of hand cream on the face, the beard gets soaked while I work up a lather in my scuttle. Works for me.

Water as hot as I can comfortably stand, then hotter for a small flannel applied to my face...i do this twice then apply somr prorasso pre and do a third hot towel....each towel is 30-40 secs, remove last one and rub in the prorasso pre...well wots left..then lather up...it does take time...but I enjoy it mostly because it works for me, and as long as my blade is sharp I know I will have a good shave...maybe one day I will reduce the prep and the time, but for now I'm a happy bunny.

Pre shave prep? Hot shower. For my brush? Soak in hot water in my lather bowl.

A nice hot shower before a shave is always a sure way to soften the beard.

When I don’t need a shower however, I like to use Proraso pre-shave. I find it makes a considerable difference and is the equivalent of a hot shower in softening my beard.