Thread: My preshave routine

I have been straight razor shaving for a few years now. I find the preshave prep is a very important part of my shave. I like to keep it simple. I apply a warm face cloth to my beard (something similar to a hot towel prep in a barber shop), then I apply either Proraso white or green preshave cream, massage it in well and wait a few minutes then lather up. If I am in a rush I will skip the Proraso...but I never skip the hot towel. And in winter that hot towel is particularly pleasurable.

My preshave is....
Wash my face! A shower works too.
Dont want my razor to deal with dirt.
Then lather up and shave.

I always shower before shaving. Well almost all the time. On the rare occasion I don't I wash my face, load the brush up and lather up. Let it sit for a minute and then wash it off and lather up again. The thing here is the time it takes to do this is almost the same time as I need to shower. Plus the brush has to soak anyway. I have in the past done the hot towel thing. But it takes more effort to do that than to just take a shower.

Wet face with hot water ~ lather up ~ go

Pete <:-}

I shower before I shave, so the hot towel is a bonus measure.

No prep, just get the lather in the brush and face lather.

Bob

Funny, I figured most of yall went all out and was ashamed to admit it is usually shower, lather, shave, rinse, leave. Sometimes aftershave if I feel uncomfortable.

Everyone eventually develops a routine that works for them. Personally, I don't like to do anything that does not improve my shaves just because it's common practice for others to do. That has left me with a very simple shave routine.

Bob

My routine has gotten much simpler over the years. Sure, i used to hot towel, pre-shave oil, lather and rince than towel again. Then lather and shave but I found after I learned how to properly shave I didn't need all the non-since in the beginning and just showered or just washed my face. A little warm water on the face is what I found was all I needed. And the time it takes to shave now has gone down alot.

I've never tried the hot towel thing at home. Shaving takes long enough as is, I've never wanted to add that extra step. I don't have a microwave (and don't want one), so heating up a towel would take a significant amount of time.

If I don't shower before I shave, I wash my beard with soap and warm water. If I bowl lather (rare these days, due to lack of time), I lather up and let it sit while I strop my razor, then rinse the lather off and reapply. If I face lather, I strop first so that I can shave as soon as I'm lathered up - the lather being scrubbed into my beard for a longer period of time is enough, I find.