Thread: Solid shampoo bar as a preshave.

For the last three years, I have been using frequently the plain Ach. Brito Musgo solid shampoo (not to be confused with the Musgo Real one). It is simple, compact, and works well.

After your post, I tried it today as a pre-shave. Shaving also with straights, I know how important a solid pre-shave routine is, but mine does not go as far as pre-shave creams or other elaborate rituals, and I rather wash my face with a sponge and a bath soap or glycerine soaps like Ach. Brito Glyce for that purpose.

Ach. Brito Musgo solid shampoo worked well as pre-shave today and a got a very satisfying shave with Mitchell’s Wool Fat (MWF), which tends to work nicely with my soft local water.
What I noticed right-away was that the solid shampoo produced less lather than the usual bath soap, which is a good thing in my book, because I could do my pre-shave, leave whatever little lather was on my face while I brushed my teeth and then rinsed the shampoo off before the shave. This way I got another “free” two minutes for the shampoo lather to soften my beard before the shave.

The shave was excellent, with a very good glide, but I tend to get that anyway from MWF.
There was a smooth post-shave feel as well but, again, I cannot say whether that was because of MWF or the solid shampoo.
Maybe I should try the solid shampoo in combination with a shaving soap with less lubrication than MWF to see whether the solid shampoo will do its magic.

After the shave, I had a look at Musgo solid shampoo descriptions and most of them mentioned that it is “enriched with glycerine” or even “glycerine based”.
So it’s not surprising that Musgo solid shampoo works well as a pre-shave as it has similarities with glycerine soaps, which can make very good pre-shave soaps.


I may keep using the solid shampoo for a while to get a more complete picture of how well it works, but it is certainly an interesting idea that I never thought of before.



B.