Thread: Shower shower shower, what happened to.....

Originally Posted by Speedster

Yes, Padraig, my handle comes from my Speedster coffee machine.

Glad to hear you have a Cremina; that's a great machine from what I've heard. Levers are cool! Cheers!

Haha the espresso machine thing is a fantastic idea! I have a Gaggia classic that is now on towel warming duty

Originally Posted by Wretched

I generally shave at night and do a hot towel prep. For me it seems to work better than shower prep.

Me too! No time in the morning. Must try that Proraso pre-shave though...

I always use a hot / warm towel when I am at home. I have about 4-5 that I keep clean in a drawer. It comes out the night before I shave along with the equipment I am going to use in the morning. I shower the night before always, use a face scrub and apply moisturiser after. The morning of the shave I begin with soaking the towel under the hot water tap, ring and then put it on my face. I then use it to gently wipe my blade on it leaving all the 'shaved bits' on it so that I can wash them down the sink. Then, the towel goes straight in to the wash with other kitchen towels and so on.

I always use hot towels prior to shaving, I have this ritual as it were that makes for a great shave and my face feels good. When I deviate from my ritual preps and such, it's not such a good day.

Originally Posted by rum

I always use a hot / warm towel when I am at home. I have about 4-5 that I keep clean in a drawer. It comes out the night before I shave along with the equipment I am going to use in the morning. I shower the night before always, use a face scrub and apply moisturiser after. The morning of the shave I begin with soaking the towel under the hot water tap, ring and then put it on my face. I then use it to gently wipe my blade on it leaving all the 'shaved bits' on it so that I can wash them down the sink. Then, the towel goes straight in to the wash with other kitchen towels and so on.

I do it in reverse with a shower in the morning (generally at the pool) and then at night plenty of applications of the hot towel followed by a stiff brush loaded with VDH, more hot water and then the soap of the day applied with a silvertip. I much prefer wiping the blade rather than rinsing.

I'm still in the learning stage of the art of shaving. I've become curious about pre-shave applications, such as Proraso, or something of the like. I mention them, only because they are the only name I can think of right now, I've seen others mentioned. Geez, I almost hate to ask, what of pre shave applications, such as oils and such, could I try, with out ending up with a tube, bottle, tub or bale of something I don't care for? I've noticed, one of the beautiful things of the wet shave, so many options, but, I wish there was a good haberdashery around me, so that I could sniff, and compare, before buying online and getting something good for a year, yet still wanting to try something else. Are there any sample packs of things I could get ahold of, and if so, where is a good source??

I start by washing my face a couple of times with whatever soap is in the bathroom. Dove/palmolive etc. This also massages my face as I wash quite vigourously. Then lather up with quite a wet mix and let that sit on my face while I strop the razor(approx 90secs). Then I shave if the lather has not dried too much, if it has I re-lather before shaving.
After this I jump in a hot shower. Find this is the best way to get all the soap out of my pours.

I have found that showering before shaving (I do take quite a long shower) almost makes my skin too soft and the shave makes my face sore. Its the only time I ever get razor burn.
Used to go through the hot towel treatment but found no advantage apart from feeling pampered.

Just remembered, I also got bad razor burn when I tried a cold water shave ( never again )

pre shave does the trick for me...I sweat alot and easily..so...

Originally Posted by donv

I've noticed, one of the beautiful things of the wet shave, so many options, but, I wish there was a good haberdashery around me, so that I could sniff, and compare, before buying online and getting something good for a year, yet still wanting to try something else. Are there any sample packs of things I could get ahold of, and if so, where is a good source??

Have you found any other wet-shavers in your area yet? I have noticed, that a good way to get new stuff without breaking the bank is to go in with others and share the spoils. I have gotten four people here hooked on wet-shaving and honestly it pays off in that I can get a tub of something and if I don't like it I can either give it or trade it with someone here. And on that note, I will usually end up with several things that they have tried as well.
It's really great for soaps. You can buy one stick or tub and cut it into several usable amounts for different people. A great way to PIF your spoils.
And on that note, I have tried several pre-shaves, but really don't like them, mainly because they glue the hair to the sink. But if you ever want to try a soap that I have, just let me know and I would be happy to send you a chunk or glob or cross-section...

I do both depending on circumstances. Mostly, I shave after my morning shower, but on the occasions when I shave in the evening, I go the hot towel route.

The whole purpose of either approach is to fully hydrate the beard, this softens the hair shaft so that the razor can quickly slice through it with minimal pulling. Once I have completed a shower including washing my face with soap and hot water, it is fully hydrated so the use of a hot towel would be redundant.

When using a hot towel, it is essential that the process removes surface oils from the hair shaft. This allows water from the towel to penetrate and hydrate the hair. The easiest way to accomplish this is by a process that goes something like this:

Apply hot moist towel to face.

Lather with lather produced from hot water-allow lather to sit for a few minutes

Apply a second hot towel and massage lather into face, wipe lather off with towel

Relather and shave.

You will notice that this is essentially the same as washing your face in the shower - this is intentional as it results in the necessary removal of oils from the hair shaft.