Thread: How Sweet the Pre-Shave

Gentlemen:

About two weeks ago I ran out of pre-shave. This morning I promised myself to never again.

My preferred pre-shave is Castle Forbes. All the others I have used come nowhere near what, to me, is the celestial pre-shave.

In the days that followed, whether I used a straight or a DE, a soap or a cream, my face felt a bit raw during the shave, and windblown for much of the day. I rotate a treasure of topnotch soaps and creams, lathered with superb brushes. So it wasn't that. I hone my straights into a silky edge. It wasn't that either. Nor was the problem with my DE razors and blades, all top of the line.

I could not figure out what was happening. Never stopping to think that I had not been using my celestial pre-shave. A few days ago finally reality dawned on me. Somehow that had slipped my mind — a long senior moment, you know?

I had used pre-shave for years, although sometimes questioning the merit of it. There have been many threads on the effectiveness of pre-shaves. Nothing has been conclusive, with opinions varying from one end of the spectrum to the other. Like just about anything else in traditional shaving, personal preference dictates the use of pre-shaves and their effectiveness.

After realizing my sin, I ordered a bottle of Castle Forbes. It arrived yesterday. I used it today — along with Penhaligon's blenheim bouquet cream, a 24 mm. Shavemac silvertip and a Carl Schlieper 6/8 stropped on a Neil Miller 2.5 shell cordovan strop. Oh yes. I am convinced that there had been a good reason for using pre-shave all these years. Today life is sweet with my face feeling Hollywood.

So how convinced am I about using a quality pre-shave? Convinced. Completely. It works for me. I have an extremely sensitive skin and a tough Assyrian beard. Lynn says I have tree trunks for a beard — and how right my good friend is. And much as I will never be without an alum bloc, the possibility of ever being without Castle Forbes pre-shave just went down to zero.

And you, gentlemen? Any thoughts on your use of a good pre-shave?