Thread: Getting a good shave from a good pre-shave...

Ok, so Im realizing how important the pre-shave is especially with a straight razor. When I was using my DE, just a good lather was all that was really necessary to get a good shave. But not so much anymore now that I've switched over to the straight.

I always shave straight out of the shower. Last shave I had, I tried getting a good lather and doing a hot towel on my face then putting down some more soap but I still had problems with the soap drying and causing the blade to not move smoothly.

Right now Im using a Dovo Shavette and a synthetic bristled brush. Im about to step up to a true straight razor as soon as it gets here, and I guess I will probably end up having to go on to a real badger bristled brush.

But can anyone suggest some tips and tricks to getting a better shave through adjusting my preshave? What are some other things I can try to get my face prepped better?

Of course everyone is different but I usually shave after a shower. I just lather up and shave. If I don't shower I just wash my face really good. Some like pre shave oils and some do hot towels. You have to experiment. Also try different soaps. No tricks here really.

I like to put udder cream on my face prior to the shower, then have a nice long shower. When I get out I put a pre shave oil on while I mix up my lather. That seems to work the best for me.

I don't know, but I suspect that the reason this works better is that the stearic acid in the udder cream softens my beard enough that it absorbs more water and gets softer in the shower than it would otherwise.

I could be totally off base, but it does seem to work better for me to do it that way.

Well Im not having much of a problem cutting the hair. The hair seems relatively soft and easy to shave. The biggest problem I am having is that the blade seems to stick and not slide very smoothly across my face. It may be my lather, and Im leaning toward that being the cause. It seems like no matter what I do, whether I use more water or less water, it still dries out before I get half way through a pass. I end up applying lather two to three times per pass.

I found out today that instead of my brush being synthetic bristled, its boars hair which seems to really suck. Will a badger hair brush make enough of a difference to help out in this situation? What can I do to get a better lather that doesnt try out as fast?

Originally Posted by TexasShaver

Well Im not having much of a problem cutting the hair. The hair seems relatively soft and easy to shave. The biggest problem I am having is that the blade seems to stick and not slide very smoothly across my face. It may be my lather, and Im leaning toward that being the cause. It seems like no matter what I do, whether I use more water or less water, it still dries out before I get half way through a pass. I end up applying lather two to three times per pass.

I found out today that instead of my brush being synthetic bristled, its boars hair which seems to really suck. Will a badger hair brush make enough of a difference to help out in this situation? What can I do to get a better lather that doesnt try out as fast?

The brush shouldn't make any difference to that at all. I've got both kinds and use them both routinely.

It sounds a bit like you're not having enough water in the lather to me honestly. What kind of soap or cream are you using and how are you mixing it up?

Right now I am using Van Der Hagen soap. I've used it, Williams, and Col Conk before and I like all three. Of course the Col Conk one I had smelled better, but sent aside they all seem to work pretty well. I've been running a sink full of straight hot water and leaving my brush in the sink to soak while I shower. It usually soaks for about 10 minutes or so. While I shower I make sure to get my face really clean and let alot of hot water run over my face. Then when I get ready to shave after I get out of the shower, I take the brush out of the sink and shake about half the water out, then try to churn a good thick lather. I splash my face with hot water again, and then brush on the lather. It goes on and seems a little thin and watery, but then it dries out before I even finish one side of my face. I leave the brush soaking in a sink full of hot water during my entire shave that way when I need to reapply lather, the brush is still soaked in hot water.

Yeah ok. Try running enough hot water to juuust cover your soap puck and let that soak while you shower as well. Then do like you're doing after the shower with shaking the brush out.

If you're face lathering, make sure the brush is well loaded before you start lathering too. It may take a bit longer than you think.

You might also look up Mantic's video on making lather, it's very helpful.

I'm betting that you're making mostly foam and not really lather to speak of, so you're getting the pulling because you don't have much there to cushion the blade or give it glide. I'd start by soaking the puck like that and loading the brush much longer than you are.

Fwiw, I've used all of those soaps and never got a really satisfying lather or a great shave from any of them. If you have a L'occitane store near you, consider picking up a puck of their Cade soap. It's really excellent and head and shoulders above the soaps you've been using.

Hope that's of some help.

Yea, it does sound a bit like it is a lather problem. I am a relatively slow shaver so sometimes I have to re lather parts of my face. Also like has been suggested your lather is a bit low in water content. Last but not least it might be your water itself if it is on the hard side.

On the pre shave angle, I just wet my face, lather up and shave, basically. I have tried different pre shave methods but none really did anything for me so I stopped. OTH others claim it helps.

Bob

So I've watched some videos about lather building, and from the looks of things, I havent been building as good of a lather as I could have been. I have been trying the method of building the lather on my face but apparently I havent been working it long enough to get a good lather. I watched a video on YouTube from Lynn about lather building on your face and Im going to try the techniques that were shown there and see how it goes. I feel I was rushing the process a little bit and not getting the desired results. If that doesnt work I will try using a second bowl to build a better lather that way.

Well keep at it and you'll get there. Remember that you will likely need more water than you think.