Thread: Shave hygiene?

I have a few process steps which are about shave hygiene:

1- Face prep
2- Blade prep
3- Sponge
4- After shave
5- After shave stropping
6- Blade clean up and storage
7- Brush maintenance

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1- Face prep starts with a wash cloth and face soap. I clean the oils and dirt off my face before shaving. I figure no reason to drag this dirt into the fresh skin after blade exfoliation. I usually use Neutrogena but occasional an anti-bacterial soap.

2- I wipe the blade clean, rinse with very hot water, and strop on linen and then leather prior to shaving.

3- I use a sponge to avoid the faucet chips. Every other day I put the damp sponge in the microwave and blast it for about 4 minutes to make sure nothing grows there.

4- After shave I use Alum, rinse, moisturize, and then use an alcohol splash. The new skin is sealed. Every few weeks I'll run a witch hazel pad over my face to check everything is squeaky clean.

5- I rinse, wipe, and strop the blade before putting it away.

6- Periodically I run the blade under extremely hot water, dry carefully, pour rubbing alcohol on the blade, dry carefully, and mineral oil the blade to store.

7- The brush gets soaked each shave in very hot water. At the end of the shave, I rinse thoroughly and shake the water before hanging the brush bristles down to dry. Once every two months I use a pea sized amount of human shampoo and conditioner to give the dirty badger a good wash and rinse .


Is this over the top? Or is there anything essential I'm missing? I figure as long as I draw blood occasionally I might as well treat it like surgery . So far the nicks close immediately and heal nearly as quick. Even the couple of cuts I've earned so far have closed and healed quick and clean.

Best,

Ed