Vendor shaving tip from Mama Bear

Never wash your face before shaving...

There is a film of oil on your face in the morning for most of us. This actually helps to give you a better shave, it provides just another layer to keep the blade from roughing up your skin. Washing your face before shaving removes that protective film and can cause your blade to skip more than it would with the film and rough up your face even more. Wash your face after you shave.. or if you are using soap, wash your face with the left over lather. Shaving soaps are specially made to be used on the face and using the left over lather to wash your face with will give your face both cleansing and moisturizing properties that a bath soap won't.

Thanks for that info!

Makes sense... Thanks for the tip!

If you are shaving after having a shower, will the oils not be washed away regardless of whether you wash or not?

Wow that's quite some advice and though I respect your opinion I have to disagree. Washing your face before shaving causes the wiskers to plump making shaving easier and I think the oil on your face can cause less friction twix the blade and the whiskers which means a poorer shave because the oil will make the blades job more difficult. I know they sell electric shave which oils up your skin and whiskers which makes shaving with an electric easier but electric shaving is a whole other situation with different requirements. Also using heat like a hot towel which is highly recommended will remove the oil anyway whether you soap up or not and soften your beard.

However maybe some brave soul will experiment and shave without washing or hot towel. Just lather and shave.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

...However maybe some brave soul will experiment and shave without washing or hot towel. Just lather and shave.

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Actually that's how I "stress test" a razor before I consider it shave ready. If I get a pretty good shave with minimal prep (no face wash before hand, just lather and go), I know it's worthy of entering my rotation.

I personally don't like doing that all the time though, I think it's a rougher shave if I don't wash first.

I have had a bunch of gentlemen convince me this was the holy grail to shaving.... but I know darn well nothing beats a hot towel.

Can we discuss? I don't mind having my head on the chopping block if someone learns something!! :)

Bear Hugs! Sue

I think this thread is more appropriate for the Shaving section, so I'm moving it there

Does splashing water on your beard before lathering count as washing your face? If not, then what Sue suggests is what I have always done in the mornings.

James.

Have to admit that I've noticed no difference in the quality of the shave whether I wash my face prior to it or not, been alternating for the last two weeks. Would stress that this is only my experience. Great tip for the left over lather, hadn't occurred to me and will certainly be giving this a go.

I always assumed that the longer your face was wet before you shaved, the softer the facial hair was....thus a smoother, easier shave.

As far as facial oils go, I never thought of that improving the shave. I have dry skin though, so maybe that's why I get a better shave after washing my face?:shrug:

hmm, maybe somebody should make this a poll? My curiosity is getting piqued. :hmmm:

There seems to be mixed opinions on this. Some say, as advised by Mama Bear, don't wash away the oils & allow them to help with razor glide. Other advice suggests that by washing the oils away the beard is better able to absorb water, & therefore soften. Personally i've tried both & find the latter to be preferable, by quite a margin. I guess it's like every other conceivable variable with shaving. Experiment & find out what works best for you!
Ben

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Originally Posted by ben.mid

There seems to be mixed opinions on this. Some say, as advised by Mama Bear, don't wash away the oils & allow them to help with razor glide. Other advice suggests that by washing the oils away the beard is better able to absorb water, & therefore soften. Personally i've tried both & find the latter to be preferable, by quite a margin. I guess it's like every other conceivable variable with shaving. Experiment & find out what works best for you!
Ben

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I agree with Ben on this one :tu

I use a hot towel over lather as my prep before shaving. This works extremely well for me and I will continue to do this.

I realize that this procedure probably removes oils, but, hey, it works!

* I've been using "uberlather" with my Georgetown scuttle. I will add a cream to the inside walls of my scuttle and fill with hot water. I then will apply a hard glycerin or triple milled soap and lather on my face. I use this lather as my prep with hot towel. After the towel, I take the brush (A Rooney), which has plenty of lather, and mix with the cream that is sitting in the scuttle. This method works really well for me, and with the exception of a few minor changes, I don't see myself "not washing the oils off my face".

Steve

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Originally Posted by Mama Bear

I have had a bunch of gentlemen convince me this was the holy grail to shaving.... but I know darn well nothing beats a hot towel.

Can we discuss? I don't mind having my head on the chopping block if someone learns something!! :)

Bear Hugs! Sue

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I think it depends on the gentleman. Personally, I make sure that my face is well hydrated and warm before applying lather. Sometimes this includes washing it and at other times it also entails a hot towel. I do believe that if one creates quality lather that it will not matter whether the 'natural' oils have been washed away or not.

I always wash my face in the shower and then later up. Recently I got some pre shave oil frm. Art of shaving. It looks to be mostly castor and olive oil, so it's really thick (only need a drop or two).
What do others think of this pre oiling? I seen it said the wot water is absorbed into the beard, if so does the oil or does the oil simply coat the skin?
I tried it on one side and no oil on the other. The oiled seemed to give a better shave, also left a slight film I hope will moisturize.
Al

I wash my face with soap to degrease the hairs so they will absorb water. Then I use the hot towel. Then I apply shave oil. The hot towel won't work very well if you don't degrease the hairs first.

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Originally Posted by albertpotash

I always wash my face in the shower and then later up. Recently I got some pre shave oil frm. Art of shaving. It looks to be mostly castor and olive oil, so it's really thick (only need a drop or two).
What do others think of this pre oiling? I seen it said the wot water is absorbed into the beard, if so does the oil or does the oil simply coat the skin?
I tried it on one side and no oil on the other. The oiled seemed to give a better shave, also left a slight film I hope will moisturize.
Al

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Pre shave oil is another of those things that is really YMMV. Many swear by it and many say its worthless. Personally I've tried it and it's done nothing for me but if it works for you then its good. Just make sure you really wash your brush out thoroughly. You don't want oil residue on your brush.

The only other thing I wanted to add that washing your face before shaving and use of a hot towel are really standard prep procedures for straight and DE shaves. if you go into any barber shop for a shave both now or in the past you will have coats of soap applied and removed and hot towels applied before and maybe after shaving too. Its almost in the same category as always strop before shaving though I guess there are some who don't strop before shaving and seem to do fine.

So like everything else the moral of the story is do whatever works for you.

I will have to try this as I have always shaved after a hot shower.. Humm does this mean more men won't bath....:roflmao

Use shaving soap before, during and after shaving

Perhaps all this variablity is due to each person having a different coarse-ness of beard, and different level of sharpness to their razor?

Which is why one thing works better than another for each person.

:shrug:

Go with what works for you, and not what others tell you to do.....
BUT, keep an open mind and try it before you judge it. (That's what I alwa...I mean, someti....well, That's what I (just) say!)

I like to work on the side of lazyness, so will try this trick....hell, I might push it to the limit and not shower for a few days. The ol' mug should be nice and greasy and hairy by then! WELL, the wife may have some say in this, so I'll see how far I can push it. Nice long weekend coming up....I smell a greasy shave! :D

C utz

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....I smell a greasy shave!

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:eek:

*shudder*

- Scott

I have read two different trains of thought on this, and perhaps they actually blend togther....

The first is the vigorous face wash to ex-foliate the face and hydrate the hair folicles... shower????

The other is that applying a hot steaming towel releases the sub-cutaneous oils around the base of the hair follicle and that softens the hair itself...

I used to always shave before showering, but for the last 6-8 months have switched to a post shower shave....
Which is better??? I'm not sure there is enough difference to tell...
I always have done the same starting prep regardless of when I shave, a hot water splash, then a lather, leaving this on the beard while stropping... Then a hot towel over that lather, followed by another HWR and a re-lather to shave...
I don't know whether that first lather would be considered a face wash???