Thread: Washing your face before shaving?

Do you clean you face prior to shaving?

Interesting.. I don't think my skin could take all that cleaning heh, especially a scrub before the actual shave.

I usually use a bar of cetaphil soap before I shave to make sure that my face is clean and ready for battle.

I do shower before I shave, but I don't wash the parts of my face that I'm going to shave. I figure whatever oils are on my face will act like a pre-shave oil. Also, since shaving cream (not to mention shaving soap) is essentially soap, I figure there is no need to wash twice in a row.

IIRC, there was some write up on B&B regarding prep and how whiskers are affected by certain prep procedures (e.g. washing your face with soap prior to shaving). The way I understood the premise, the hair shaft has an outer layer of scale like armor. Natural oils act as a barrier keeping the armor intact. Washing with soap, removing the oil allows for water to better penetrate the scales opening them up and allowing for water to soften the whiskers better.

I have found this to be true. If I don't wash my face while in the shower, my whiskers are noticeably rougher. If on the other hand I soap my face and rub it briskly in the first stage of my shower and then blast warm water on my face for a minute or two at the end of my shower, my whiskers are softened.

Of course, having ultra hard water and living in Minnesota where the indoor air is dry and cold for six months of the year, the SECOND I step out of the shower, even keeping my face wet, my whiskers start to harden again, long before I get lathered and ready to shave. Still, for me soaping the whiskers first helps a bunch.

Chris L

I shower before I shave, but like the "pirate" above, I don't wash my face with soap in the shower because it ends up too dry for the shave, and waaaaayyyyyyy too dry after the shave.

I shower before shave, and wash mah face like I wash the rest of my bald head. I have tried not washing (just rinsing), using preshave oil (or not) and don't notice that much of a difference either way.

Conditioner does make a difference, but I am way too lazy to go that extra step.

I do wash my face before shaving. It's just the routine that I have become accustomed to. For me it just doesn't feel right shaving without it. I strictly use CAR's soft shaving rounds for this. I don't like to hit my face with lather on a dry face.

About to go to PT and will shower on base. Therefore I have yet to shower this morn. I did however, heat a washcloth up with piping hot water and let it rest on my face for a minute or so. Did it 3 times then fired up the Boar bristle brush and the Frederick Reynolds and got a nice shave this morn Gents!

I like to shower after shave, so before shaving I moist my face and rub my beard with a very small amount of shaving cream to clean it from oils and to allow water to penetrate and soften the whiskers. After that I make the shaving foam in a mug. But if you make the lather directly on your face my impresion is that pre cleaning is not necesary...

Yes I wash my face, neck, beard (and all the rest of my body) in the shower before shaving. If I didnt, whatever layer of stuff my skin has been getting rid of over night will get on my new, beautiful, expensive brush. Also, it wouldnt feel right not to wash every part of my body in the shower.

Interesting comment about oil preventing water to reach the beard hair. Makes sense as oil is not water-soluble. I wonder what this means in terms of pre-shave oil efficiency.