Thread: The most efficient shave?

I'm currently aiming to make my shaving as efficient (and comfortable) as possible.

What I mean by this is efficiency in:

• time
• use of water
• use of soap / cream
• use of bathroom space / stuff

This doesn't mean I'm aiming for a quick nasty shave,
rather a clean, uncluttered and comfortable shave - simplicity perhaps.

If interested in my routine - read on, otherwise skip to the end!

My current routine:

• -warm water in cup (so it won't get heat shock with boiling water)
• boil kettle (and make my lunch for work while it boils)
• boiled water in my cup - stick in brush
• boiled water in bowl (cup goes in)
• have shower
• dry off and apply hot cloth to face (boiled water)
• lather on face (shave stick)
• strop
• hot cloth
• re-lather and shave

I do 2 passes (Wtg-Xtg, Atg-Xtg) with touch ups
I wipe blade on wet cloth and rinse with boiled water as needed.
Brush stays passably warm for 2nd pass or I can add more water.

I use way less water than I used to - maybe 5 -6 cups.

I'm looking at simplifying it more.

Anyone else go for an efficient shave?

All the best,
Michael

Well that sounds pretty good. The only thing I can think of is instead of placing the towel in boiling water, I would just run it under hot water until the towel feels hot enough. Other than that, I don't think you need to change anything.

This is simpler for me, but it is a personally developed routine:

Face lather from a soap in a mug while showering.
Step out of the shower
Wrap a towel around my nether regions
Strop
Shave
Dry the razor, use my aftershave and be done with it

Lathering directly on my face in the shower seems to work really well for me, especially when I've scrubbed and conditioned my beard under the hot water first. The lather seems to help seal the steam into my whiskers too

Here is my minimalistic routine:

No shower.
Open hot tap (you could pour hot water out of a kettle) and wet brush with hot water. Close tap.
Swirl brush on top of soap (that sits tight in its container) till bubbles appear.
Immediately start building lather on the face.
Strop the razor with lather still on face.
[mark]Hold bruch upside down and push a pocket in it with index finger. Fill pocket with a bit of hot water from tap (or from kettle).Swirl three circles over soap.
Rework the lather on the face.
Shave first pass.
Repeat from [mark] and perform second pass.
Cold rinse.
Alum block.
Clean brush and dry razor with small piece of toilet paper.
Aftershave? What's that??? Never heard of.
Rinse off dried Alum with water.
Done.

Takes 6 or 7 minutes. Uses a minimal amount of water. No more soap than strictly needed. 1 alum block every 2 years. 1 roll of toilet paper a year.

I really do it that way. But not always. I have elaborate schemes too...

Best regards,
Bart.

Hot water in sink from tap.
Moisten brush, apply cream on brush and lather face. Lathering takes me couple of minutes. Then shave. I shave only against the grain, except chin and upper lip that get WTG and ATG pass. I go over one area couple of times till the skin is really smooth and then move to the next area etc. As the areas tend to overlap I reapply lather on the overlapping area. To save time I wipe the lather off the razor with the brush and use it again. When finished I first dry my razor: takes me a minute at least, then apply A/S balm on my BBS face.

The above ritual takes me 15 minutes.

@ Bart: does your 6-7 minute routine get you BBS?? Or does that require one of your more elaborate rituals?

I like to take my time. Shower while my scuttle,lather bowl and brush are soaking in hot tap water in the sink.

Out of the shower dried off I dump the water, shake out the brush and refill the scuttle with fresh hot tap water. Dump the hot water that was on the soap puck and wet the brush and lather on the puck.

Transfer to the bowl with the loaded brush and build a copious lather adding a trickle of hot water if necessary.

One WTG pass and one combining XTG and ATG depending on the area. That is pretty simple and works well for me.

If I omit the shower I will still preheat the scuttle, brush and lather bowl while I wash my face vigorously and rinse and wash again. Same procedure as above follows.

Originally Posted by Kees

@ Bart: does your 6-7 minute routine get you BBS?? Or does that require one of your more elaborate rituals?

No, it looks perfect, but to the touch, it leaves a few slightly rough spots. They need some weird shaving angles that I usually perform during a final third pass.
But when I'm limited in time, I skip that part of the shave.
My wife does not notice the difference, but I do.

Bart.

Boiled water vs hot tap water

For me, if I use the tap, I find I use more water waiting for it to get hot. I get more water in the sink, most of it luke warm.

Using the kettle is less wasteful for me - I boil the kettle before my shower and while I wait I do something useful like prepare my lunch or wash some dishes.

Of course, if I just went for cold water shaving I'd save more water (but probably not have as pleasant a shave!)


Thanks for sharing your routines and thoughts - lots of different ways of approaching a shave!

My routine seems pretty elaborate compared to some of others. I start by turning the shower on to get hot water in the shower. I use my brush to apply hot tap water onto my whiskers and then lather using a few drops of glycerin, shower saving washing my hair and face 'till last. When I get out of the shower I blot excess water that would run down onto my chest but do not dry my whiskers. I apply another supply of lather while I apply hair products, apply deoderant, use a Q-tip to remove water from my ears, and strop my razor. I re-wet the lather or rinse my face in hot tap water and reapply fresh lather. I then make a WTG pass using an XTG in areas where it is necessary to be close. Finally, I re-lather and make an ATG pass and reach BBS. I have tried many other routines and find this one the most efficient so far.

All of this takes about 20 minutes from the time I get out of the shower.

For me, an efficient shave (7mins yesterday) is run the hot water, get an adequate amount of water in the sink whilst stropping. Get the brush warmed up/damp. rinse my face, shave stick, face lather. 1 WTG pass, rince face, 1 ATG pass, rince face. Alum block, shave balm.

I don't feel particularly rushed doing that, to be honest. I bought a shave stick to go on holiday with, brilliant things I think.