Thread: First full shave with a straight

Originally Posted by Weaselsrippedmyflesh

As I said in my OP, I should have relathered my chin but didn't. I recognize that was a mistake but do thank you for the suggestion. I do have this tendency of "needing" to finish once I start and I should have seen it was dry, stopped and re-lathered then resumed.

I have recently found that the addition of a pre-shave ritual has significantly extended the amount of time my lather stays moist.

What I do is rub a small amount of shave cream into my beard , add some water, rub, add some water... At first it seems as it's working up a bit of lather but then absorbs and there's a bit of thin milky consistency left. Then I leave it on as I mix up the actual lather, which takes me a couple of minutes. Then I rinse my face and lather as normal.

I think this is somewhat like the barber routine of lathering, hot towel, cleaning and then lathering again. Aside from softening whiskers, the cream moisturizes the skin and so when I apply the actual lather my skin isn't pulling out as much moisture. I'm still kind of slow but with this method I am no longer ending with dry lather on my chin and moustache. I used to use plain water in a simlar fashion but it just didn't do the job as well.