Thread: Confused

Well exactly what it says really i here about loads of creams,soaps and balms

Soaps - Shaving with
Cream- Shaving with
Balm - After shaving
After shave at the end

Well i am guessing this is a bit stupid but would hate to get them backwards could people please give me a couple for each one that you use?

PS admin please delate if this is the worst post ever

Almost.

Here's my routine

Soap/Cream - used interchageably for shaving with
Shave
Hot water rinse
Cold water rinse
Alum block (used allo over for nicks and general skin conditioning/toning - can sting)
Alcohol-based splash/witch hazel/hydrosol (or any other liquid product)
A/S balm
Moisturizer (if needed)

This is just my routine, and you should play with all of these products to see what works best for you. For example many people don't use alum unless they have a nick and some people can't stand alcohol-based A/S products - as with anything shaving related, YMMV.

Here's some of the stuff that I use:
1) Soaps for shaving -- Colleen's (a whole bunch of different scents), Crabtree&Evelyn (C&E) Nomad
2) Creams for shaving -- Truefitt and Hill 1805 and C&E Sweet Almond Oil
3) Balms for after shaving -- I don't use any, I prefer alcohol-based liquids like Old Spice, Colleen's Bay Rum and Dominica Bay Rum (in that order of preference)

When you're starting out, it's hard to go wrong with Proraso creams and soaps. They're available at Target for $7 or less, and they'll help you figure out how to make a good lather.

My routine is:
Hot water rinse
Fill latte mug with hot water, soak brush
Strop razor
More hot water rinsing (softens the beard) for about two minutes
Dump water out of mug, shake some water out of brush
Squirt about one inch of Proraso cream into mug
Swirl brush for one to two minutes to build lather
More hot water rinse
Lather
Shave
Cold water rinse (to close my pores and sooth any irritation)
Shower

The main thing that's important with prep is to make sure your beard is softened well enough. It takes about three minutes for your beard to become fully soaked through.

Good luck,
Josh

Wow! Finally a question I can actually offer an answer to.

The shaving soaps are the hard, round puck-like version of the shaving creams, which generally come in a tube. Like a lot of things you'll discover here, which you use is a matter of taste. Some soaps are better than other soaps, some creams better than other creams, but soaps aren't necessarily better than creams and vice-versa. If you're new to handling a badger brush, you might find learning to build a lather easier with the creams, but the soaps will offer a whole new world of scent options. Either of these get applied to your face before shaving to help the blade slide over the skin and keep irritation to a minimum.

Aftershave balm is a creamier version of the run-of-the-mill aftershave I'm sure you're familiar with. Again, balm or liquid is a matter of preference. The more liquidy ones (and some balms) are alcohol-based, and alcohol can dry out your skin. If you're living in a climate where it's cold and dry or have naturally dry skin, I'd advise balm during that season.

Suzuki's suggestion to use an alum block, however, is a bit misleading. Yes, it is used for nicks and general skin conditioning and toning, but "can sting" is a gross understatement. If your shave cause too much irritation, you will most definitely know it when you swipe the alum block across your neck. Other than that, it is indeed, IMHO, an asset to the shaving process.

Don't feel too dumb asking questions around here. In my modest experience, I can assure you the guys on the boards are a wealth of shaving knowledge, quite welcoming and mostly even-tempered.

That makes life a lot easier for me, last night i decided to crack open the straight and go for it, which to be totaly honest went ok, the biggest problem i had was that the mirrors in the bath room steemed up so i found myself peering through a very small part of the mirror (1st mistake) i nicked my self once partly todo with concerntration and partly becuase the lather was not thick enough. On wards and upwards all i need now is a Silver tip and Strob + paste, and balms aftershave..........