Obviously water is the #1 ingredient for softening hair, but what else? Some soaps and creams seem to soften my beard better than others but I can't seem to pinpoint any one ingredient. Is it stearic acid? A particular oil? Proraso pre shave softens my beard pretty well but I find that slightly baffling because everyone says the goal is to remove oil from the shaft of the hair so that the water can penetrate it.
What softens hair?
- Thread starter Sethology
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Well, you're right, water is what softens the hair. I think the confusion comes about because most pre-shave are trying to do more than just soften the hair.
If you have ever walked in the rain, you know that your hair will resist getting soaked for a period of time, but eventually, it will get soaked and saturated with water. That is without using any products at all. It takes somewhere around two to five minutes for water to saturate the hair. Some products may be able to speed that up. But water is ultimately what is softening the hair, making it easier to cut.
Pre-shaves usually try to cleanse the skin, smooth and soften the skin, provide some extra slickness. Oil and water can mix, in the presence of an emulsifier. If you look at the formulas for products such as Proraso pre-shave, 3P, Prep, even old-style Noxzema, you will find a lot of similarities.
If you have ever walked in the rain, you know that your hair will resist getting soaked for a period of time, but eventually, it will get soaked and saturated with water. That is without using any products at all. It takes somewhere around two to five minutes for water to saturate the hair. Some products may be able to speed that up. But water is ultimately what is softening the hair, making it easier to cut.
Pre-shaves usually try to cleanse the skin, smooth and soften the skin, provide some extra slickness. Oil and water can mix, in the presence of an emulsifier. If you look at the formulas for products such as Proraso pre-shave, 3P, Prep, even old-style Noxzema, you will find a lot of similarities.
I second this
.What works well for me when time is a factor has being washing my beard with shampoo and conditioner. Gets the beard soaked faster and soft enough that there is no tugging and it only takes a minute. No need for any extra preshave products.
Better when I shower first since is part of the process.
Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
You are correct that some soaps will soften whiskers on beard better, Tabac is more a Alkaline soap on the PH scale and it shaves well when applied + it cleans and removes oils allowing the hairs to absorb more moisture for easier shaving. Skin is usually slightly acidic naturally on the PH scale of 1-14. Most soaps are Alkaline based but some are slightly more, they can give a dry feel for post shave feel but after a while everything balances out.
Hair conditioners surely do it. I put some on my facial hair as part of my shower as a pre-shave routine.
Interesting question! (Just wish I had some added insights.)
I'm new to using an SR and at first couldn't quite get as good a shave as I'd done with a disposable, but was just barely an SAS. Then, I tried using a home made pre shave oil and things got a bit better. Now, after learning that I'm not supposed to wipe my face off between passes, the stubble is about half as long as it was without the oil, and I don't think that's quite all from my technique getting better. I think that the idea is to wash and defoliate, which also hydrates your beard, and then rub the oil on which not only helps lubricate your face it keeps the moisture inside your whiskers and keeps them soft. Of course, I am a beginner at this type of shaving, so I could easily be wrong.
Old time barbers who did shaves, did warm wet towel before lathering. Most barber shops also had hot lather machines.
Warn & Hot moisture muct work if pros use it.
Warn & Hot moisture muct work if pros use it.
Yes water in the hair will soften it up, just like spaghetti or rice or beans etc.
Soap will help that by dissolving waterproofing oil coating the hair. The Proraso preshave is mainly soap and glycerin. Glycerin is a humectant, it attracts water to the face. Hair (the proteins that make up the hair) is also a humectant but glycerin works faster.
Once water has swelled up the hair, oils will keep it there (water doesn’t like to mix with and move through oil).
Skin moisturizers, aftershave balms, and hair conditioners usually contain both glycerin and oils, as well as some preshaves like Castle Forbes and Edwin Jagger and Baume.be.
The soap part is particular to Proraso. When using Proraso preshave I tend to use it for the first pass, then I add oil for the second pass. I like oils that contain some alcohol for disinfecting, like Alt-Innsbruck and ProDerma.
Soap will help that by dissolving waterproofing oil coating the hair. The Proraso preshave is mainly soap and glycerin. Glycerin is a humectant, it attracts water to the face. Hair (the proteins that make up the hair) is also a humectant but glycerin works faster.
Once water has swelled up the hair, oils will keep it there (water doesn’t like to mix with and move through oil).
Skin moisturizers, aftershave balms, and hair conditioners usually contain both glycerin and oils, as well as some preshaves like Castle Forbes and Edwin Jagger and Baume.be.
The soap part is particular to Proraso. When using Proraso preshave I tend to use it for the first pass, then I add oil for the second pass. I like oils that contain some alcohol for disinfecting, like Alt-Innsbruck and ProDerma.
I never bathe before a shave. That's a completely different ritual. My shaves are seperate experiences.
I believe preshave products to be voodoo marketing. It just wastes time and adds (to my mind) an unnecessay additional product to the face, which may actually hinder the shave, or impact the shavers skin negatively.
My preshave process is to thoroughly wash my face and hands using a gentle baby soap, and to lather and rinse my face in hottish water at least three times. Then I rinse my face again, lather the soap onto my face and let it sit. I massage the soap lather vigourously into the stubble, and move my hand upward following an ATG direction.
I then rinse off again, and leaving my face dripping wet prepare my lather for the shave. I drain the sink and refill with hot water for the actual shave.
This softens my coarse and wiry stubble excellently.
To my mind the post shave sequence, what ever you may use to accomplish that, is by far the more important and critical factor in achieving a good overall result.
I believe preshave products to be voodoo marketing. It just wastes time and adds (to my mind) an unnecessay additional product to the face, which may actually hinder the shave, or impact the shavers skin negatively.
My preshave process is to thoroughly wash my face and hands using a gentle baby soap, and to lather and rinse my face in hottish water at least three times. Then I rinse my face again, lather the soap onto my face and let it sit. I massage the soap lather vigourously into the stubble, and move my hand upward following an ATG direction.
I then rinse off again, and leaving my face dripping wet prepare my lather for the shave. I drain the sink and refill with hot water for the actual shave.
This softens my coarse and wiry stubble excellently.
To my mind the post shave sequence, what ever you may use to accomplish that, is by far the more important and critical factor in achieving a good overall result.
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I have tried a couple of preshaves and what works for me is to wash first with Cerave cleanser, then pat my face with water for a couple of minutes, then apply the bloomed water from my hard puck and finally put the lather on top
You are using the baby soap and water as a pre-shave! Is it voodoo?
You can do a similar thing with a thin layer of shaving cream, Noxzema, etc. It's not explicitly marketed as a pre-shave, but can easily serve the same purpose.
I should have clarified. The baby soap is my normal soap, so it's basically soap and water.You are using the baby soap and water as a pre-shave! Is it voodoo?
So I suppose that's just washing my face, as any civilised Gent should do before embarking on a shave
Arguably the original and best 'preshave'.
That's my theory, too. I wet my face and wait a few minutes, rewetting as necessary. Then I apply shaving oil and wait a few more minutes. Then I lather up and shave. I don't always do this, but when I do, I get an outstanding shave.
I don't believe anything softens hair for shaving. At least not in the time we are all talking with regards to shower or preshave snake oils on our face for 30 seconds before shaving.
My routine is shower and then shave, just out of habit.
I'm not as civilized a Gent as @Alum Ladd is, so I don't even wash my face in the shower sometimes before my shave. I figure my shave soap will do that when I'm shaving. Plus I'm lazy.
This works for me. I believe in less is more. No preshaves, one aftershave. If I shave without a shower, I just splash my face with hot water and lather up.
My routine is shower and then shave, just out of habit.
I'm not as civilized a Gent as @Alum Ladd is, so I don't even wash my face in the shower sometimes before my shave. I figure my shave soap will do that when I'm shaving. Plus I'm lazy.
This works for me. I believe in less is more. No preshaves, one aftershave. If I shave without a shower, I just splash my face with hot water and lather up.
OldSaw
The wife's investment
Hmmm… I thought there was some extensive work done on this in the wiki.
Anyway, one concept that everyone has skipped over is that pre-shave oils help the skin to be more pliable and flex over the blade better. If your skin is already in great shape and well moisturized you may not notice a difference with a pre-shave oil.
The old professional barber prep, often referred to as the Kyle method works by cleaning, agitating, and moisturizing. It’s also very soothing. If you have time for a hot towel it is an excellent method.
If you ordinarily have dry skin or very wiry whiskers, then pre-shave rituals are very beneficial. This is an area that affects each person differently plus there are as many preferences as there are people.
Just like other forms of variety, I like to mix up my pre-shave routine. Sometimes it’s just a shower, other times a hot towel, etc.
Anyway, one concept that everyone has skipped over is that pre-shave oils help the skin to be more pliable and flex over the blade better. If your skin is already in great shape and well moisturized you may not notice a difference with a pre-shave oil.
The old professional barber prep, often referred to as the Kyle method works by cleaning, agitating, and moisturizing. It’s also very soothing. If you have time for a hot towel it is an excellent method.
If you ordinarily have dry skin or very wiry whiskers, then pre-shave rituals are very beneficial. This is an area that affects each person differently plus there are as many preferences as there are people.
Just like other forms of variety, I like to mix up my pre-shave routine. Sometimes it’s just a shower, other times a hot towel, etc.
Who's talking about 30 seconds? I, at least, let the oil work for at least three minutes before putting any lather on my face. I have to wash the leftover oil off my hands, strop my SR and make the lather before putting it on my face and doing all those things gives my pre shave oil time to do whatever it's going to do.
I firmly believe you have to experiment. We all have different skin and different beards. What works for you may not work for me - that doesn't make it a useless ritual for the rest of the world, just for me. Find out what works for you and do that.
Actually there was research done that shows how moisture can significantly reduce the effort needed to cut hair in just 2-3 minutes. Link to the well researched thread on this below:
Water Penetration in Keratin: Revisiting the Scientific Data on Shaving
A lot has been said about the effect of pH and water temperature on shaving. The outer layer of hair, the cuticle, is usually said to be hydrophobic or water resistant. The idea is that the cuticle is made mostly of keratin. Keratin is water resistant, but becomes less so under long exposure to...
www.badgerandblade.com
Exactly. You can prove it to yourself quite easily if you soak one hand in water and then cut your nails on both hands (one soaked and one not). The soaked nails will be much, much softer and cut much more easily. Your fingernails are made of keratin, the same as hair.Actually there was research done that shows how moisture can significantly reduce the effort needed to cut hair in just 2-3 minutes. Link to the well researched thread on this below:
Water Penetration in Keratin: Revisiting the Scientific Data on Shaving
A lot has been said about the effect of pH and water temperature on shaving. The outer layer of hair, the cuticle, is usually said to be hydrophobic or water resistant. The idea is that the cuticle is made mostly of keratin. Keratin is water resistant, but becomes less so under long exposure to...
I suspect the difference in stubble softening that the OP experiences with different soaps is due to how well each soap strips skin oil from the hair, so that the water can soak into the hair more effectively. Skin oil repels water. I get my best results using glycerin or clay soaps, which are both good at stripping oils. The liquid soaps everyone uses these days are rubbish at removing skin oil and in fact they are usually formulated to leave behind oil so they are less drying to the skin - so don’t use them for your pre-shave wash.
It makes a huge difference to the quality and consistency of your shaves once you find a good way to clean off the skin oil and soak your stubble. Soaking for longer makes a difference too.
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