Over preping

[Lenny]

Is it possible to overprep the beard/face? Would a moderate facial prep, leaving some of the natural oils in the skin, be more beneficial to the subsequent shave. Did a fairly quick prep this morning and had a very good shave, any thoughts?

[guitarslinger]

You have stumbled upon the great rule that even many veterans don't follow:

Listen to your face.




IMO, doing the "pre-lather before the many hot towels thing" is a total waste of good facial oil and a bigger waste of time. Some of the worst shaves I ever gave myself were right ever my most extensive preps.

Hot water splashed onto my beard with a washrag 10-12 times after my shower = a good prep. DO NOT WASH YOUR FACE IN THE SHOWER.

[studman46]

I personally find shave prep to be of utmost importance. I always take hot shower to open pores, soften tough beard, debride face/pores of old skin cells and clogging oils with NADS body scrub, sometimes apply hair conditioner to soften beard, leave face wet while drying off. I find this rejuvenates skin, keeps it healthy, allows lather to work better and gives a more consistantly BBS shave with no ingrown hairs or red, bumpy infections, especially from resident staff germs on everyones face. A good postshave balm/lotion with jojoba and other herbal extracts replenishes oils, hydrates face. I've noticed noticeable improvement in appearance of skin over 6 months. Being a retired medical professional, I have some knowledge in this area but YMMV.

[guitarslinger]

I personally find shave prep to be of utmost importance. I always take hot shower to open pores, soften tough beard, debride face/pores of old skin cells and clogging oils with NADS body scrub, sometimes apply hair conditioner to soften beard, leave face wet while drying off. I find this rejuvenates skin, keeps it healthy, allows lather to work better and gives a more consistantly BBS shave with no ingrown hairs or red, bumpy infections, especially from resident staff germs on everyones face. A good postshave balm/lotion with jojoba and other herbal extracts replenishes oils, hydrates face. I've noticed noticeable improvement in appearance of skin over 6 months. Being a retired medical professional, I have some knowledge in this area but YMMV.

Well, I've been Wet shaving for almost 2 years. my skin has never looked better.

Even so, I've never had an ingrown hair in my life, so I can't know exactly where you're coming from.


I find a thorough post-shave yields more reward per minute than pre-shave.

me:

hot shower
Hot, wet washrag, splash face 12 times with hot, running water
lather
shave
cold rinse
alum
cold water in hand (dilutes aftershave, and keeps it cold)
after shave splash containing alcohol
cold water in hand (thins out balm, and keeps it cold)
Nivea Sensitive balm

done.

I'm pretty much on top of the world right now regarding my shaves.

prep = soften the hairs so they cut. IMO

[studman46]

Sounds like a little different means to the same end. Congrats on great results and continued happy shaving !!!

[r5cackus]

I have to agree with all whom have responded. In my experience, it is VERY possible to over prep and I, as well, have had some of my worst shaves because of over prepping. Maybe it's just me, but I rarely wash my face. I do think it's important to leave those natural oils on my face. Since I've been shaving everyday, with the exception of maybe one day off during the weekend, my face has never been healthier. Besides the hot towel treatment, I do include the same variable as Studman mentioned, hair conditioner on my beard. I'll wet my face a bit, then apply just a dab of hair conditioner, rub it all over, and usually let it sit for a few minutes while I'm brushing my teeth and build my lather. After that, the hot towel treatment, then the shave. Has worked very well for me for quite a while now.

[-PO-]

So far I have only tried one way

Hot shower
Noxzema face wash cream with Vitamin E (rub in good leave on until your ready to get out)
Proraso pre/post
Tabac Soap
CWR X2
Proraso pre/post
Clean up brush, razor and sink
Either Clubman or Clubman Bay Rum splash and I am good to go :001_smile

[Shave Cat]

IMO, the amount of prep needed to obtain a comfortable shave varies from one individual to another. My facial hair is naturally very stiff and therefore must be softened so it can be comfortably cut. I have an oily complexion, and washing my face and neck and otherwise prepping my beard prior to shaving allows my facial hair to absorb more water, thereby softening it. After prepping my beard and applying a slick lather, I find I can shave with just about any blade without "tugging". With my oily complexion, any natural oils lost to face washing are soon naturally replenished.

-Clarke

[Zach V.]

Is it possible to overprep the beard/face? Would a moderate facial prep, leaving some of the natural oils in the skin, be more beneficial to the subsequent shave. Did a fairly quick prep this morning and had a very good shave, any thoughts?

This is a completely individual matter. Different DNA, different environments, different everything. There is much variance in our species.

One guys over-prep is another guys under-prep, one guy loves towels, the other guy has no use for them, ad infinitum...

Only thing to do is try different routines until you find one that works for you.

[OldSaw]

This also changes with time. As you age and/or other changes in your life can affect your shaving. As I get older, I find my whiskers are getting harder to cut.

I suppose you could also saturate your skin and have it affect your shave, but I think this would really take a lot. As always, each individual has to find their own grove that works for them.

[Haiku]

This also changes with time. As you age and/or other changes in your life can affect your shaving. As I get older, I find my whiskers are getting harder to cut.

I suppose you could also saturate your skin and have it affect your shave, but I think this would really take a lot. As always, each individual has to find their own grove that works for them.


+1 on this advice.

My experience is that one can easily over-prep. I find that a more minimal prep works better for me than lots of hot water, towels and so on.

What I've concluded is that my skin easily becomes way too soft to be shaved if I do too much prep. My skin becomes waterlogged and the pores in effect, close up if I overprep. And this is particularly bothersome as my beard is (for the most part) tough.

And so, like others who have posted to this thread, it's completely individual, and it will change over time, and with the seasons. But for me, it's always better to cut down on the prep to avoid waterlogged skin.

My current routines are:

splash my face with warm water;
"wash" it using shave cream on a boar brush for one minute, in other words, lather on my face;
one more warm water splash, or if I've gone for BBS the day before, cut out that splash and use a moist facecloth to wipe away the lather;
relater and shave.

Or:

Splash face with warm water;
Proraso pre rubbed in for one minute;
Lather on my face for one minute using boar brush or rub in Musgo Real or Proraso using my hand;
shave.

[acoda]

I tend to get the best shaves with a simple prep but taking my tiime while doing it, I can either shower or not before hand ( I really scrub my face while in the shower). I simply fill the sink with hot water, Place soap bowl in water to warm it, continually wet cloth in hot water and hold to area to be shaved. Load face with warm lather and go from there. Takes about five minutes for prep and so far it has worked great. Need a new soap though......




I am a very simple person:biggrin: