I had the worst DE shave to date yesterday...

I coach High School wrestling and typically go home and shower after practice and shave. I always shower before i shave.

So anyway one of the alums was at practice and i'm pretty close with this kid and his grandmother just passed away. He asked me if we could go out and talk over some food. I would never tell him no for any reason.

We go out and i drop him back at the school and head home.

I get home and decide since i already showered i'd try shaving without showering again. I cover my face with a hot towel for a few minutes and then rub on some proraso pre shave cream.

I lather up with some proraso shave cream and hit my face with my 34C.

What a mistake. i ended up only making one pass because while it hurt shaving (reminded me of when i used to cartridge shave) the feather ripped my face and neck apart.

Never again. If i dont' get a shower on a shave night (every other night)....it'll push to the next day.

lesson learned.

For me, the key to a "no shower before" shave is to let the lather sit on my face for 3 or 4 minutes to really soak in and soften the hairs. Putting a hot towel over the lather (ie, a modified Kyles Prep) helps a lot too.

No shower shaves generally require a trip to the blood bank for a transfusion. I won't even try it and SWMBO just doesn't understand. "Why do you have to take a shower before you shave? You showered this morning and you're not dirty." I can't even get a barber shave. Too painful.

I certainly have far better results if I shower before shaving. It's actually been a long time since I shaved without a shower first.

I've never showered before shaving. My shaves have all been fine, but I don't smell all that good.

Go West Young Man said:

For me, the key to a "no shower before" shave is to let the lather sit on my face for 3 or 4 minutes to really soak in and soften the hairs....

Click to expand...

+1
If I have not showered beforehand I try to make the lather a little wetter than normal and let it set on my face a little longer, whether shaving with a DE or straight. Also I slow down on the first pass and by the second pass things seem normal, meaning my beard seems softer by the second pass and I can shave at normal speed.

I generally have a shower first, if I'm unable to I give my face a good wash and a make sure it has had time to get nice and hydrated before a shave.