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Williams 'Lectric Shave Preshave

I've found that I have a couple of areas on my face where the beard hair grows very close to my skin. Not like an ingrown, but the way it grows makes it very difficult for me to shave these little suckers. Preshave oils don't seem to really help, so I was thinking of finding something that might help get these hairs to stand up and away from my skin.

So, I read the back of this stuff and it's supposed to make your hairs stand on end, away from the skin. Just the ticket, and I figured for $4 for the generic version, I might as well try it.

So, I've found that it works ok. Not great but ok. It's basically like an aftershave, but doesn't have glycerin. It's got green tea in it or something, but it seems to dry the skin a bit at first (from the alcohol), then provides an almost greasy feel to the skin. I guess that'd be kind of a "dry" lube for an electric razor, as that's what this razor is supposed to be used with. It has a pleasant scent, and could probably be used as a pretty good aftershave.

Has anyone else thought of trying this? I'm going to keep using it for a week and see how it goes.
 
Part of what that stuff is supposed to do is to allow the electric razor to better glide over the skin, not lube the razor.

Try Proraso Pre Shaving Cream. My impression is that the menthol in it causes the whiskers to stand on end, thus providing a closer shave.
 
I have to say I'm against using this stuff entirely.

First, this stuff has TONS of alcohol in it so that it can evaporate quickly, drying the skin out for electric shaving (electric shavers generally perform best on dry skin).

When applying it, if you aren't careful, it's easy to feel like you're going to suffocate on the rapidly-evaporating alcohol. Not a pleasant experience.

Then there's the mysterious, nasty oil residue this stuff leaves behind (as a "lubricant" for electric shave heads). It's difficult to get off your face even if you wash it after your shave.

Lastly, this stuff is caustic - I've heard stories of people's electric razors being destroyed from the oils in this stuff removing adhesives and plastics so easily. The label on my bottle of Lectric Shave came right off after a few uses just from the contents of the bottle splashing back on it.

So, I'd steer clear.
 
If it works for you, go for it. I've used it in years past with an electric and thought it worked OK.

I've never thought of trying with a DE and I'm not sure how it will work with your soap/cream.
 
I was considering using it b/c it's supposed to "lift" hairs away from the skin. And since these little hairs I can't seem to get at is because they're laying so close to my face, I figured this stuff might work.

It works just ok, barely noticeable in fact. The lube or whatever it leaves on your face for an electric razor is pretty greasy if you don't wash it off. So using it as an aftershave is out of the question.

I've bit the bullet and am going to try some of that expensive castle forbes preshave. Maybe that stuff will work.
 
Yeah, it's helped a bit.

I'm trying a couple of other things, more patience, a magnified shaving mirror, and a new slim adjustable. I know I have good technique, but I also know that I tend to try to "hurry" in the morning. So I'm approaching these problem hairs w/a little more patience. That along w/a magnified mirror that really helps me hone in on these, and my new slim adjustable I'm starting to see some positive happenings.

I'm usually a 40's SS person, but I just recently got a slim adjustable. I've found that if I shave my traditional 3 passes on a mild adjustment, and then switch to a slightly more aggressive setting for these little hairs, that I get some pretty good results. That's where the patience comes in, b/c if I get in too much of a hurry on an agressive setting I end up overdoing it and get razor burn.

But so far, I'm making progress. :thumbup1: I've also got some CF preshave on its way to me.
 
I used to use it when I used an electric and one of the things that appealed so much to me about dumping the electric was not using the 'lectric shave. Nasty, nasty stuff. I'd echo cubiculum's comments, +1 on the overcome part, especially in the summer. My beard grows pretty much flat against the skin, I find latheing on the face helps the hairs stand up a little more, or at least they get lather all up and under them so they shave off much easier. It's helped my shave a lot, and it's free.
 
Back in February or March, because of the brittle New York weather, my skin was very dry. Because of this, I decided to take a break from wet shaving and try out a new electric with the idea that it might save me both time and moisturizer.

After a few shaves with my electric, I wasn't getting great results, so I decided to buy some 'Lectric Shave and give it a whirl. Dear God, it was awful.

I'm not that particular about scents. There are few scents that really bother me. I could make a lather out of horse **** and not cringe. Well, at least not from the smell. This stuff, though, is awful. I don't know how to describe it. I felt like I was rubbing one of those car air fresheners on my face. And as bad as it smells when you open the bottle and get a whiff, it smells exponentially worse when it's actually on your skin.

As someone else mentioned, the product dries out your skin, but quickly leaves a very unnatural feeling oil, which is very difficult to remove. It's not a pleasant looking or feeling oil, either. Because I was so repulsed, I ended up having to wash my face multiple times to remove it, which of course left my skin more dry than it would have been had I just shaved with my HD.

Perhaps the worst part is that it really did not make the slightest difference in my shave. In fact, I think my shave may have been worse.

I have not used it or an electric razor since.

As far as using it as a preshave for wet shaving... Uh, I haven't tried it for that purpose, but can't recommend it. I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemies. Of course, YMMV.
 
I had a bottle of an in-store knock off of lectric shave's green tea pre-shave from when I used my electric shaver (ouch!), and decided to give it a shot. I actually think it worked pretty well as an aftershave - it contains some alcohol to kill the bacteria, and it has a little bit of a moisturizing effect as well.
 
I never could stand electrics so I never really understood the pre-shave Lectric Shave product. What's it supposed to accomplish?
 
It cleans and dries out the whiskers so they stand straight. Then blades can come by and whack their heads off.
 
It cleans and dries out the whiskers so they stand straight. Then blades can come by and whack their heads off.

I don't think that sounds like a good substitute for AS at all. I'll stick w/ my others. All my others:

AV
OS
EL
Aubrey
Masters (a couple)
Pinauds (many)
Stephan (several)
Floid (a few)...
 
I wonder if it would be effective as a pre-shave treatment for wet shaving as well as electric shaving though?
 
I don't think it would since it stiffens the whiskers as opposed to softening them. It also dries the skin out so that an electric razor will not catch and pull on moist skin. When I use an electric (which is hardly at all any more), I always use Lectric Shave and shave before my shower so I can shave on as dry a face as possible, otherwise it hurts like heck.
 
I don't think it would since it stiffens the whiskers as opposed to softening them. It also dries the skin out so that an electric razor will not catch and pull on moist skin. When I use an electric (which is hardly at all any more), I always use Lectric Shave and shave before my shower so I can shave on as dry a face as possible, otherwise it hurts like heck.

It never didn't hurt me. That's why I switched to DE shaving. I don't miss it at all.
 
Found an old bottle of William's Lectric Shave in the cupboard and seeing the ads on tv where it makes the whiskers stand up for a 52% closer shave, thought I'd try it. After hot shower, I applied some and let sit on face for 30 seconds before lathering up with some Williams soap and got a great BBS, irritation free shave. As I lightly rinsed face between passes, it felt slick like Shave Secret oil drops do. Trouble spots on neck were mowed down with no problem and no irritation. Have I stumbled onto something here? Any thoughts from others here on B&B?.
 
I believe the Lectric Shave would be counter-productive for wetshaving, as the entire point of Lectric Shave is to completely rid your face of moisture (hence the high alcohol) in order to better soften your hair. A pre-shave or Shave Secret would be more appropriate, as it too will soften your hair but hydrate your skin.

An alcohol based pre-electric shave could be used every once in a while for a wet shave, but I would think that repeated use before wetshaving would end up drying out your skin pretty horribly.
 
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