Preping with hands

[lucdj3]

Hi guys I am fairly new to wet shaving, and as a teenager I still only shave once every 2 to 3 days, so have not shaved many times. I started off using my dads electric razor, with which I needed no prep, no cream, no nothing. Growing up I decided to take my own path, and after research decided DE was a good way to go. I started with nothing but a razor and cream, and applying cream with my hands did not work well at all. After getting a brush, I really enjoy DE shaving, and get good shaves.

This summer I head to work at a camp where I will be able to bring what I want, but I would prefer to not bring anything beyond necessity as it is very outdoors and easy for nice things to get ruined. I plan on bringing only a razor and cream for shaving. The problem was my past experience with lack of lather/good shaving with hand application. For using naught but a razor and cream/soap/something like that, is there a particular type of solution to be used. By this I mean are creams or soaps or some other type of thing best for mere hand application, and preferably easy and quick to use? If not, or even if so, is there a particular way to apply, as I may have merely been applying terribly when I was using my hands prior to acquiring a brush.

Thank you ahead of time for you answers

[ackvil]

Quite honestly, I can't think of any substitute for a using a brush to apply lather. Brushless creams just don't work for me.

[lucdj3]

That was what I was afraid of, but being new and not having of even experimented with soaps yet I was hoping there may be some less preferable, but still good prep that can be done by hand. Ultimately I could bring a brush but among other things I feel like the young kids may ask about it and you don't want to disappoint but they would tear it up, and there would be no way to store the brush that would be health for it. Also I feel like it may slow me down, but that may be only because I am new, and still slow.

Also I'm sorry to hear about your mother, my regards

[mblakele]

What if you took a good brush that would be cheap to replace? I like my Omega 10066, and it only cost about $10. For soap, I would take a stick of Arko.

[lucdj3]

Thanks for the advice mblake, I may try the cheap-brush route if no good non-brush idea turns up. Also as to the Arko, I looked it up and as I suspected by "stick", Arko is a soap. I have not used these before, and am not sure exactly how one would use it. With cream, I just push a small amount onto my wet brush and start lathering on my face, for the stick do you rub your brush on the top and then lather on your face or how would this work?

[mblakele]

Yes, that is how face-lathering and sticks work. I find it easy, but some folks do not. The Omega 10066 works fine for me with creams, too, but I think sticks are very convenient for travel.

[BlackBard]

You just rub the end of the stick on your face, then create the lather with a wet brush. It works well for those who like shaving sticks.

[franstjohn]

What if you took a good brush that would be cheap to replace? I like my Omega 10066, and it only cost about $10. For soap, I would take a stick of Arko.

+1. An inexpensive VDH brush and a puck of VDH soap. Add a couple of sandwich bags to store them and you're all set. You can load you brush right in your hand and then apply and shave. When you are done, rinse the brush well and leave out to dry. Bag the soap and the brush (when dry) and store for next time. Works for me. BTW, a little KMF massaged onto a wet face with your hands can make a very acceptable lather for shaving. Have a great time!

[lucdj3]

Thanks for the help on how to use soaps mblakele and Blackbard. Franstjohn the drying part is part of the problem as from what I remember of the camp (I was in the oldest age camper group 2 years ago, didn't go last year) you do not have much free time around the time I would shower brush teeth and shave, meaning I would not really be able to dry the brush. Although it is not a untrustworthy camp, I would also rather not leave my brush out to dry in the public bathroom while I shower or something. How much would putting the brush in a sandwich bag while wet hurt it?
Also thank you very much for your suggestion with the hand applied KMF, but what is KMF? It sounds like it may be perfect for my situation.

[mblakele]

I regularly take my 10066 on multi-hour plane trips, still damp from the last shave. When I get to my destination I take it out and let it air-dry, usually overnight. I have not noticed any problems.

[haiku44]

Also thank you very much for your suggestion with the hand applied KMF, but what is KMF? It sounds like it may be perfect for my situation.

KMF is kiss my face I think. its a brushless cream. I've not used it myself to say whether it works or not.

[fraue]

Neutrogena Men Skin Clearing Shave Cream
can find this anywhere, like walmart etc, i can shave with this no prob
sometimes I use a hot towel and plain olive oil as a pre shave with it
ALL HANDS, DO IT!

[Go West Young Man]

A proper shaving cream (ie, not aerosolized or foam) works perfectly well applied by hand.

[lucdj3]

Thanks for the suggestion with the brush mblakele, I will definitely look into it if no hands method works.

Haiku thank you for clarifying KMF

fraue, I think one my friends who uses a cartridge razor has that so I will probably ask him about it or just pop by the nearby cvs to pick it up if I cannot get a normal shave cream to work with hand application, as Go West suggests.

Go West, I have tried this a couple times, several before I first got a brush, and also for my first pass last night when I shaved because of your post. I was unable to get any foaminess, it was as if I had a paste. I guess I would best describe it as like a similar texture to hummus (the stuff you put on pita bread) except less liquidy and very thin. I tried with very little water initially, and adding water helped for a little but then it "dried out" again, and adding too much water just resulted in it wiping away. Is there a certain technique to hand-application? It was so bad I had to just use my brush and did not even do a pass with the "lather" I formed if you could even call it that. The "dry out" issue might be just something with me because sometimes when I brush apply I notice that around the bottom of my chin, where I shave last for a pass, the cream is much thinner and some-what gone by the time I get there, and it feels a lot less like the razor is gliding than elsewhere. If there is a thread for help with this, or if you could help me with this, both the hand applying cream and "dry out" issue, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Straight Rasier User]

A Brush ... buy a Cheap Boar Hair Brush at the Drug or Grocery Store.

A Shaving Stick Soap is like a cream ... rub it on your wet fact and then use the brush to generate lather.

Razor ... you could by a cheap razor made of plastic on the Bay.

[mc866]

Proraso tube or the Bath and Body version CO Bigelow worked well for me for years completely brushless but YMMV

[Tuirrenn]

You can apply brushless but as you noted the brush works better.

1. Buy a cheap brush that you won't miss if it is damaged or in my experience of youth camps, gets appropriated by someone else, drill a hole in the handle and attach a hanging loop so you can hand it while washing.

I'll post a picture of the brush I use while travelling later on, I'm not at home now.

[lucdj3]

Thank you for the suggestions guys, I still have some troubles with my brush-application of cream, namely that at the end of a pass, like when i get around to under my chin, most of the cream seems to be dried out and flaky. It may be that I do not add enough water, but if have gotten to the point of over watering it and it didn't really get better. I am not sure what this cause is, so after I figure it out, I will experiment with other creams and such with hands, and if it doesnt work out buy a $10.

[mistervee123]

Hey, as an adult, I could get by shaving only 2 to 3 days per week. Never-the-less, I preserver and shave daily. I probably wouldn't need to shave all all if I hadn't joined the USCG. They made everybody shave every day whether we needed to or not.

As far as products go, I would get stuff that is easy to store: a Simpson Wee Scot brush, Speick or Arko or some other type of shaving stick, and an expensive TTO razor like a Feather or a Parker along with some Derby blades. If I had a little extra cash, I would add an after shave balm like Nivea sensitive skin. The shaving sticks are easy to apply, and the Wee Scot will whip it into a great face lather. A TTO razor is one piece, so you won't lose any pieces by accident. This stuff can all be stored in tight space, yet performs wonderfully. Oh, Kiss My Face, Proraso, Tabac and others have nice tubes of cream that work pretty well too if you prefer creams.