When you can't shower first...

[hsamuels]

I like to shower then shave. But when I bicycle to work it doesn't make sense to shower until after I get to the office. Setting up a shave den in the locker room isn't an option, so I shave before I leave the house.

What do you do for prep if you haven't just showered?

[smalltank]

lol..sweat on your way to work ..I know the feeling....sometimes I will shave BEFORE a shower..I know its odd...but a splash of pre shave oil...then straight shave or DE shave if im in a rush..

[mandoman]

just wash or rinse your face with cold or warm water

[the_edski]

Lots and lots of hot water splashed on the face and/or pre-shave oil and/or Musgo Real Glyce Lime Soap (really softens those whiskers!) Or if none of those are practical or appealing, just make sure you face lather for a decent amount of time to work on your whiskers.

[7 O Menthol]

A few cold water splashes and a quick scrub with MR GLO... get everything set up while the MR GLO works it's magic, a quick rinse and I'm ready to lather.

[heybatter]

Wash face with warm water

[Rudley]

Place a damp face cloth in the microwave for 45 seconds, and then drape over your beard for 90 seconds. Wash, and then lather up!!

Rudley

[notary]

It happens to all of us, not being able to shower before a shave. What I suggest in that situation is the following, and I am one with very sensitive skin and rosacea so if it helps me it will definitely do wonders for the average guy; Give yourself 2 - 3 hot compresses with a towel, as a barber would do and then lubricate your face with some pre-shave oil for several minutes. I love the ZIRH brand of pre-shave oil, however I have also used olive oil which worked fine save for the heavy smell. After the latter preparation you are ready for a lather and shave that feels like it would have had you showered. As an additional benefit, I would try the aforementioned after showering; will totally elevate the shaving experience to new heights. Anyways, if you can't shower try what I mentioned and let me know if it worked for you. Happy Shaving. Sam.

[BlackBard]

Wash face with warm water

This.

[Ruston]

just splash some water on my face before loading my brush.

[turbo tom]

I am in the exact same situation...I ride to work 2 or 3 times a week and shower there. I prefer to shave after showering, but that doesn't work in this case.

I have two approaches. The first is to fill the mug first thing when I get out of bed and leave the brush to soak. After letting the dogs out, feeding them, and pouring a cup of coffee (fresh brewed on a timer), I dump the mug and shake the brush while the water is running to get it hot. Next, I spend a minute or two splashing warm water on my face followed by a wash with my shower soap (Ivory right now). While making lather, I splash my whiskers with warm water to keep it wet and softened. When my lather is good to go, I spend a minute or so splashing my face with cold water while filling the sink with it. Then I shave and splash on some witch hazel. This is exactly what I did this morning.

My second approach (when in a hurry) is to use my battery-operated-whisker-reduction-device. This is exactly what I did yesterday.

[jamesspo]

Of late, I've moved to shaving first, then shower. For me, the pre-shower really just doesn't make much difference for the shave. I wet my face really well (usually with my brush), then do a couple of other tasks for maybe a minute or two. I face lather, and put the soap right on my face (shave stick), so I get a lot of brush time on my face. I really can't tell a difference from doing this, over shaving after the shower.

I like showering after, because it's the only way I can really get my face rinsed off well (without making a terrible mess at the sink).

[Go West Young Man]

I pretty much always shave then shower... a splash of water, lather up, let it sit 3 minutes, then start shaving.
You really have to be confident in your lather, but if it's good you don't really need any other prep.

[BallisticBurrito]

Hot water on the face.

I tend to get my best shaves when I don't shower first...it's weird.

[5savages]

I rarely shower before shaving. I wash my face with very warm water, then keep it wet for a few minutes while I wait for my brush to soak, then I whip up a batch of lather specifically to use as a preshave. This lather I get much wetter and slicker than normal, since I'm not going to shave with it. Once I get it where I want it, I just leave it on my face for several minutes as I putz around with other things. Then I wipe it off, rinse it off, then sometimes apply a shave oil, then lather up for the real. It's worked great for me and has other benefits, such as using up product faster, and getting more experience with what I have (I'm new to this).

[ackvil]

I rarely shower before shaving. For me the routine is wash my face with warm or cold water depending on the shave I am doing. Splash water on my face, lather up and let it sit for a minute, and shave.

[Bobtrumpet]

Here's what I do to prep every morning, as I shave before showering:

1. Wet hands.
2. Take a generous dollop of Proraso pre-shave cream (green) in my hands.
3. Rub hands together, and then rub wet cream into my beard area for about 1-2 minutes.
4. Rinse with 8-10 cupped hands of warm/cool (YMMV) water for additional hydration.
4 (alt.). Lather over pre-shave cream (don't use as much pre-shave cream at the beginning).
5. After rinsing, lather and shave.

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Hmmm...let me see...when you can't shower shower first?

Since I shave before showering (and this method served me well when I was in uniform...shave, PT and shower);

1. Wash and prep my face with Cetaphil Antibacterial Soap (by loading my Natural Bristle Brush brush with Cetaphil soap then scrub my face in a circular motion...works great for ingrown hairs).

2. Brush teeth.

2. Hot washcloth (water), on face for 1-2 minutes.

3. Face lather with VDH Deluxe Soap.

4. Shave - 1st Pass (WTG)

5. Re-lather

6. Shave - 2nd Pass (CTG)

6. Re-lather

7. Shave - 3rd Pass (ATG)

8. Touch-ups with razor if needed.

9. Rinse.

10. Shower.

11. Apply deodorant.

12. Apply Clubman Citrus Musk Cologne.

“Life is [like] a razor, you are always in hot water or a scrape”. Anonymous

[HoosierTrooper]

A few splashes of cold water and then lather up, letting the lather set on my face for a couple minutes then shave away. A nice simple procedure that works.

[Redstickjohn]

I rarely shower before shaving. I wash my face with very warm water, then keep it wet for a few minutes while I wait for my brush to soak, then I whip up a batch of lather specifically to use as a preshave. This lather I get much wetter and slicker than normal, since I'm not going to shave with it. Once I get it where I want it, I just leave it on my face for several minutes as I putz around with other things. Then I wipe it off, rinse it off, then sometimes apply a shave oil, then lather up for the real. It's worked great for me and has other benefits, such as using up product faster, and getting more experience with what I have (I'm new to this).

+1
I always shave before I shower. I just like rinsing off all the soap I got all over me before I get dressed. A lot of all of this prep stuff that you are reading perhaps doesn't happen every shave, but all of the processes are good. I find that my morning shave....before my shower...depends on a lot of things: How much time I have. How close a shave I really need for the day. How lazy I feel that particular morning. Sometimes I do the whole ball of wax...wash, rinse, prewash, rinse, scrub, rinse, hot water, pre-shave oil, etc, etc, etc. Some mornings I just whip up some lather on my face and shave. Sometimes two passes, sometimes three, sometimes more.