Proraso Pre-Shave Accelerator!

[SplitHair]

If you are a fan of face prep with a Pre product like Proraso, you are going to love what I've concocted up.

Pre prep for me was always getting out of the shower and with a wet face slathering some Proraso Pre on my face to finish up softening the whiskers and to get a cool sensation in prep for the shave. This feeling is great, but what I didn't like about it was the following:

1. I had to keep the jar of Proraso handy on the counter. I prefer the slimmed lock on the counter of my razor, brush and proper soap container.
2. Grabbing a glass jar when you are coming out of the shower and with wet hands before or after you smear it was just a recipe for a dropped glass bowl shattering.
3. It takes extra time to open the Proraso jar and then close it afterwards, probably with wet hands.
4. It always was something else to clean up after the shave.

So to improve upon the classy looks of my counter I got this nice stainless soap dispenser from eBay and decided to use it with the Proraso. The Proraso is really too thick to be used in a soap dispenser, so I took the bowl of Proraso and slowly mixed in some colorless and odorless vegetable glycerin. I sometimes use this to enhance lather on soaps that can be difficult to get a creamier lather without extra work or extra product. The glycerine is really cheap to buy as well.

Now my pre-shave experience is awesome! After a shower, I don't have to mess with a glass bottle with wet hands. I just squirt a shot of Proraso into my hands and rub it on my face, rinse the hands and keep going. It is way fast. No wet bottle to clean up either. The additional glycerine also adds some extra smoothness and slickness to the shave and enhances face lathering than just the Proraso alone. The glycerine, being so cheap, also extends the life of the Proraso which is quite a bit more expensive.

Tell me what you think!

- Vicenzo

[craig87c]

Looks good! How did you mix the two?

[SplitHair]

Looks good! How did you mix the two?

Added about 1/4 teaspoon of glycerine in the Proraso container, stirred it with a small spoom, and then spooned it into the dispenser. Worked great!

[Texasreiguy]

Haha cool

[ThePatrician]

It looks really classy, and I love how the dispenser matches your stand and razor. Nice job! How does adding the glycerin affect your pre-shave/shave?

[ricardo9505]

excellent job and recommendation. thank you

[Bigsurprise]

Genius idea! Classy and smart.

[Mr B]

Awesome idea!

[Tillerman7]

If you are a fan of face prep with a Pre product like Proraso, you are going to love what I've concocted up.

Pre prep for me was always getting out of the shower and with a wet face slathering some Proraso Pre on my face to finish up softening the whiskers and to get a cool sensation in prep for the shave. This feeling is great, but what I didn't like about it was the following:

1. I had to keep the jar of Proraso handy on the counter. I prefer the slimmed lock on the counter of my razor, brush and proper soap container.
2. Grabbing a glass jar when you are coming out of the shower and with wet hands before or after you smear it was just a recipe for a dropped glass bowl shattering.
3. It takes extra time to open the Proraso jar and then close it afterwards, probably with wet hands.
4. It always was something else to clean up after the shave.

So to improve upon the classy looks of my counter I got this nice stainless soap dispenser from eBay and decided to use it with the Proraso. The Proraso is really too thick to be used in a soap dispenser, so I took the bowl of Proraso and slowly mixed in some colorless and odorless vegetable glycerin. I sometimes use this to enhance lather on soaps that can be difficult to get a creamier lather without extra work or extra product. The glycerine is really cheap to buy as well.

Now my pre-shave experience is awesome! After a shower, I don't have to mess with a glass bottle with wet hands. I just squirt a shot of Proraso into my hands and rub it on my face, rinse the hands and keep going. It is way fast. No wet bottle to clean up either. The additional glycerine also adds some extra smoothness and slickness to the shave and enhances face lathering than just the Proraso alone. The glycerine, being so cheap, also extends the life of the Proraso which is quite a bit more expensive.

Tell me what you think!

- Vicenzo

Very interesting. I shave in the shower, and that works well for me. LOVE Proraso pre-post shave!!!

[Bobtrumpet]

This might be even better with the new pre-shave formula, as its consistency is somewhat different than the old formula

Good show!

[SplitHair]

...How does adding the glycerin affect your pre-shave/shave?

The glycerin when combined with my typical tallow based soaps really smooths out face lathers. It also seems to soften the hairs a bit more than just the Proraso Pre did. It doesn't diminish lathers at all, they just get creamier with less air bubbles...or so it seems.

[SplitHair]

It looks really classy, and I love how the dispenser matches your stand and razor. Nice job! ...?

I really like the stainless look. I've recently upped to a stainless handle (Weber) for the EJ head. I've got an Ikon handle and stand for that coming to round it out nicely. Also the stainless look makes for easier cleanup. The den is starting to come together nicely. :-)

[Augustiner]

Hmmm I don't get why you can't just get out of the shower take a few minutes to dry yourself off and start shaving. Why do you need to apply the pre-shave so quickly?

Whiskers soften best the following way:

1) Dry whiskers are as hard as a copper wire. In this state they have a closed hair shaft and a layer of oil covering them that prevents water from getting in to soften them.
2) Clean them with normal soap (alkaline pH) to get off the layer of oil that is coating them and open up the hair. This makes it possible for water to enter the whisker to begin to soften it.
3) To maintain the softness requires keeping the whisker wet. Many often use lather or a pre-shave product like Proraso, which keep the whiskers hydrated by maintaining a water layer on the skin
4) If you don't keep the lather/pre-shave product on your beard and dry your face then your whiskers rapidly begin to stiffen back up (see #1). Therefore, if you don't apply the pre-shave quickly to a wet face you lose all benefits of the pre-shave prep and might as well not do any prep at all.

[sparco]

Great post, maybe I should try it out.

[SplitHair]

Whiskers soften best the following way:

1) Dry whiskers are as hard as a copper wire. In this state they have a closed hair shaft and a layer of oil covering them that prevents water from getting in to soften them.
2) Clean them with normal soap (alkaline pH) to get off the layer of oil that is coating them and open up the hair. This makes it possible for water to enter the whisker to begin to soften it.
3) To maintain the softness requires keeping the whisker wet. Many often use lather or a pre-shave product like Proraso, which keep the whiskers hydrated by maintaining a water layer on the skin
4) If you don't keep the lather/pre-shave product on your beard and dry your face then your whiskers rapidly begin to stiffen back up (see #1). Therefore, if you don't apply the pre-shave quickly to a wet face you lose all benefits of the pre-shave prep and might as well not do any prep at all.

Amen Brother. Works great for me. I am planning a new preshave product like a little KMF or Floid Sandolor. I want something kind of low cost that works well with any soap or cream. Proraso can add up a bit, but it is very nice.

[Mad Man]

I likey likey very much.

That Raso pre is a BAU product and reapplied between passes in my den and since moving to face lathering I've been missing my glycerin ritual of dripping a drop or three into my lather. This kills 2 birds with one stainless dispenser.

Bloody great idea mate!

[Omak]

Just make sure anyone using your bathroom knows its not the hand soap!

Good idea.

[SplitHair]

Just make sure anyone using your bathroom knows its not the hand soap!

Good idea.

They will definitely get a surprise if they try it! Most guests keep a distance from da' den though. Fear of exposed razor blades I assume.