A little prep trick id like to share.

Hi all.
Just thought id share a little trick I discovered the other day. Im not sure if its been mentioned before, but I havent come across it anywhere.
First, a little background.........my usual prep is to shower and wash my face with a facial cleanser, keep my face wet while drying, dressing, styling etc, then load up with an artisan soap, face lather for around 2-3 minutes, let the lather sit for another minute, and then shave using tepid water
I thought that prep was pretty good without getting into the whole pre-lather, hot towel, rinse, re-lather thing which I couldnt be bothered doing.
Ive been trying a number of blades for a while and felt that sometimes even a Feather didnt feel sharp enough, some blades that others claimed as really sharp didnt feel that sharp to me, and sometimes the same brand of blade felt sharp sometimes and not others, which I would chalk up as a dud blade and then move on to the next brand.
So this got me thinking that perhaps my prep wasnt up to standard, especially as I dont shave with hot water which is supposed to soften the stubble better.
I considered pre-shave oils but didnt like the possibility of the oil gunking up my brush, and the hot towel thing seemed too time consuming.
I did however like the idea of a pre-lather sitting on my face while I dressed/styled etc, so I came up with an alternative idea.
Rather than whipping up a pre-lather, I got a dab of Proraso red cream and massaged it into my wet face with my fingertips for just a few seconds and then proceeded to dry myself off, style my hair, moisturise etc, then I washed off the shave cream, loaded up my brush, face lathered, then shaved.
This technique really seemed to soften the stubble and made shaving much smoother and easier.
The blade cuts cleaner, theres less rasping from the razor, and the blade seems to hold its edge for longer.
The best thing is that this method only takes half a minute extra and really does the trick.
Try it if you havent already.......

-Michael.

Nice trick, and quite obvious actually. Thanks for sharing.

I might try this tomorrow. There's a small variation I think of - instead of washing off the cream, take a little more and face lather on it.

Thanks Guru, and yes it is quite obvious when you think about it.
The reason why I wash off the cream is to get the maximum amount of moisture into the beard and because I think my artisan soaps out perform the Proraso.

I have been using a similar trick, except that I use a pre-shave cream made by Proraso, and I apply it during my shower, close to the beginning, and rinse it at the end. It has peppermint oil in it, which I find helps the hair to stand up straight. I'm going to try your method before work this evening and see how it compares. I'll be using C. O. Bigelow, which is also made by Proraso and also has peppermint oil. I love trying new tricks! Thanks for the tip!

Nice tip. Thanks.

Nice idea. I've been using the Shea Moisture Shave Butter shave cream as my preshave. The reason being, is that i couldn't get it to lather and not wanting to waste it I started using it as a Preshave. It does a great job of softening my beard and face. I apply it with my fingers and let it sit while I work up my lather. Once the lather is done, I apply my lather right over it. It really has reduced my irritation and my face has never felt better.

My routine is similar to yours except that I shave right out of the shower while my face is still wet. Then do everything else. If it has been less than 24 hours between shaves I will use Proraso pre- shave after washing my face in the shower. If 24 hours or longer I don't use a pre-shave.

Excellent idea. I'm excited to get to use Proraso and my favorite tallow soap on the same day. I do something similar in days I shave before showering by lathering first with some Mama Bear's, rinsing, homemade shave oil and then my soap of choice.

Thanks guys.
Obviously you could use any shave cream for this, it just happens that the only cream I have is Proraso red.
I have tried the Proraso pre-shave but the eucalyptus/menthol irritated my face.
This is also a good way of using up any creams that dont see much action.

Enquerencia said:

I have been using a similar trick, except that I use a pre-shave cream made by Proraso, and I apply it during my shower, close to the beginning, and rinse it at the end...

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+1

I recently tried shaving oil for the first time and noticed a huge improvement. Your method sounds interesting. I noticed you said you moisturize BEFORE shaving; is that common? I always moisturize afterwards.

I meant moisturize my forehead, nose etc, not anywhere im shaving lol.

I use Cremo as apre-shave cream prior to lather and it seems to help deliver a closer shave.

kiwimike said:

Thanks Guru, and yes it is quite obvious when you think about it.
The reason why I wash off the cream is to get the maximum amount of moisture into the beard and because I think my artisan soaps out perform the Proraso.

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But just imagine how great it would be if you use the artisan soap as a preshave. PIF the Proraso.

True.........but the whole idea of using a cream is that its fast to apply and doesnt need whipping up. Perhaps an artisan cream then?? ;-)

I tried pretty much the same thing (also used proraso red cream) and while it worked pretty well as a whisker softener, I also got a bit of irritation.
FWIW, I tried other creams with the same result. My skin is kind of a PIA but thought my experience was worth sharing; particularly for those with similar skin condition.

I never whip my soap. Only whip cream.

kiwimike said:

True.........but the whole idea of using a cream is that its fast to apply and doesnt need whipping up. Perhaps an artisan cream then?? ;-)

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Why not superlather the soap over the cream?

I'm totally going to try this, thanks! in the same vein, I have used conditioner on my beard with similar effect, just don't let it sit on quite so long

As a "cream in a tube" lover, this should be simple. I will try tomorrow morning!