Pre-shave prep?

I'm finding that just hot water is not enough.

The conditioner that I use makes my skin red (bad reaction) so that's out the door and those king of shaves oils seem rather small (and not very effective).

What do you recommend?

Kyle's prep has great advice and gave me a lot of ideas.

What seems to work well for me is to lather up with a good cream, drop a HOT towel on my face, and wait. Then I wipe the lather off, lather up again, and start shaving. Sometimes I skip the prelathering, but I always get a better shave when I do it.

I didn't really get into the hot towel thing until I was staying at a hotel that had amazingly hot water from the tap--much hotter than in my own apartment. It felt like my face was actually sweating.

Which makes me wonder about shaving after a sauna...quick search reveals: this, this, and this.

(My cousin has a REAL Finnish wood-fired sauna that he built into his cabin--too bad I wasn't into wet shaving when I visited him five years ago...it was amazing!)

I use a bit of my shave soap (MWF) as a pre-shave. All that nice lanoli is nice and moisturizing--it feels great, in general.

And, of course, I always shave after a shower.

I use my puck of Williams that I can't stand to shave with. It works for pre-shave, though . . .

Eagle got me to putting some of the pre mixed lather on my face while I am mixing the shaving lather up. It works well I always shave after a shower, and leave my face wet. I will also a lot of times wash my face off between passes and then relather.


Fuzzy

I too was ending up with a red neck. Being a woodworker I thought things over a little. Green or moist wood carves easier and dry lumber is tougher to carve. A hot washcloth, dove unscented moisturizing soap was used to moisten and soften the whiskers prior to my shave. Heat expands. My skin pores are now somewhat raised in the razors cutting path. Cold contracts. So splashed cold water on my face keeping in mind the whiskers should still contain moisture. I finished by using warm enough water to apply shave cream and rinse the razor with. Only my neck was a very faint pink and will probably improve over time. A new brand name rotary electric I tried turned my neck hamburger pink with a few nice bumps. Modern technology? I think not. lol

I just started and i use Art of Shaving lavender pre-shave oil then I shave with AoS lavender cream it works amazingly well for me and i have sensitive skin. Also i use nivea after shave because the AoS after shave cream is to dry for me.

Some things to try:

1. The hot towel prep as prescribed by Kyle (see link above)
2. Apply some shave cream, any cream that doesn't react negatively with your skin, while getting set up. rinse off right before applying lather.
3. Apply some weak lather, as mentioned above by wchnu, while making your lather.
4. Try several of the different pre shave oils, PSO, available. They don't work for everyone, but you won't know until you try. I like the T&H PSO the best, but it is very expensive.

I find #1 is the best but takes the most time and makes an extra towel for the laundry, so I don't use it every day. #2 and #3 are about the easiest. All the shave creams that I have that don't work well for shaving are now my pre-shave creams.

Cosmic Debris said:

Kyle's prep has great advice and gave me a lot of ideas.

What seems to work well for me is to lather up with a good cream, drop a HOT towel on my face, and wait. Then I wipe the lather off, lather up again, and start shaving. Sometimes I skip the prelathering, but I always get a better shave when I do it.

I didn't really get into the hot towel thing until I was staying at a hotel that had amazingly hot water from the tap--much hotter than in my own apartment. It felt like my face was actually sweating.

Click to expand...

I can't give enough +1's on Kyle's Prep.

Take the Kyle's Preshave Prep Challenge and I'd be willing to bet your shaves improve.

What works for me is keeping an old hand lotion bottle that I filled with glycerin next to the shower. The first thing I do after showering is to towel dry my hair, then use my hand to "squeegee" off excess water from my face (it should still be wet, just not dripping) before smearing one or two pumps worth of the glycerin on the beard area. I find I can take my time choosing the day's soap/cream, razor, AS... and not worry about my face drying out too much to erase the hydration that my hot shower gave me. Depending on the soap/cream I use, I either leave the layer of glycerin on, or rinse with hot water right before the lather hits my face.

As always, YMMV. I've used Kyle's method many times, I think it works a bit better, but this way only adds about 15 seconds when compared to no preshave prep.
OK, I said it, sometimes I run late.

As many methods as there are people here. Kyle's method feels very nice and luxurious, but it has never worked for me. I never take a shower before shaving, always afterwards.

My prep is a splash of hot water and rubbing in Proraso pre/post. Works perfect every time.

Two parts castor oil (available at your local drug store for $3 per 4 oz) 1 part olive oil.