A few weeks ago Grooming Dept re-stocked its pre-shave so i jumped on a tub of unscented. I was not a believer of pre-shave products and preferred to shower before a shave or sometimes wash my face with CeraVe cleanser- then get on with my shave as usual- I'm using high quality artisan soaps like Grooming Dept and B&M for the most part- these are super fatted with added oils/butters so my results are usually stellar in part because of the product used. Other soaps in my den that i enjoy using due to the scents- namely SV and MdC- these are not as easy to reach for with stacks of elite performing soaps in front of me. This pre-shave product changes all of that.
The product is unscented, though it has a slight almond-y scent that i don't notice once i apply it to my face. I'll pat one hand into the sink full of water i use to rinse my razor and keep massaging it into my beard until it becomes slick (just before bubbles begin to form). I may keep dipping my hand into water a few times and massage it in for a minute or two. Then i'll load my brush and proceed with my shave as normal. The lather quality is considerably better/creamier, and the feeling is more like the super fatted soaps- but that's not the best of it. Where it shines is residual slickness and post shave- the key features missing from some soaps. After the first pass I can detect the residual slickness so i don't rinse my face- just pat some more water on the skin and proceed with the second pass. Rinse it all off with ice cold water when done and i'm left with post shave conditioned skin. Without this pre-shave product, my skin would feel like rubbing water over a balloon.
I've used the pre-shave even with GD and B&M soaps and its hard to detect any differences because they already have excellent lather qualities- so, YMMV. Other soaps that can stand to use a little help in performance i believe the difference is considerable. A soap like MdC, for instance, you might use because of its bare bones ingredients list and highly intoxicating scents; and so adding this pre-shave product to their shave regiment sort of negates the reason to use that soap- something everyone needs to consider for themselves.
This is a pretty amazing pre-shave product and i'll use it regardless of the soap i plan to shave with- if anything, it benefits MdC and SV since i'll be burning through those soaps faster than i thought.
The product is unscented, though it has a slight almond-y scent that i don't notice once i apply it to my face. I'll pat one hand into the sink full of water i use to rinse my razor and keep massaging it into my beard until it becomes slick (just before bubbles begin to form). I may keep dipping my hand into water a few times and massage it in for a minute or two. Then i'll load my brush and proceed with my shave as normal. The lather quality is considerably better/creamier, and the feeling is more like the super fatted soaps- but that's not the best of it. Where it shines is residual slickness and post shave- the key features missing from some soaps. After the first pass I can detect the residual slickness so i don't rinse my face- just pat some more water on the skin and proceed with the second pass. Rinse it all off with ice cold water when done and i'm left with post shave conditioned skin. Without this pre-shave product, my skin would feel like rubbing water over a balloon.
I've used the pre-shave even with GD and B&M soaps and its hard to detect any differences because they already have excellent lather qualities- so, YMMV. Other soaps that can stand to use a little help in performance i believe the difference is considerable. A soap like MdC, for instance, you might use because of its bare bones ingredients list and highly intoxicating scents; and so adding this pre-shave product to their shave regiment sort of negates the reason to use that soap- something everyone needs to consider for themselves.
This is a pretty amazing pre-shave product and i'll use it regardless of the soap i plan to shave with- if anything, it benefits MdC and SV since i'll be burning through those soaps faster than i thought.