Best way to soften beard hair?

[Jinx18]

I have very tough stubble. The hardness of the stubble directly relates to the quality of my shave. Just a quick lather and go and I can feel the blade get hung up and not able to cut the hair cleanly. It pulls and hurts before cutting. Other times when the hair gets really soft I can slice right through everything amazingly. I am trying to figure out the best way to soften the hair.

So far what I have found best is some soaps/creams I feel like I can actually feel them softening and breaking down the hair to get cut really easily. Is there a certain ingredient in soaps that do this? Is there a preshave that has this ability? I have tried a shower first, warm towels and all that but it seems there is some ingredient that works better than just heat alone. Thanks

 

[tankerjohn]

Personally, I like to shower first and wash my face with a good face scrub. Of the commonly available and affordable ones, I like Nivea best. After the shower (careful not to dry my face), I face lather and then I let the lather sit on my face a minute of two while I comb my hair and pull out my razor. Straight razor guys sometimes call this "stropping time" since they'll strop their blade while the lather sits. Then I go for it. While I have my favorites and preferences, I have found that as long as I can get a good thick and slick lather, the brand of soap or cream doesn't matter that much.

 

[martym]

Get Old!!!!

 

[gwsmallwood]

Trial and error. For some, the water alone is enough. For others, it's the alkaline content of the soaps. For others, oils, lotions, or creams seem to help. There are a lot of things to try.

-Kyle's Prep
-Pre-Shave Oil
-Pre-Shave Glycerin soaps
-Pre-Shave Cream (I've used Nivea Creme with good results. I've also had good results with Noxzema, but it irritates my skin)
-Wet towel soak for 3 minutes

 

[Badgerstate36]

Take a shower just before shaving or soak a towel in as hot of water as you can stand and hold it to your face for a few minutes. Lately, Ive been experimenting with Proraso green pre-shave and the menthol smell is nice but I dont think it makes a whole lot of difference.

 

[captp]

A good face wash is important, with a good moisturizing soap. A nice slick lather is also very important. Your face should be wet when you apply lather. You can try a hair conditioner for thick with hair. Rub it in well, there should be no conditioner left visible, it should be worked well into the whiskers.

 

[StanStill]

I got this not knowing how absolutely greasy it makes your hair. Then I decided it might work well as a sort of pre-shave oil. Turns out it does, and it works really well. Tiny dab is plenty. Then apply a layer of lather over it with my hand. Be sure to really hydrate the whiskers first.

 

[NesOne]

I had just read today about coconut oil make your beard softer:

"

Shaving With Coconut Oil for Beard Maintenance

Depending which areas of the face or neck that you need to shave or trim, by applying a generous amount of coconut beard oil to the skin, you can improve your shaving experience. Use the coconut oil on the skin before you apply your shaving cream, it will soften both the skin and hairs, making it much easier to glide the razor over those areas.
If you do not have any shaving cream, the coconut beard oil works as a great substitute because it provides extra lubricity to the beard and skin. Once you have trimmed up your beard, you can again utilize the coconut oil for beard aftershave."

 

[kluber]

Don't know if it will work for you but my prep is similar to some already posted on here...

1. Shower
2. Face scrub - I usually use noxema, let it sit on face for a bit in shower. Have also used lucky tiger face scrub with good results (a bit more expensive though)
3 Preshave oil - like to use water soluble preshaves. Exec shaving makes a good one. Proraso pre shave is nice of you want a menthol kick.
4 quick warm water rinse.
5 work in lather for first pass regardless of bowl or face lather. Not scrubbing or hard but working in the lather, particularly in trouble spots on my neck.

Then, ready to shave!




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[Fishertwin]

Shower and then Noxzema (or generic equivalent).

 

[Daveho]

If the blades getting hung up...use a bigger run up.

Personally umm in the same boat but I would surgest look at your technique, make sure your first pass is 100% with the grain

 

[DavidSeattleWA]

I would highly recommend Jack Black Face Buff. It's the only facial scrub I've used for quite a long time. It works great for me, but everyone's different.

 

[6Cuda6]

I'm the same as others...shower, hot towel, pre shave oil, hot towel again, wet face, face lather....straight razor shave (you might want to try a straight ) ....

 

[Razorcan]

Hair conditioner during your shower.

 

[Extrawurst]

Using a shaving stick might also help. Rub it into the whiskers (which is also a kind of pretreatment), then lather it up.

 

[mmaggi]

Hot shower always works for me regardless of the shave soaps I use.

 

[BigJ]

I shower, then wash my face with CeraVe soap. Then I start building my lather. This seems to work well for me!

 

[Go West Young Man]

For me, the best prep is letting a good lather sit on my beard for 3 or 4 minutes.

 

[mightyeskimo]

This is a pretty common question. However I think there's a large group of guys, including myself, that still feel that your regular shower followed by Kyle's prep just isn't enough. The search continues......

 

[tpwpny]

LUSH brand makes a beard softening face wash that gets high marks. I use it as a face wash and it's great as a preshave.