Legend has it (well, I heard him mention it once on The Tonight Show to an astonished Johnny Carson) that the late Paul Newman had a morning ritual that included immersing his face in a basin filled with ice water for something like thirty seconds. This was done as a sort of testosterone-fueled version of a beauty facial, keeping the skin taut and facial muscles limber.
Recalling this a few years back, I decided to try a variation of this for my shave routine. Along with the usual shaving paraphernalia, the key addition was a Water-Pik Shower Massage with a removable (hand-held) shower head. (Which, conveniently, I already possessed.)
After showering, I go through my usual shave prep. After my first pass, I reach for the Shower Massage head, bring the water to a comfortably-warm temperature and, leaning my head over the tub, face-down, bring the shower head about a foot beneath my face, firing upward. This offers a uniform rinse of my face and neck, but I rinse only to the point where my face and neck are ever-so-slightly slick.
I lather up, make a second (ATG) pass, then re-lather my neck for an XTG pass. I repeat the Shower Massage routine, but this time, I rinse my face and neck to the point that all remaining residue is gone. Then, while still rinsing, I shut the hot water completely off, and give my face a 20-to-30-second hit of cold-as-I-can-get-it water. Then I pat my face dry, apply after-shave balm, and I'm done.
This little addition has done quite a bit for both the quality of my shave, and my face in general. Faster than a typical face rinse, and far more thorough. The cold-water spray at the end not only tightens the pores (and keeps any nick-induced bleeding to a minimum), but also gives you that thanks-I-needed-that wake-up slap you might sometimes need.
- Barrett
Recalling this a few years back, I decided to try a variation of this for my shave routine. Along with the usual shaving paraphernalia, the key addition was a Water-Pik Shower Massage with a removable (hand-held) shower head. (Which, conveniently, I already possessed.)
After showering, I go through my usual shave prep. After my first pass, I reach for the Shower Massage head, bring the water to a comfortably-warm temperature and, leaning my head over the tub, face-down, bring the shower head about a foot beneath my face, firing upward. This offers a uniform rinse of my face and neck, but I rinse only to the point where my face and neck are ever-so-slightly slick.
I lather up, make a second (ATG) pass, then re-lather my neck for an XTG pass. I repeat the Shower Massage routine, but this time, I rinse my face and neck to the point that all remaining residue is gone. Then, while still rinsing, I shut the hot water completely off, and give my face a 20-to-30-second hit of cold-as-I-can-get-it water. Then I pat my face dry, apply after-shave balm, and I'm done.
This little addition has done quite a bit for both the quality of my shave, and my face in general. Faster than a typical face rinse, and far more thorough. The cold-water spray at the end not only tightens the pores (and keeps any nick-induced bleeding to a minimum), but also gives you that thanks-I-needed-that wake-up slap you might sometimes need.
- Barrett
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