Face/beard softening instead of a shower.

[Hex]

My best shaves come immediately after I shower.

However, if I want to shave without a shower, what I have been doing is a face scrub, hot towels, face soap, hot towels, etc., in an effort to simulate the effects of a shower on my face.

But, somehow, it's not the same.

So, my question is, are there others that have found a face/beard softening routine that works as well as a shower ?

thanks

 

[miamimoe]

No, I have not. I have tried Kyle's prep. without a shower, and while helpful, not as good as a shower prior to a shave.

 

[Squash]

I think washing your face with soap prior to the shave is the single best thing you can do.

The reason a shower works so well is the extra time the water has to soften the beard. This is why I always wash my face first thing in the shower - with the oil removed from my face, the water penetrates the wiskers better.

 

[peacefrog33756]

Nothing comes close to showering prior to shaving.

 

[ackvil]

Shaving right after a shower does not work for me. Here is what I do, instead.

First, I wash my face with a glycerin soap. Next I put a hot towel on my face for 30 seconds. I then rub Proraso pre/post shave into my beard. I then prepare my uberlather. With any soap left over on the surface of the soap disk, I rub that into my beard. Next comes hot towels for 2 minutes, some hot water on my face, lather up and shave.

By the time I dry myself after a shower, etc. the benefits of the shower are lost. Accordingly, I have adopted the above routine which works for me.

 

[RazorPete]

wash your face with hot water and mild soap for a couple minutes, then shave

 

[SiBurning]

It's not the same, but using a very wet lather and leaving it on for 2-3 minutes helps. I also tend to use different soaps. A glycerin or glycerin-heavy soap also helps because they tend to be friendlier with water, although some of my tallow soaps also work okay. The shave is also different because the lather lacks protection. I never go for a real BBS, but go for a SAS. And I go very light, and avoid some of the more aggressive techniques. These days, it's one pass with an injector, a second pass with a Tech, and only minimal, required touchup. I get a better shave if the second pass is with a slant, but my heavy slant wants a little more protection (better, thicker lather with a heavier soap) because it cuts too close, and then I get carried away trying to get a better shave. My next experiments will be about switching to a heavier lather for the second and subsequent passes. BTW, the reason I use two different razors (with different blades) is because there's less irritation that way. Different blades have a different feel: some duller blades scrape, other sharper blades feel more like they're slicing. The result is less irritation of a particular kind, and less overall irritating feeling. I find a less sharp blade (or injector) followed by a very sharp blade does it right for me for a two pass + touchup shave.

Point is, it's a different situation that requires adaptation, including changes in hardware, software, and technique.

 

[LarryAndro]

By accident, I discovered that whiskers are easier to shave when hot. While I already knew that, I didn't realize how true it was!

If I prep perfectly, lather up and shave while my whiskers are hot, the whiskers are cut significantly more easily than if I try to shave the same spot even several minutes later. Because of this, I give much greater importance to hot lather than I used to. In a related way, I give relatively less importance to beard preparation. Prep is important, but isn't the all in all to me it used to be.

I prep, lather and shave my easy areas first. The cheeks. Then, before shaving any other area I reapply hot lather. During the shave, I take 20 seconds to relather my face several times even if I'm not ready to shave that area. With my periodic relathering with hot lather, I believe I am doing as well as I did before when I showered before shaving.

 

[jpkunst]

A "Kyle's prep" with Proraso pre/post under the hot towel seems to work well for me.

 

[Speedwell68]

I just get a sink full of water, as hot as I can comfortably handle. I then rinse my face with that many times over. Next I use 'Wright's Coal Tar Antiseptic Soap', which is a tallow based soap BTW, and work up a good lather on my face. I then leave that lather on my face while I make a shaving lather in my bowl. Once I have a decent lather for shaving made I repeatedly rinse my face in the hot water again. This seems to work really well for me.

 

[poppi]

A hot towel to the face for about 2 minutes followed by a face wash with a glycerin soap. I then lather up and let the lather set on my face for about 30-45 seconds. Then shave. Works for me, might work for you

 

[Aberneth]

My best shaves come immediately after I shower.

However, if I want to shave without a shower, what I have been doing is a face scrub, hot towels, face soap, hot towels, etc., in an effort to simulate the effects of a shower on my face.

But, somehow, it's not the same.

So, my question is, are there others that have found a face/beard softening routine that works as well as a shower ?

thanks

I've been experimenting with steam lately. I fill up a tea kettle, drop a few jasmine pearls in, and load it up with lots of sugar (to keep the boiling temperature down). The jasmine pearls are just to make it smell pretty. My routine has come down to this:

My face is divided in to three zones. Left, right, and neck/chin. I coat my face with preshave oil, then steam the left and right sides for 2 minutes each. Then I get my neck/chin in the steam (which allows for the entire shaving area to be immersed in steam) and let that steam for 2 or 3 minutes. Then I head off to make my lather. After I've made a good lather, I go back to the steaming and repeat the process, but using only 1 minute per zone. I've gotten some of the best, most comfortable shaves with this prep.

 

[Uncle Erik]

If I'm not showering first, I usually lather up and leave it on a few minutes before I shave. This is a good time to brush teeth, etc., and then re-lather before shaving. It's not as good as a shower, but it seems to work well enough. I find a little bit of shaving oil to help, as well.

 

[huntmol]

Proraso Pre/Post! Love that stuff, great pre shave. I use it every time and I shower after my shave.

 

[mohowski]

I've tried Proraso Pre-Shave Cream along with Kyle's Prep, and it definitely helps compared to just lathering up and getting to it. A hot shower works even better though. I've actually been using the Proraso Pre-Shave before and after the shower and it seems to help a little bit.

 

[StillShaving]

One thing that comes close to a shower is exercise. Go running, play basketball, etc, to break a good sweat.....but then again when I do those things I also take a quick shower so maybe the effect is redundant. But I think the key is getting your beard wet for a couple of minutes+ before shaving. Exercising/sweating beforehand will soften it sooner.

 

[Chacho]

A "Kyle's prep" with Proraso pre/post under the hot towel seems to work well for me.

Me too.

 

[DE Shaver]

I'm a regular user of the Proraso Pre-Post Shaving cream. I put it on after I wet my face with hot (but not too hot) water.

 

[Baartel Van StratenShaven]

Fill shave mug or bowl with hot water, immerse brush, and allow two minutes for brush to bloom. Make a good brush lather and let bowl or mug sit and heat in the hot water in your sink (only enough water in the sink to stop the water from entering mug or bowl). Soak steam towel with hot water, wring, and apply to face and neck for two minutes then resoak towel. Apply lather to face with the brush using a circular motion and choke on handle, leave lather on for two minutes. Remove lather with hot towel, relather and shave.
This is what I use and is the best I can make out of several Barbering techniques from Italian, English and American texts on the subject from the 18th to 20th century. The crux seems to be continuous heat.
Recreating these techniques is alot of the allure in Straight and Double Edge shaving to me as a form of recreating historical techniques much like the Society for Creative Anachronism does with jousting.
Anyway, I digress, this technique works great though does take a little longer than many people have.

 

[kg4ghn]

I may try a few of these things, but I too have yet to find anything that works as well as a shower. Proraso pre/post does nothing for me.