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How complicated is your shave?

Turn shower on to get the water good and hot. Soak brush in bowl. Steamy shower, work a dab of shampoo into the whiskers as a preshave. Cold rinse. Dry off. Strop razor. Load brush and build lather in bowl. I use a sponge to wipe the blade so I get that wet. Apply lather to face, shave, repeat. WTG, XTG, ATG. Often I do a second XTG pass on and below the jaw line before my final ATG pass. Rinse face, rinse razor, carefully dry razor, place on shelf, open, to dry. Pat face dry. Apply witchhazel or AS splash. Clean up brush, bowl and sponge. Apply argan oil to face. Done.

Sounds complicated but it's about 30 minutes including the shower.
 
I found that my beard hair needs some pampering for an irritation free shave.

# Shower first

# Warm towel soak for a while

# Clubman Pinaud Shaving Cream as pre shave

# Loading the brush heavily and then face lathering

# I assemble my razor after face lathering to allow a minute to impart any benefits of lather ingredients and to hydrate my whiskers

# WTG pass

# Gently wash my face (not thoroughly) to get some moisture for lathering next pass

# Lathering for next pass and then XTG pass

# This time re - applying the lather without rinsing off the face and going XTG pass in another direction

# Lathering for touch up pass

# Warm (mildly) water rinsing of face and soft towel pat drying the shaved area.

# Applying Witch Hazel (generously) and that is all.

On those rare occasions when I need moisturizing after the shave I use Vicco Turmeric cream after Witch Hazel has been absorbed.
 
Depending who you would ask, (relatively) complicated shave here and I take my time to enjoy every aspect of it. Shower as prep (face scrub once a week). Bowl (proto)lather. Two passes, both a combination of XTG and ATG depending of area, rinse warm then cold, finish with a balm. That will slash 15-20min of my life every day. Followed by a nice cup of coffee, and I am ready for whatever life throws at me.
 
Soak bowl, brush, soap, razor in basin of hot water
Shower
Build lather on puck, then in bowl
Spread on lather
Pass one: chin, cheeks, edges of neck
Pass two: neck, cheeks and chin again, checking my work with my fingertips
Pass three: if needed, one more lather and pass over my neck ATG
Rinse in cold water
Slap on aftershave
Done
 
I have gone from complicated to fairly minimalist. At it's most complex:

Glycerine soap for pre shave
Pre shave oil
Alum
Witch Hazel
Rosewater if in the mood
Aftershave lotion
Aftershave balm or occasionally Prep Cream


Now it's just the AS and balm. I have bought some Proraso pre shave cream so will give that a go.
 
Anyone have an easier one?
You might want to take a look at

My simplest set-up is shaving while taking a shower. I use this method only if I have absolutely no time in the morning. My fastest and preferred method is applying shaving cream directly to my face with one hand, my DE is in my other hand. Rinse, clean hand and razor, apply aftershave.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
My shaves are both simple, and complex. They also vary wildly.

Prep:
Sometimes it's just a splash of water, sometimes a wash with bar soap. Sometimes, if I had the brush too wet when I started to load, I will paint on the frothy mess to get some excess moisture out of the brush, and leave that to soften the whiskers while I go back for more soap.

Lather:
I face lather. Sometimes I use a bowl, but not for lathering. I apply a dollop of cream to the bowl, and load the brush with it, as if I was loading from a soap. It helps get all the bristles coated, and the transformation to lather started. Lather is then finished, hydrated as necessary (the wetter the better) and laid off thin on the face.

Shave:
Number of passes varies. It might be one, is often two, and occasionally be three+

The area I shave also varies according to what beard shape I am trying out at the time. At the moment it has a kind of T shaped footprint. The sequence of directions in any given area may vary too. It's not uncommon for me to start in a completely different direction to normal, completely unplanned.

Post shave:
Most of the time I don't bother, but I do have aftershaves, balms and moisturisers, to use according to whim or need.

Overall, I take a very simplistic view of shaving. I just don't take a very routined approach. I know what I can get away with, and what my face needs from that shave, and then do whatever the heck I want within those parameters. Sometimes it might be over and done in three minutes, and other times drag on for ten.
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
Ebbs and flows.

Currently a hot shower and a thin veneer of shea butter

Has been both simpler and more complex.
 
From minimalist to maximalist, where are you? I splash hot water on my face, wet the brush, take about five seconds of swirling atop the puck, face lather, do WTG, re-lather with the same brush and load for XTG, repeat for ATG, rinse, and splash on aftershave. What is you regimen? Anyone have an easier one?
That’s my routine. I just keep it simple.
 
My routine:
Soak brush in warm water
Shower and face wash
Rinse face with cold water
Apply pre-shave soap
Load brush
Fill scuttle with warm water
Face lather
Pass 1
Pass 2
Pass 3
Rinse face with cold water
Apply witch hazel splash
Photograph SOTD
Apply aftershave

Seems that I'm definitely on the more extravagant side, no big deal. It doesn't take too long and I enjoy it.
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
I like to start with 20 minutes of shave meditation, preferably facing east and on my knees.

Then I prepare for my shower. I start with a quick jump on the scale to see how my diet has failed me for another day. Then, on this best of all days, I put warm water in the bowl of my scuttle and hot in the well, place one of my favorite boars (the SOC) in the water and hit the shower.

I start with a 15 second soaking of the beard, slowly moving my head left and right, as the shower head spray isn't wide enough to cover the whole thing.

During the rest of the shower I stick my face in the water often enough to keep it wet the whole time. At the end of the shower I wash and rinse my face and towel off everything but the face.

I take the brush out of the water and give it two reasonably firm vertical drops, as opposed to a whipping motion. 6 seconds of swirling on the MdC and to the scuttle bowl we go.

The two vertical shakes are designed to leave the perfect amount of water in the brush, but if by some twist of fate I have removed a little too much water I add a few drops.

Then I use a few paintbrush strokes and distribute the lather across my beard area. I roll my lips in, in an almost constantly pitiful attempt to keep the lather off my lips. Then I wipe the lather off my lips with a fingertip and rinse the fingertip off in the sink.

Assuming I don't need a fresh blade in the Wolfman, I roll my die to the next number and start the first WTG pass, rinsing the razor under the tap as necessary.

Assuming it's not one of the rare days when I have left too much water in the brush and created slightly too thin lather, I give my face a quick rinse with a wet hand, dry the hand and apply the now slightly warmer lather for the second pass.

XTG was formerly my dangerous pass, but I'm older and wiser and it goes swimmingly. I repeat the face rinse and apply the now even warmer lather for the ATG pass.

After pass 3 I rinse off the remaining lather with a warm washcloth. Then I quarter the washcloth (fold it in half twice) and lay it over the spread fingers of my right hand, essentially making a webbed hand. With the cold water running I lean over the sink and use the washcloth as almost a shallow spoon to bring the cold water to my face.

I pat my face dry enough and apply Thayer's WH, followed immediately by Clinique moisturizer.

Then I run warm water directly into the scuttle and swirl the brush in the bowl, which slops the water out into the sink. Since there is constantly clean water entering the scuttle it is easy to see when all the soap is out of the brush (and the scuttle gets cleaned in the first few seconds of the process). Then I hold the brush upside down and empty the well of the scuttle into the knot.

I whip the brush about 5 times inside the shower enclosure and place it back on one of the brush shelves. Then I put my fingers into the scuttle bowl and hook my thumb through the handle, thus rendering it nearly impossible to drop, and dry it before returning it to the cabinet.

Why anyone would want to know all this is beyond my imagination, but I do like to be supportive.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
My routine has kind of been extended a little over the years.(improvements IMO)
1- Set my gear out, let brush soak if using natural hair brush ---------------------------------------------------------------1 min
2- Wet the face and then dedicated brush wash whole face CeraVe hand bar cleanser followed by a warm water rinse-2 min
3-Add a dollop of clear Aloe Vera gel to the cleaned beard area for maximum hydration to whiskers-----------------------.5min
4-Lather generate my shave soap with a different brush in the lather bowl--------------------------------------------------1.5min
5-Take 2 different Photo's of my SOTD & BOTD & email it to the laptop------------------------------------------------------3-5min
6-Lather the face with a brush & shave for 2 passes and pickups, cold water rinse after each pass-------------------------7min
7-Final Warm water rinse followed by cold water rinse--------------------------------------------------------------------------.5 min
8-Witch hazel mister the face or Alum test to clean the face followed by aftershave and balm-------------------------------2min
9-Clean up and put away shave gear---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2min
-----------------------------------------------------------------------time approximately take +- 2 minute------Total time 20.5min
Typical shave

SOTD,  Sep 15th 2021.jpg
Have some great shaves!
 
I like to start with 20 minutes of shave meditation, preferably facing east and on my knees.

Then I prepare for my shower. I start with a quick jump on the scale to see how my diet has failed me for another day. Then, on this best of all days, I put warm water in the bowl of my scuttle and hot in the well, place one of my favorite boars (the SOC) in the water and hit the shower.

I start with a 15 second soaking of the beard, slowly moving my head left and right, as the shower head spray isn't wide enough to cover the whole thing.

During the rest of the shower I stick my face in the water often enough to keep it wet the whole time. At the end of the shower I wash and rinse my face and towel off everything but the face.

I take the brush out of the water and give it two reasonably firm vertical drops, as opposed to a whipping motion. 6 seconds of swirling on the MdC and to the scuttle bowl we go.

The two vertical shakes are designed to leave the perfect amount of water in the brush, but if by some twist of fate I have removed a little too much water I add a few drops.

Then I use a few paintbrush strokes and distribute the lather across my beard area. I roll my lips in, in an almost constantly pitiful attempt to keep the lather off my lips. Then I wipe the lather off my lips with a fingertip and rinse the fingertip off in the sink.

Assuming I don't need a fresh blade in the Wolfman, I roll my die to the next number and start the first WTG pass, rinsing the razor under the tap as necessary.

Assuming it's not one of the rare days when I have left too much water in the brush and created slightly too thin lather, I give my face a quick rinse with a wet hand, dry the hand and apply the now slightly warmer lather for the second pass.

XTG was formerly my dangerous pass, but I'm older and wiser and it goes swimmingly. I repeat the face rinse and apply the now even warmer lather for the ATG pass.

After pass 3 I rinse off the remaining lather with a warm washcloth. Then I quarter the washcloth (fold it in half twice) and lay it over the spread fingers of my right hand, essentially making a webbed hand. With the cold water running I lean over the sink and use the washcloth as almost a shallow spoon to bring the cold water to my face.

I pat my face dry enough and apply Thayer's WH, followed immediately by Clinique moisturizer.

Then I run warm water directly into the scuttle and swirl the brush in the bowl, which slops the water out into the sink. Since there is constantly clean water entering the scuttle it is easy to see when all the soap is out of the brush (and the scuttle gets cleaned in the first few seconds of the process). Then I hold the brush upside down and empty the well of the scuttle into the knot.

I whip the brush about 5 times inside the shower enclosure and place it back on one of the brush shelves. Then I put my fingers into the scuttle bowl and hook my thumb through the handle, thus rendering it nearly impossible to drop, and dry it before returning it to the cabinet.

Why anyone would want to know all this is beyond my imagination, but I do like to be supportive.
Funny I do the meditation thing too but I also raise my puck of soap up like its Simba from the lion king.
 
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