I'm a twice to three times a week shaver, and my previous attempts at a three pass shave with the last pass going against the grain have led to a lot of irritation and ingrown hairs. As a result I only do two passes, with the growth and against the growth. Even with that I still have mild to moderate irritation depending on how many times I pass over the same area to get the stubborn hair that wouldn't come off the first time.
This is my routine:
1) Take a lukewarm shower
2) Wet the face
3) Apply Proraso green preshave
4) Face lather the shaving soap for 3-10 minutes to build a very voluminous and creamy lather
5) Do the with the growth pass. Short strokes, 1-3 passes depending on how much hair is left over after a stroke.
6) Do the against the growth pass
7) Rinse face with cold water, apply witch hazel, apply aftershave balm
Equipment/products:
Razor: Rockwell 6S and Merkur Futur. I use the Rockwell as my main razor with the recommended plates based on days of growth for pass 1. Pass 2 (against the growth) is always with R2 or R3 plate. R2 if it's been over four days since my last shave, R3 if it's been 3 days or less. For some reason the R2 cuts closer on the second pass if it's been a while but it's very ineffective if I'm shaving every other day.
Blade: Feather with the black cover sheet (don't know if it's any different than the yellow one). I use each blade at least three times and no more than around 7 times.
Soap: Mitchell's Wool Fat and Stirling Executive Man. I mainly use Mitchell's Wool Fat because of its superior slickness and spend 7-15 minutes to get a solid lather out of it depending on how stubborn it decides to be on the particular day. I reach for Executive Man when I'm pressed for time or when I just want to take it easy and whip up a perfect lather in a few minutes.
Brush: 24mm WCS Silvertip Badger and 26mm WCS Tuxedo knot. I use the tuxedo knot more than 90% of the time because I have an easier time lathering with it.
Preshave: Proraso Green. I use a relatively modest amount, a pinch for each cheek, a pinch for the neck, and a pinch for under the nose and chin area.
Witch Hazel: Thayers unscented. Three or four bottle flips into my palm, no bottle squeezes. I rub my hands together and apply to my face by rubbing with the growth around 10ish times, never across or against.
Aftershave balm: Stirling Executive Man balm. I draw a small line no bigger than a quarter of an inch on my fingertips, rub together, and apply the same way as the witch hazel.
This is my routine:
1) Take a lukewarm shower
2) Wet the face
3) Apply Proraso green preshave
4) Face lather the shaving soap for 3-10 minutes to build a very voluminous and creamy lather
5) Do the with the growth pass. Short strokes, 1-3 passes depending on how much hair is left over after a stroke.
6) Do the against the growth pass
7) Rinse face with cold water, apply witch hazel, apply aftershave balm
Equipment/products:
Razor: Rockwell 6S and Merkur Futur. I use the Rockwell as my main razor with the recommended plates based on days of growth for pass 1. Pass 2 (against the growth) is always with R2 or R3 plate. R2 if it's been over four days since my last shave, R3 if it's been 3 days or less. For some reason the R2 cuts closer on the second pass if it's been a while but it's very ineffective if I'm shaving every other day.
Blade: Feather with the black cover sheet (don't know if it's any different than the yellow one). I use each blade at least three times and no more than around 7 times.
Soap: Mitchell's Wool Fat and Stirling Executive Man. I mainly use Mitchell's Wool Fat because of its superior slickness and spend 7-15 minutes to get a solid lather out of it depending on how stubborn it decides to be on the particular day. I reach for Executive Man when I'm pressed for time or when I just want to take it easy and whip up a perfect lather in a few minutes.
Brush: 24mm WCS Silvertip Badger and 26mm WCS Tuxedo knot. I use the tuxedo knot more than 90% of the time because I have an easier time lathering with it.
Preshave: Proraso Green. I use a relatively modest amount, a pinch for each cheek, a pinch for the neck, and a pinch for under the nose and chin area.
Witch Hazel: Thayers unscented. Three or four bottle flips into my palm, no bottle squeezes. I rub my hands together and apply to my face by rubbing with the growth around 10ish times, never across or against.
Aftershave balm: Stirling Executive Man balm. I draw a small line no bigger than a quarter of an inch on my fingertips, rub together, and apply the same way as the witch hazel.