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How Do You Wash Your Face for Shaving Prep?

How do you men wash your faces in preparation for shaving? Do you use a wash cloth or your bare hands?

When I was a young man I used my hands. Then for many years I used a wash cloth. And now I'm using my hands again Using one's hands seem faster and somehow more efficient.

Specifically, fill basin with warm water. Splash water generously over face (and forehead). Lather bar soap in my hands and apply it to face and forehead. Hand rinse. Repeat process, and then lather and shave.
 
I know a lot of guys still use a glycerin soap to wash their stubble and use as a pre-shave. Others hair conditioner. I like PAA cubes.. something about that activated charcoal as works great.
 
Other than shaving soap, I haven't washed my face with anything other than water for years. Recenty that's become strictly cold water. I do no prep before shaving, just a splash of water. With the right blade and good technique I never get tugging or irritation but I know prep works well for many.
 
I usually use either the PAA Cube or Ice Cube with lukewarm water. Rinse off, put more soap on the whiskers with a brush, leave the soap on for a couple minutes, then lather my shave soap over it and start shaving.
 
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Towel hot water
Add pre shave soap
Zzzzz 10min under hot towel
Lather and shave

alternative scrub with sisal spongue and pre shave soap
Zzzzzz 10min under hot towel
Lather and shave

alternative hot shower maybe a scrubb with pre shave soap
Dry my body not face
Lather and shave
 
just with some warm water. But when it comes to straight razor/shavette shaves, I prefer a shower before the shave.
 

Messygoon

Abandoned By Gypsies.
Hot shower immediately followed by a warm splash, Proraso green preshave, and Arko (this month). If showered the previous night, its 1 minute with a hot wet towel. Focus is on adding moisture to whiskers and skin, rather than soaping my face.
 
I rub some Neutrogena Liquid Face soap on wet hands and gently massage it onto my face, neck, and head. I then take a wash cloth and remove the soap. I then wet face with wet hands and then put lather onto my face.
 
Warm water in cold weather, cool (well, tepid) in hot weather; splash on, rub hands on bar soap, scrub face and throat, rinse off but leave face and throat wet. If I'm about to shower right after the shave, I don't bother washing the forehead and upper face, just the cheeks and throat. Now and then I'll use a bit of the shave soap I'm about to employ, Tabac, La Toja, Arko, et al. Usually, though, it's Irish Spring or other bar soap (Dial, right now).
 
Washcloth on the face can be very abrasive. Hands are much better. I really like the Ach Brito pre-shave Glyce soap, it seems to get my face clean without stripping away all the good stuff. Plus the glide afterwards is great.
 
Washcloth soaked in the hottest water my hands can handle. I wash my face 3x like that and then lather up.

If I shower first, I just wet my face and lather up.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
If I shower before shaving then I use a Japanese Salux washcloth with some bar soap or Tabac shower gel to wash my face. If I do not shower before shaving then I often load the brush and face lather straight onto my dry face. I have tried all sorts of pre shave rituals and products and none of them have made any appreciable difference or become a fixed part of my routine.
 
I just rinse thoroughly with plain, cold water. I use mainly my hands to hydrate the stubble and sometimes I might apply water with my pre-soaked brush. Washcloths lead to irritation and pre-shave products or showering before shaving don't help either.
 
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Ravenonrock

I shaved the pig
I just rinse thoroughly with plain, cold water. I use mainly my hands to hydrate the stubble and sometimes I might apply water with my pre-soaked brush. Washcloths lead to irritation and pre-shave products or showering before shaving don't help either.
+1 I prefer warm water, splashed by hand and right to face lather. No pre or shower. I do like to give my face a good scrub with my hands and water.
 
With a sponge (or wash cloth) loaded with some glycerine (e.g. Ach. Brito GLYCE) soap.
This cleans the pores of my face and also softens skin and stubble.

The use of glycerine soap is something that I had experimented with years ago and then discontinued in favour of a simple face wash, but I have gone back using this kind of soap for a few weeks now as it cleanses the skin of my face and also seems to make for a somewhat better shave preparation

A certain amount of abrasiveness of the sponge or wash cloth is in fact desired to exfoliate the skin.



B.
 
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ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
For shaving I just use my hands. Fill the sink with hot water, rinse my face in the hot water a few times, grab the bar soap on the sink and then lather up the soap in my hands and wash my whole face. Rinse off the soap several times and then start the lathering process over my wet face. When washing my face in the shower I use a wash cloth or what is termed out here in Australia, a flannel.
 
Generally, I shower before I shave, so when I shower I use a wash cloth to clean my face. If, the odd time, I don't shower before I shave I still tend to use a wash cloth, perhaps out of habit.
 
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