How-to: Pre-Shave Prep

[DarthAWM]

Thanks for this thread Kyle. I've used this method since my first traditional wet shave.

I just want to add my one tip.

I noticed my first time with this technique that my hot wet towel quickly became a cold soggy towel Now I wrap my hot wet towel in a second dry towel so that the hot wet towel stays warmer

 

[expre]

Kyle,

I read and gathered information from the B&B forums for over three months before changing the variables of my shave last week. In regards to physically shaving, this is the most valuable post.

My old method involved hopping into the shower, lathering with a bar of hand soap, shaving within thirty seconds and finishing my shower. I did not understand the damage and pain I inflicted upon myself until using your outlined method. This new way of shaving reduced skin irritation, damage and pain throughout the remainder of the day to almost nothing.

The effects of shaving this way appear to be cumulative. With each day, I have fewer red spots, less skin damage and experience almost no razor burn. There is no lasting pain throughout the day anymore. I am happy with this current method still using a Mach3 but look forward to Mr. Miller's strop arriving to begin shaving with a straight razor.

Thank you for organizing this amount of detailed information in an easy to read structure. After the reference to a barbershop book, is there other books, you would recommend reading?


Thank you.

 

[caps4bc]

Bravo Kyle!

 

[The Pontificator]

After taking a week off to let some hot spots heal up I performed the Kyle's Method using some canned Barbasol goo for lather and working it in with my fingers as my only brush is a boar and I didn't want to irritate my skin any more than was necessary.

Razor: Gillette SS
Blade: Fresh German Wilkinson Classic
Brush: Omega boar
Soap: VDH Deluxe by itself

After wiping off the first lather my whiskers admittedly feel much softer. Only did ATG passes on cheeks and jawline. Every place else got two XTG passes from different directions.

Followed up with light witch hazel application followed with Pinaud Bay Rum to which glycerin has been added.

The result? A very nice shave with no cuts, nicks, or burn. While my neck is not BBS I'll take that instead of razor burn anyday.

Another surprising result is that the corners of my mouth and the mustache area, usually hard as hell to get smooth, are really smooth this morning even though I didn't go ATG there.

 

[joepazz]

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES.

Great shave and most comfortable ever after first time doing this. The blades definitely cut easier.

I first read this and thought it was overkill so didn't do it for a while but decided to finally give it a go.

 

[Dani723]

I've read the entire thread here, bit by bit over a few days. Thanks very much Kyle, it's helping me so far!

I've summarized some of the main revelations people had throughout this thread so readers don't have to go back through all of it . Plus, they raise some hints about how we could improve even this great method...

It seems like there are two problems yet to be addressed. The fact that a flannel or wash towel, or some such, loses its heat almost immediately, and secondly, that it adsorbs all the shaving cream.

I read earlier that the steam was more important than the heat though. Is this true?

I can't find any talk about 'heat packs' in this forum except on this thread, but this sounds like an intriguing method. I wonder, are there any great ones people could recommend that don't adsorb the shaving cream? I've read up on Amazon reviews about these and a lot of people complain that they are often warm rather than hot. Is warm, err, hot enough?

Someone also suggested cling film, as it's called here in the UK, (the plastic wrap you use to cover food with). While this doesn't adsorb the cream, it surely also doesn't retain much heat.

I like the idea of steaming several hand towels in a steamer, in theory. But for that to work, as you've said, you'd need a steamer on hand and active when performing your shave, so you can quickly grab a new towel out of the steamer when the current one cools. And I don't think most of us shave in the kitchen where we use the steamer! Still if the towel part of this method is more about the steam than the heat, this sounds like a better idea than I'd hypothesized.

Now I'd like to add a suggestion of my own that noones mentioned. What about heating the actual shaving cream itself before applying to your face? After all, this method involves a few minutes of lathing it on and then working it in by hand, lots of time for the heat to have an effect. Plus when you applied the hot towel or whatever else to your face after this stage, perhaps it would have some risidual heat to slow the rate of cooling of the towel? Plus if you could find something to wrap around your face that doesn't absorb the cream, it would keep the cream warm as well.

Any thoughts on any of the issues above would be much appreciated! Thanks again Kyle!

 

[vaccaro]

Kyle,
I have using a safety razor for about 6 months now. I had a pretty good prep and was getting better and better at my technique. I was showering prior to and using MR GLOW or Dr. Bronner's as the preshaving soap with which to wash my face. It worked well. Then I stumbled across your post. I gave your hot towel prep a try. WOW! EUREKA!!!! I am getting the BEST shaves so far, that are so enjoyable. This is the best prep for me so far, and I am hooked. Thank you so much, Kyle!!!! Instead of Proraso Pre, I am using either Em's Place Aloe Gel or Geo Trumper SF as the preshave before the lathering and towel. They work a million times better for me than Proraso. I no longer shower first, I hot towel, preshave, lather, hot towel, splash, relather and shave. Never better.... Thank you Kyle!!!!!!

I do have two questions:
1. I have also been soaking a towel in ice water while I shave, and apply it for 1-2 min. after I shave and rinse. Whoooooo! Great sensation, and it leaves my skin irritation free, closes pores, and the pressure and very cold water seals up any nicks. Based on your research, it this good for my skin? Do you think it's good as a post shave routine?
2. Dumb question: When I post, there is a title under my username that says "wetshaver wannabe". What is this? How do I change/customize it?

Thanks again Kyle. I am a very happy camper!!!!

 

[Stevek.tattooer]

Thank you. This is what ive been looking for. I get irritation, not bumps, on a certain portion of my lower right neck. Should I let a couple days go by to heal up or just go into this prep tomorrow and it will improve? Also, just a question, the art of shaving store offers classes on wet shaving, should I even bother? I'm waiting on some Mitchell's and a nicer brush (I just acquired CO shaving cream, not pre or post, from Bath and Body works (by Proraso). I'm almost positive my beard is mapped correctly and I stay wtg, but have done some XTG and even ATG, noticing the irritation worsens especially when I go ATG. But also, I'm really not positive I'm going XTG the right way. How is this done? I'm about 3 weeks into becoming a wet shaver btw. Sorry if not relative completely but I really wanna get this. Any advice would be great. You clearly are a scholar and gentleman on the process.

 

[vaccaro]

Thank you. This is what ive been looking for. I get irritation, not bumps, on a certain portion of my lower right neck. Should I let a couple days go by to heal up or just go into this prep tomorrow and it will improve? Also, just a question, the art of shaving store offers classes on wet shaving, should I even bother? I'm waiting on some Mitchell's and a nicer brush (I just acquired CO shaving cream, not pre or post, from Bath and Body works (by Proraso). I'm almost positive my beard is mapped correctly and I stay wtg, but have done some XTG and even ATG, noticing the irritation worsens especially when I go ATG. But also, I'm really not positive I'm going XTG the right way. How is this done? I'm about 3 weeks into becoming a wet shaver btw. Sorry if not relative completely but I really wanna get this. Any advice would be great. You clearly are a scholar and gentleman on the process.

Hey Steve, The book "Leisureguy's Guide to Gourmet Shaving" by Michael Ham as well as the Mantic59 videos have been very helpful to me, especially the book! For the Mantic videos, find them on YouTube are on http://sharpologist.com/

Happy Shaving!

-- Dean

 

[Bobtrumpet]

I do have two questions:
1. I have also been soaking a towel in ice water while I shave, and apply it for 1-2 min. after I shave and rinse. Whoooooo! Great sensation, and it leaves my skin irritation free, closes pores, and the pressure and very cold water seals up any nicks. Based on your research, it this good for my skin? Do you think it's good as a post shave routine?
2. Dumb question: When I post, there is a title under my username that says "wetshaver wannabe". What is this? How do I change/customize it?

1. I can't speak for Kyle's research, but the iced towel is just an extension of the cold water splash after the shave. There have been several posts indicating that some barber shops do a cold/icy towel finish.

2. Normally, the titles under your screen name change depending on post count. At the higher contributor levels, you can have the mods generate a custom title for you. If you say something that catches a mod fancy, for good or ill, they'll give you a custom title that you may or may not like.

 

[johnf7478]

Thanks a million for that, I didn't understand ALL of it, but got enough of a jist to understand, especially about "weakening the defences of cuticles" kind of makes shaving sound like going to war
I am so looking forward to tomorrows shave, thanks again

 

[Mr Happy]

I read the main part of this post last night and was excited to try it this morning. I really found it helped me to get a closer shave with less touch ups and less irritation. I recently tried cold shaving but just don't think it's for me, although I still haven't ruled it out, especially on hot days (not that there are many here in good old blighty). One of the parts I liked the most about this method (which I don't think has been mentioned much) was having a shower AFTER the shave instead of before. By the time I had finished showering, any weepers had gone, without the need for a styptic pencil, witch hazel etc. I feel like I'm doing Kyle an injustice by not mentioning the extra lather etc, but this post has been going for so long, I think everything has been said 😊. Great article though Kyle, thank you for all the sound logic and expressing it so concisely. Shame this knowledge was lost for so long to so many!

 

[richierich12]

Thanks Kyle! Great read!

 

[motif]

GREAT POST!! Should this also work with a puck of shaving soap? Currently, Van der Hagen has the least irritation for me. If I have sensitive skin, would you recommend a cream over a soap? I've considered proraso, but in the past, even menthol has caused some irritation.

 

[superkreep]

Excellent post thanks for sharing

 

[HeyYoWL]

Just so we're clear, I should lather up my face as if I'm about to shave, but instead wrap the towel on my face instead? How are you guys doing this exactly? Just go around the head, blocking the mouth too?

 

[quietearth]

Just so we're clear, I should lather up my face as if I'm about to shave, but instead wrap the towel on my face instead? How are you guys doing this exactly? Just go around the head, blocking the mouth too?

HeyYoWL, that's how I understand it. I splash my face generously with hot water, lather up, soak either a small towel or a handtowel in warm/hot water, squeeze it out so that it's still wet but not dripping, then hold that to my face over the lathered beard area, with a dry towel over that. I can breathe (barely!) through my nose.

 

[the_edski]

Glad to see this re-earthed! Kyle's prep is a great method.

 

[RNoble]

Do you guys use a new towel (or towels) for every shave, or do you re-use them a couple times?

I'm just wondering if I need to go out and by 10-14 hand towels (for the double towel method), or if I can get away with just having a couple and re-using.

 

[vaccaro]

I don't use a new towel each time. I reuse. Also, I started out buying the cheap, thin shaving towels. Not good for steaming the face, only good for wiping up. I tried an old hand towel I had. Not great. Recently, I splurged on a high quality Turkish (Egyptian good too) cotton hand towel from Bed, Bath, Beyond. Wow! What a difference. It retains the steam and heat much, much longer and makes for the perfect steam towel! Bottom line, splurge and buy a high quality cotton towel!