Pre shave products?

[Ckmaui]

Tried proraso green and nothing ?
For sure this thread shows its hit or miss personal so something one has to try

guess I should try some other brand one more time ? just to be sure


I do notice from my soaps and creams that cremo while some bash it the stuff works better than anything for glide at least for me and the scent is nice the bourbon vanilla is my fav I do like other soaps I have but the scent goes away so its more a while I am shaving anyway
putting a touch of cremo on before other soaps that seem to handle one glide over with razor and be dry ? I think well why am I even using this soap when I can just use cremo

so reckon to me its going to be finding the thing that works best with least so doubt pre shave or bowl shaving will be in my workflow

 

[Tirvine]

I have always (since the mid 1960s) used just hot water before lathering. I use MdC as my soap these days, and for me this routine is perfection.

 

[Atlantic59]

When you ask a general question on B&B, this is usually what happens. Everybody reports their experience and conclusions, which is totally individual and there is no consensus. This leaves the original poster confused, so they have to experiment to find out for themselves what works best.

P.S. I like the PAA Ice Cube. It adds slickness and improves post-shave also. Any soap can be mentholated this way. Ach. Brito Glyce is a product with a similar idea behind it. Regular glycerin soap such as Neutrogena Face Bar or 365 glycerin soap will also work, though not quite as well. The idea is to get the beard thoroughly hydrated so it will cut easier, plus add a bit of slickness.

 

[SydneyShaver]

I use them and find they help a lot. Especially if you find you get worse irritation in certain areas or when you shave against the grain. You can even use most of them as a post-shave by just applying them to a wet-face and letting them soak in while you clean up before rinsing off. I like the american crew ultra glide shave oil which is both a standalone shave oil and preshave oil (it does create a little layer on your face until you rinse it off). I've got proraso blue preshave coming today so I'll actually be able to update you on whether I like the pre-shave creams too. Overall, I doubt any of them will take away from the shave and none of them are blindingly expensive. They last a long, long time too. Easily over 6 months if you only use a few drops (Which you should be).

 

[xuzxuz]

Preshaves are like warming up your engine.
If you live in a Canada, you need to let your car preshave.
If you live in San Francisco, you never preshave your car, it's just waste of gas.

If you shower before shave, or face lather, preshave doesn't do much.
If you hand lather or bowl lather without shower, then you can put some water on your face and slap some preshave on top while you lather. By the time you are done lathering, your whiskers are softened.

 

[Ad Astra]

All you need is water, but. The PAA Cube works.

AA

 

[Scaramouche]

This:

And occasionally this:

 

[Roedeer]

When I still used canned foam, I found preshave oils gave a worthwhile improvement. (Probably pass 1 is taking place in the thin slick oil film, and the foam is just acting as a "progress marker".) Oils don't help with a real soap, IMO.

Currently I wash my face, use the hot washcloth hydration method for ~30 seconds, and then bowl-lather, usually MWF.

I've tried washing my face with MWF bloom water instead of the usual Simple bar soap, and think it gives a slight improvement.

 

[thombrogan]

Who uses a pre shave product? Why? Which one?

I tried a homemade preshave of grapeseed and castor oil. The two times I used just enough oil, it was great. Every other time, I used too much and it killed lather and slickness and was so much grease to wash off. Worked okay as a post-shave, only with same issue of it being way too easy to use too much.

I used to use Noxzema. It helped improve my shave over shower + soap alone; the feel of the menthol and scents of camphor and eucalyptus were pleasant. Got it because my Wally World sold out of the store brand. Stopped using it because it was too strong for my bride. Hygiene is useless if it doesn’t impress the person of your dreams.

Now I use water held against my whiskers in a damp facecloth for about two minutes. Colder water does the same job, but takes longer. Hot water does the same job faster, but can be damaging. Most of the ‘benefit’ is I’m less likely to struggle with the tougher whiskers on my chin and mustache. After the shave, the facecloth can be wrung for washing off shave soap and cleaning up the sink. Only downside is I have to get my menthol fix during or after the shave.

 

[phelix]

I grabbed some proraso green to complete an order for free shipping from pastures. Would never replace a shower as a preshave activity and not really sure I would repurchase but I do notice a layer of sickness I don't normally see in my standard routine.

 

[andromeda673]

as many have mentioned the Proraso preshave, in any color is awesome, works great and will last you sometime. When I first started out I used them a ton as a crutch almost for either my inability to make a lather and or just the fact that I felt mentally I couldn't get a good shave with out. Now that I've moved past that, I haven't touched my container of Proraso Red pre shave in almost a year.

 

[Billy T.]

I have tried glycerin based soaps and the green/red/white Proraso preshaves. I appreciate the fact that white and green contain menthol which is nice during hot weather but the offer nothing more than a good soap would. I was gifted a PAA mentholated Cube so I will give that a try now that summer approaches

 

[BigJ]

I wash my face then start my lather. I have found little/no benefit from preshave products. I recognize that many find these helpful, so I may be the exception.

 

[TonyTheRazorMan]

I shower, then apply a Noxzema knockoff. I rub it into my skin for a minute or so. Make my lather. Rinse off Noxzema knockoff. Apply lather.
Not sure if it makes a big difference but it feels good on the face and is inexpensive. The scent is gone after the shave.
I tried applying lather over it but it clashes with the scent of the cream and is hard to rinse off the razor between strokes.
Some people use just Noxzema to shave with no other cream. I am not talking about the canned Noxzema shaving cream.

 

[wormspank]

I was using the PAA Cube 2.0 to help add slickness to my head before I lathered and shaved it. However, most higher quality soaps (e.g. A&E, DG, B&M) should have sufficient slickness to get the job done. I haven't used it in awhile.

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

I usually shave after I shower, and though I tried a few pre-shaves, they didn't seem to make a difference to the shave. However, if I have not showered before hand, I sometimes use Equate Deep Cleansing Skin Cream, a Noxzema clone, and it seems to help soften the beard.

 

[Frozenshades]

Grooming Department makes my favorite pre-shave. The proraso is okay, I have the white. Not a lover of pre-shave oils.

 

[Randy210]

I tried a shave butter before I used the proraso red and actually improved the shave so I dont know at the moment which did the trick but as long as I didnt slice up my neck Im happy

 

[3oclockShadow]

I typically use a homemade preshave oil that consists of apricot kernel oil, fractionated coconut oil, and possibly some lavender or tea tree oil. I'll then usually use hand applied shaving cream/butter over that - all post shower. I've also been trying Stirling's Sheep soap, but haven't quite gotten the right consistency.

When I travel I will usually use King of Shaves Kinexium in lieu of any shaving cream/soap. It gets the job done pretty well and doesn't take up much room, but can make a mess in the sink.

I think the preshave oil adds a little skin protection but haven't undertaken a rigorous study. I also have fairly dry skin and it seems to leave me slightly more moisturized.

I've tried a few other preshave products - art of shaving oil (sticky and thick - avoid) and truefit and Hill's preshave oil are the ones that first come to mind. I like my homemade concoction better and it is a bargain.

I tried the PAA cube earlier this week for the first time and the menthol is so strong it limited my blade feel when shaving, so that's most likely going in the trash or being gifted on to someone who wants it. I am guessing I probably won't like the proraso products, either, for similar reasons.

 

[flynshave]

Proraso pre-shave seems to improve my shaves.... the green is overpoweringly mentholated though, I prefer the Red/Sandalwood.