Pre shaves do you use it

[Roedeer]

I used to use pre-shave oil. A fellow contributor to this fine forum from the UK uses the first one I tried - Nuage - and then I moved on to King of Shaves

I use Nuage, King of Shaves Blue, and have also repurposed Holland and Barrett Vitamin E oil. KoS Green worked, but was thicker and more sticky than ideal.

Part of my solution to bad skin in 2018 was ditching cartridges and disposables. I was hoping to get on better with a DE and lathered shaving soap.

Returning to DE worked brilliantly; the soap bit, not so much. I get irritation from the locally available ones and Arko, probably from alkali, and was reluctant to gamble on the high-end ones.

I use a hot washcloth prep for hydration, then a preshave oil, and apply canned foam over it. I can shave daily with this setup, get zero irritation, and my skin is in great shape.

There probably is a shaving soap out there with my name on it, but finding it isn't urgent any more.

 

[RigelDust]

Sometimes when I use my shavette I’ll apply some GD preshave.
Other than that the only other time is when I’ll slap some Prep on for fun. It goes well with FERN in the morning.

 

[Leo501]

Never felt the need to use it or even try it. I always wash my face before my shave, with a good face wash, all the prep I feel I need.

 

[FarmerTan]

Pre shaves do you use it?

Nope. Water only.

Same.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I had a large tub of Proraso pre shave cream and found it added nothing to my shave. I stopped using it as a pre shave so then tried it as a post shave, which again was OK. I rubbed some on my chest before bed if I had a cold to aid breathing, and found the menthol worked well. Finally, I just used it as a post shower body moisturiser; the menthol was great on a cold morning. Not a product I would replace despite its multipurpose use. Now for shaving I just lather up, sometimes I don't even wet my face first as the lather does all I need.

 

[dmshaver]

I used to use them. I used glycerin soap for some time, then tried GD Preshave. I don't use them now. My preshave is now a hot shower.

 

[razorhead63]

I’ve used a couple in the past like the Proraso Sandalwood...which I still have some and won’t use. I found that it doesn’t do much for me. Just lots of hot water and a lengthy lathering seems to do the job. I’m keeping it simple.
BTW: If one is using a quality soap or cream and is doing a thorough lathering why is a pre shave even needed? That puzzles me......

 

[ajkel64]

The only ones that I have used are Proraso Green and Nivea Men Cool Kick Arctic Freeze wash and shave gel. I don’t use them all the time as I don’t think that they make a whole lot of difference to my shaves. I have been using them to just use them up.

 

[ShaverAZ]

I'll often use a pre-shave when I don't have time to soak my beard with a hot towel beforehand, or won't be taking a shower until later. Dove Men+Care cream works as well as Proraso, only cheaper. My favorite is a blend I've made with generic Noxzema with added kokum butter, avocado oil & a little water. It doesn't interfere with lather, but seems to extend the life of my blades to a couple more smooth & irritation-free shaves.

 

[alla2465]

Used them in the past, I don't ever use them anymore
They don't really give me better shaves in any way, so it just makes for a longer shave with more steps, and more money spent on something I don't need.
I think everyone should try them before they draw they own conclutions though, so if you are unsure and haven't used preshaves, do it, and then see how it works (or doesn't work if you are like me lol) for you

 

[jeremy.rosen5]

I’ve tried them in the past, but found no real benefit with a DE razor. However I do use Proraso pre/post shave, post shave. I found using a good shave cream or soap to be much more important.


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[nemo]

Nope. Once upon a time I tried some and found that they hindered my usual prep.

 

[Mustard Seed]

I have been using a pre shave products since I started traditional wet shaving 3 1/2 years ago. I use Aloe vera gel as a conditioner in my hair and gives instant results for over 25 years and naturally I use a dollop after I Brush wash my face first CeraVe hand bar cleanser every day, great mild soap for cleaning skin and easy on the eyes.(Used CeraVe for over 8 months now.) So after reading lots of posts and articular's on prep, Gillette and others say clean your skin of dirt and oil (CeraVe cleans and has special moisturizers), hydrate you skin and whiskers to make shaving easier for the blade to slice through the beard whiskers(CeraVe and Aloe Vera Gel does all of that) . Another thing about these two pre-shaves are they do help moisturize and they do not gum up my shave gear(razors & brushes). So main objective of Preshave is to clean and hydrate & Shave soap main function is to moisten skin & whiskers and create the slickness barrier for the blade to glide. Brush washing my whole face is very enjoyable( just started that 8 months ago) and have a dedicated synthetic brush for my CeraVe soap(I still have a 1/3 bar left after 8 months). Most of us will wash our face with bar soap so using a brush with so little soap needed because a brush will make a lot of lather quickly as we all know by now and clean gently much better IMO.( you might lose a few minutes brush washing depending on how much your enjoying it?)
These are the products I enjoy using! Not expensive either!...........................CeraVe information below if curious.
View attachment 1121351 View attachment 1121353 View attachment 1121352
Have some great shaves!

Ron R is the preshave guru on this site so... pay attention to what he says.

 

[dan86]

I use Nuage, King of Shaves Blue, and have also repurposed Holland and Barrett Vitamin E oil. KoS Green worked, but was thicker and more sticky than ideal...

There probably is a shaving soap out there with my name on it, but finding it isn't urgent any more.

If it works for you, that‘s all that matters. The King of Shaves alpha gel was a good product too.

I remember being skeptical that just a few drops of oil massaged in to the beard would be sufficient for the razor blade to glide across the skin easily, tried it one day and was pleasantly surprised. I will most likely be taking one of my unopened packs of King of Shaves oil away with me when I next go on holiday. They’re an ideal size.

 

[Ron R]

Ron R is the preshave guru on this site so... pay attention to what he says.

Thanks for a nice comment but far from being a Guru , I just have been visiting this site for a lot of years and have experimented a little and just think out loud(short bursts of writing posts) If something works tell everyone like who told me excellent advice prior or shaving trials of emprovements that work for myself.
Have some great shaves!

 

[Fen]

I've used the green proraso pre-shave, just water and olive oil at different occations. I plan to test in the future with just using water again to see if the proraso has any noticable effect, as that is what I'm settled on using right now. At one point I was convinced that only water worked. But I went back to trying preshaves.

I've also tried to bloom the proraso soap tubs, but stopped since I noticed that it affected the soap amount. At least from my impression. Didn't really feel that this was a good preshave either.

One thing I know for sure is that the proraso pre-shave functions great in my aftershave routine. In particular if I was unlucky to get a razor bump. Applying a bit on the spot reduces the bump or removes it. This alone causes me to at least want to have a jar around.

Recently I also started to wash my face with the shave/face soap from imperial barber products. So I suppose that is also a part of my routine right now. Great soap that doesnt leave any particular smell. Can also be used as a shaving soap, but I haven't tried that.

 

[TinyT]

Proraso Green preshave. Allows me to use any soap I like - some cause me mild irritation otherwise - and it delivers a cracking postshave. Try it and see. I wouldn't use one if it made little or no difference.

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

The main one I've used is Proraso Green, in conjunction with the shave cream. It made for a great shave, but I have since become very lazy and prefer shave soaps that are slick enough as to not require me to use a pre-shave.

 

[rockthrower]

Proraso Green. Probably don't need it, but I love the feel and the menthol kick. Very refreshing. And it seems to get along fine with any soap.

 

[A. Feitar]

I use Grooming Dept.’s Preshave. It works really well for me. If you use it with Soaps that normally dry your face such as Martin de Candre, it results in an excellent shave.