Soaked whiskers Vs. quick cold prep

[Rothman]

After reading the "Shaving science" thread articles, I decided to once again try a far more intense prep routine.

I typically use cold water for prep and shave. I don't even bother with washing my face before the cold shave, just splash on some cold water and then some cold lather and let her rip.
The cold water method works fantastic for me.

Last night in the shower, I washed my face twice very intensely focusing on cleaning the whiskers. After the second wash, I applied a nice thick lather of prorasso to help soak the whiskers and hopefully soften them up as much as possible. I left the lather on my face while I washed and even re-applied lather to make sure the whiskers were getting good and soaked.

By the time I got out of the shower, my two day growth was soft as I have ever felt. Good. Slapped on some cold water, applied AOS pre shave oil, and then some Figaro shaving cream. (Figaro shaving cream rocks!)I grabbed my 37C with a fresh Voskhod blade and went to town.

It cut through the whiskers a bit easier than usual but the shave was no closer, and no more comfortable. I can see it being easier on blades but that is not really worth the effort in and of itself. I can honestly say that the extra 15-20 minutes of prep was a waste of my time.

Anyone else game to try the same thing? Soaked whiskers Vs. quick cold prep, I challenge you!!!!!

 

[cheesepiece]

I just shave following a shower. The beard preps itself in there and is no more effort, even arguably less effort, than your cold water splash.

 

[Lakebound]

I don't meddle with years of experience from shavers older and wiser than I. Preparation is important and sciene backs it up. If I were in a hurry, I would have not returned to the art of wet shaving. If I'm in a hurry, the Mach 3 is still waiting but I'm not going back now.For me, the prep is "the shave". But, to each his own.

Frank

 

[Rothman]

It's not really about saving time so much as it is a better shave. For me cold water is the best and the extra effort did not improve the shave.

 

[OkieStubble]

I don't meddle with years of experience from shavers older and wiser than I. Preparation is important and sciene backs it up. If I were in a hurry, I would have not returned to the art of wet shaving. If I'm in a hurry, the Mach 3 is still waiting but I'm not going back now.For me, the prep is "the shave". But, to each his own.Frank

Nice post.

 

[Invicta]

Preparation of the beard is important but a close shave is achieved through multiple passses with the correct blade angle and slick lather. Don't over focus on the preparation. I don't need a cold preparation or pre-shave oils to achieve the result. Warm lather does it for me, so I am not game for the cold preparation.

 

[JayEddie]

I tried shaving without a shower first for the first time since I stopped using a cartridge, just to compare. Just a wash with Maca root face wash with tepid water, followed with cold lather. It was definitely better than it used to be without a shower, but not as good as with a shower. I don't do anything special for prep during the shower other than washing with a loofa to get some scrubbing/exfoliating action. Not a change I'm going to make part of my routine.

 

[Kev Kev]

Having done the traditional shower/hot towel on the face prep for years, out of curiosity I opted to try the cold-water 'shortcut.' I still managed to get a close, comfortable shave I this manner. Better? I would say 'no.' Quicker? Certainly. However, as others have mentioned, part of the 'art' of shaving is finding the routine that brings not only a quality shave, but an enjoyable experience. For me, the shower & hot towel is part of that ritual.

 

[Cricket1]

Recently someone had posted research here about properly moistening whiskers, and its about 2 minutes. Thats it, anything more is wasted time and effort.

I shower and use bath soap on my face and leave it on about 2 min, then rinse off. Out of the shower, and then start face lathering with a shave stick. I use cold water in the sink to rinse out the razor. Today I used a Feather blade in my Gillette Slim Adjustable, and got an excellent 2 pass BBS on my face, DFS on my neck.

 

[mmack66]

I just splash some water on my face, lather up, and start shaving. Like Rothman, I get just as good a shave as I did when I did all the hot towels and stuff.

For me, it has nothing to do with saving time, it just isn't necessary to do all that prep.

 

[Chaloney]

Rothman, do you usually shower before your cold water splash and shave?

 

[Rothman]

Rothman, do you usually shower before your cold water splash and shave?

No. When I first started DE shaving, I was using warm water/prep with a shower first. All the warm water made the already soft skin on my neck softer which made shaving it an awful experience. Cold water and keeping my skin dry until I shave has fixed that completely.