What a great line of products Proraso has. I consider myself mostly a soap user but I still retain a few creams I'll never be without, Taylors Rose and Proraso. Whenever I shave with proraso I use the pre/post cream prior to shaving and the splash after shaving. Last evening I hadn't shaved in 3 days, so I decided to bring out the trusted proraso. As I said I mostly use soaps now and hadn't used the cream in a while. I also don't shower before I shave, I find it dries out my skin too much. After a good hot water splash, applied proraso pre, for about 2 mins, face lathered with cream, did a three pass shave with merkur 11c open comb, cold rinse and proraso splash, the feeling is second to none. I also never use soap or face wash anymore, I just wash my face with the leftover lather and brush and find my skin feels much better and never dry anymore. Thumbs up Proraso!