My pre shave routine lately is to apply some of the soap or cream I’m whipping up and aggressively hand lather. I really work a thin layer of product into my whiskers and massage vigorously going ATG with the back of my hand. After a minute or so of this I continue to prepare my brush and when loaded go straight to my face. I like that I’m using one product for both pre and lathering and I’m satisfied with the results so far. I have tried a dab of Cremo, a brushless shave cream in my pre massage technique, then another soap or cream for the shave.
Rubbed some Arko, that spilled out of the smallish tub into my whiskers. This has become a pre shave routine with most soaps. Really working that product into my whiskers by hand, then go back to loading and give it a chance to soften things up. Creates a nice base for the brush to do its thing.