Why not just shave with pre-shave soaps like The Cube or others that provide slickness?

[CANES]

I do.

What started it was trying to find an unscented soap to wash my face with and help clear up eczema and red spots. I tried numerous different soaps and settled on Dove and Savon de Marseille or other olive oil based soaps. After a while of using them hand lathered every day, I decided to use a brush for my face wash and saw how well the little bit of exfoliation helped my skin compared to the hand lather. I then attempted shaving with them- noticed how slick they were and the lather was decent for what I like- and now I kill two birds with one stone 95% of the time and do the facewash and shave together.

 

[tjsgarden]

Still In GRUME, GRUYERE, 365 Shaves, Fruity February & OBIF

RR Hawk
Feather AC (24)
Muhle XL STF
PAA menthol Cube 2.0
Proraso white
Ethos Melange d'agrume

Fellow GRUME and GRUYERE-er @JKaboom started a thread here.
His question:

My question is, I see on videos that people use pre-shave products like The Cube/The Cube 2.0/Proraso, etc. So I have a couple of questions:
1) Why not then just shave with that product if it provides a good slick surface

My response:

I have wondered about this too.
Tomorrow I'll use the Cube for the first pass and see what happens. If that goes good, I'll use Proraso white for the second pass. I gotta use a fruity soap (Fruity February) so that will be for the final pass.

1st Pass: PAA menthol Cube 2.0
This stuff lathers very easy and quickly. It was slick and the results were good. I think glycerine helps BUT... the lather dried quickly. On my neck i had to splash more water to retain the slickness...(Maybe I needed more water and less product when i applied to my face???)
2nd Pass: Proraso white
This is more like a cream and it does not lather. It was thin and slick but again, I missed the hydration from good ole water...(see comment in #1)
3rd Pass: Ethos Melange d'agrume
Ethos was slick and retained hydration. This pass was mostly for show to stay in the good graces of the Fruity February crowd.

IMHO, the Cube worked better than Proraso by itself. (YMMV)
I got a DFS+ finish with no irritation and am still enjoying the menthol finish.

So yes @JKaboom, IMHO, I had a good shave with "pre-shave" products and to be honest, I think the Cube could be adjusted with more water and work just fine. I also think top tier soaps (like Ethos) are just as slick, "wetter" and incorporate water in the lather better than a pre-shave by itself.

Please take care of yourself...and each other.
Tomorrow is Semogue Saturdays!

 

[JoeScho]

I've just recently tried pre-shave oil. It adds some slickness hopefully helping with any chances of razor burn. But I like it mostly because I warm it up in the hot water while I shower and warm oil is kind of nice.

 

[Go West Young Man]

The question you always ask is - what does my skin need to thrive? Then you assemble products (through trial and error) that deliver the results you want.

Preshave is usually more about softening the hairs and conditioning the skin. Lather is more about glide and lubrication. Personally, a good lather does both if I let it sit on my face for 3 or 4 minutes before shaving, but your face is different so you need to play around and find what works for you.

There's also a large component due to psychology - some people are minimalists trying to get the best results with the least effort, some are hobbyists who enjoy mixing and matching from dozens of products. There's no right or wrong approach.

 

[RayClem]

It all depends upon your individual needs and preferences. For some people, slickness is all you need. When I traveled for a living, I often shaved using whatever shampoo and conditioner was in the hotel room. I got a decent shave, but nothing special. Irish Spring bath bar produces a very slick lather, but that lather dissipates quickly, so it is not ideal for shaving. I have also used Yardley of London Moisturizing bath bar with shea butter and cocoa butter. It is better than Irish Spring and it is quite inexpensive, but it still does not measure up to a real shaving soap.

As mentioned by others Cremo is incredibly slick when mixed with water. I often use that cream when traveling because it is convenient. Although it is designed to be used without a brush, I find that it works even better when mixed with a little water and lathered with a brush. So when traveling, I take an inexpensive synthetic brush that dries quickly. I build the lather in a coffee cup from the hotel room.

A high-quality shaving soap, however, provides much more than slickness. It will be slick on the face, but it will still provide residual slickness even after the initial lather has been removed by the blade. That allows buffing strokes without irritation. I have even done an entire shave pass without relathering with soaps that have a high level of residual slickness. Furthermore, a great shaving lather provides a thin layer of protection between the edge of the razor and your skin to protect it from irritation. Finally, a superb soap will contain ingredients that provide post-shave moisturizing and conditioning of your skin that will last for many hours after the shave. If you skin is naturally oily, you might not need or want the skin conditioning ingredients.

There is no one soap that is right for every shaver. You just have to experiment to learn what works best for you. If you can get a great shave with Ivory soap, Irish Spring, Yardley, Williams Mug Soap, Arko, Cremo, Van der Hagen, etc., by all means use it. Unfortunately, none of those soaps work well for me.

 

[reformedshavr]

I have used Musgo Glyce regularly as a preshave, and will try it alone this week -- It's pretty slick and I anticipate it working just fine. I also am a fan of Proraso pre, and when it really matters Musgo Real pre oil still works best for me.

 

[JKaboom]

It all depends upon your individual needs and preferences. For some people, slickness is all you need. When I traveled for a living, I often shaved using whatever shampoo and conditioner was in the hotel room. I got a decent shave, but nothing special. Irish Spring bath bar produces a very slick lather, but that lather dissipates quickly, so it is not ideal for shaving. I have also used Yardley of London Moisturizing bath bar with shea butter and cocoa butter. It is better than Irish Spring and it is quite inexpensive, but it still does not measure up to a real shaving soap.

As mentioned by others Cremo is incredibly slick when mixed with water. I often use that cream when traveling because it is convenient. Although it is designed to be used without a brush, I find that it works even better when mixed with a little water and lathered with a brush. So when traveling, I take an inexpensive synthetic brush that dries quickly. I build the lather in a coffee cup from the hotel room.

A high-quality shaving soap, however, provides much more than slickness. It will be slick on the face, but it will still provide residual slickness even after the initial lather has been removed by the blade. That allows buffing strokes without irritation. I have even done an entire shave pass without relathering with soaps that have a high level of residual slickness. Furthermore, a great shaving lather provides a thin layer of protection between the edge of the razor and your skin to protect it from irritation. Finally, a superb soap will contain ingredients that provide post-shave moisturizing and conditioning of your skin that will last for many hours after the shave. If you skin is naturally oily, you might not need or want the skin conditioning ingredients.

There is no one soap that is right for every shaver. You just have to experiment to learn what works best for you. If you can get a great shave with Ivory soap, Irish Spring, Yardley, Williams Mug Soap, Arko, Cremo, Van der Hagen, etc., by all means use it. Unfortunately, none of those soaps work well for me.

I don't know how I missed this post. Thanks for all the good detail.

 

[Rapt_up]

I have shaved in the shower for decades, (with Cartridges) and occasionally ended up needing to use just regular soap for a shave. Not always the best but do-able. Mostly I used Proraso green and a Boar brush.
Now I'm onto the world of DE and fancier soaps are nice, but not in my experience necessary, maybe less drying and so reduces irritation.

 

[reformedshavr]

I tried Glyce pre-shave alone and, similar to the results in tjsgarden's post above, it worked but dries out quick compared to a lather. If I were in a hurry and just needed to get it done quickly as possible, this would work nicely.

 

[Lather and Razors]

Pear’s works very good as preshave soap. Any glycerin soap will do the same thing.

 

[VerbaVolant]

These are my own observations based on my own experience. They are not rules and I am not an expert.

...1) Why not then just shave with that product if it provides a good slick surface especially if people used to (and probably still do) shave using ivory bar soap?...

Because regular soap provides only the initial slickness, during the first stroke. That is not sufficient if you want to go over the same area twice, consecutively. A good quality shaving soap will provide so called residual slickness. One can appreciate that after two or more consecutive strokes over the same area, and the skin stays lubricated. Another property that a regular soap lacks is so called cushioning. A good shaving soap will keep a layer, a protective layer, between the skin and the edge of the blade. Just enough so the blade doesn't end up removing the epidermis but just glides over, only to catch the hair and cut it.
Can anyone shave with a regular soap or a pre-shave soap? Sure they can. One can shave without any product, with just water, or even on dry skin. I will not judge.

...2) When I see that some people use a pre-shave product, it seems some are just using a shave cream/soap washing it off after dwelling then applying their desired shave product or is this my misunderstanding? Is this a correct understanding?...

Proper hydration of the hair is paramount for a comfortable shave as it reduces Force To Cut considerably. Our skin produces oils that continually lubricate the skin and some of the oil is deposited on the stubble. Water will not be able to reach the hair and so, some people including myself, use a pre-shave soap to remove that oil so the water can penetrate and soften the hair. I use tap warm water to achieve that and a good quality glycerin soap. Glycerin is a good humectant.
Some people just rinse their face with water, warm or cold, and then proceed with lather to start shaving.
If done after a shower, when you washed your face anyway, that is fine. Some people don't bother with any pre-shave at all.

...Sorry, relative newbie so...

No need to be sorry and don't take anything you read here as gospel.

Good luck and enjoy the journey.

 

[Juanmosey]

Good discussion!

I have found little benefit from ‘pre-shave’ products. Thus, my approach is to wash my face with CeraVe, then start my lather using a quality soap. Works well for me!!

My wife has a lot of CeraVe. Thanks for the tip. In fact, we have enough stuff to open a small pharmacy.

 

[Ligeti]

Ha,

I see there are a few users of Proraso preshave white around.
Does it have any mint, menthol or similar or is it totaly soft and soothing?
(And the stupidest of questions: what's your way to use a preshave. What are the steps before and after? Do you rinse after applying preshave? Or just splash on some water in order to start facelathering?)

 

[purecro]

Ha,

I see there are a few users of Proraso preshave white around.
Does it have any mint, menthol or similar or is it totaly soft and soothing?
(And the stupidest of questions: what's your way to use a preshave. What are the steps before and after? Do you rinse after applying preshave? Or just splash on some water in order to start facelathering?)

I have used the Proraso white preshave and postshave quite a bit, not so much their shaving soap as I always wanted something scented for shaving.

The Proasso white preshave and post shave lotion does not have any smell I can detect, its really pretty much scentless, maybe a touch of lemon is what I have read somewhere (but don't quote me on that) but if your asking me, its scentless. It is made for sensitive skin so it is a very good preshave, I do like it myself quite a bit.

Not a stupid question at all. You can shower before you shave (thats me), I use a pre shave soap (Razor Emporium Pre shave) to clean my face then after I am done showering I use the PAA Pre shave cube. I apply water to my face first then rub some preshave on my face then use my hands to make a lather of it where its nice and hydrated. I then start to apply my lather to my face so you will be leaving the preshave on and lather on top of it.

Above in this thread its said some people just wash their face before then use the preshave as I have mentioned. Post #31 explains it quite well. I hope this helped.

 

[Ligeti]

I have used the Proraso white preshave and postshave quite a bit, not so much their shaving soap as I always wanted something scented for shaving.

The Proasso white preshave and post shave lotion does not have any smell I can detect, its really pretty much scentless, maybe a touch of lemon is what I have read somewhere (but don't quote me on that) but if your asking me, its scentless. It is made for sensitive skin so it is a very good preshave, I do like it myself quite a bit.

Not a stupid question at all. You can shower before you shave (thats me), I use a pre shave soap (Razor Emporium Pre shave) to clean my face then after I am done showering I use the PAA Pre shave cube. I apply water to my face first then rub some preshave on my face then use my hands to make a lather of it where its nice and hydrated. I then start to apply my lather to my face so you will be leaving the preshave on and lather on top of it.

Above in this thread its said some people just wash their face before then use the preshave as I have mentioned. Post #31 explains it quite well. I hope this helped.

thank you so very much!