Improving your preparation to get better results

This article explains different ways of preparing your face and whiskers for shaving. Preparation is an essential part of wet shaving. Especially if you have a sensitive skin and/or coarse whiskers the good prep work becomes really important to get a enjoyable shaving result without an irritation.

Basic information

The preparation work is twofold. The skin beneath your beard needs to be protected from the razor's cutting edge. Your beard must also be softened. Soft whiskers are much easier to cut than dry whiskers are, and the razor blade will not hang up in them nearly as easily when they are properly prepared.

The following links will give you some basic information about hair and skin care which is relevant to the topic of shaving.

• Wikipedia:Hair follicles explains a hair's anatomy
• Wikipedia:Skin explains skin's anatomy as well as some basic information of skin hygiene
• Wikipedia:Exfoliation (cosmetology) explains what exfoliation is and why it is important for healthy skin
• Wikipedia:Natural skin care as the name says natural way to care for your skin

Different ways to prepare your skin and whiskers for shaving

Different methods of preparation listed in this text are not in any particular order. You can choose one to try or grab them all or everything in between. It is just up to you. Skin type, whisker type, climate demand, and how much time you have to spend etc. are different for everyone so I suggest you to try without prejudice. It is the best way to find out what works best for you.

Facial cleansers/exfoliation

During the day your skin gets a lot of impurities, dead skin cells, oil, dirt and other types of pollutants. If you don't wash them away they could harm your shaving by clogging the pores and making your skin rougher. In the market there are several cleansers you can choose from. Generally speaking everything is better than a basic bar of soap. Wikipedia:Cleansers gives you a some answers why it is so.

When I started a straight shaving my face became quite sensitive at first. The reason for that was straight razors exfoliate the skin better than other shaving systems. Straight razors shave closer than other systems and mechanically exfoliate dead skin cells. During the first month I let the skin renew itself peacefully, and after that I began using cleansers. Some cleansers chemically exfoliate your skin too so choose carefully what suits you best. Link to mankind.co.uk http://www.mankind.co.uk/Best-Sellers-DEPT2044/ website to see some examples and customer's comments.

Hot shower

I think everybody knows what this means without further explanation. Anyway, the purpose of a hot shower before you shave is to moisten whiskers and make them softer. Do not towel dry your face between shower and shaving. Just let the water stay on your face and lather up.

Hair conditioner

For me just a plain hot shower doesn't do enough to soften my coarse whiskers. I use a hair conditioner on my beard the same way you would, use it for your hair. After shampooing and rinsing scrub a little bit of conditioner on your hair and on your whiskers. Let it be for a couple of minutes and rinse off. That's it. Again do not towel dry your face if starting to lather up instantly. Wikipedia:Hair conditioner includes several ingredients which penetrate the hair/whiskers much better and help to make whiskers softer.

Hot towel treatment

This treatment is a very enjoyable method of preparation. Take a soft cotton towel and rinse it with hot water and wrap it around your face tightly. Let it stay several minutes. One way to get the towel ready is to put it in the microwave oven.

Pre shave oils

In the market there are several different pre shave oils to choose from. The main purpose is to help the blade glide over the skin without so much exfoliation. They do soften the whiskers too but the main idea is to protect the skin.

Other products for shaving preparation

Proraso Pre Cream 

Proraso Pre Cream is a cream with a strong menthol scent what one can use as a pre shave. It offers basically the same effect as pre shave oils, but is easier to rinse off of the blade than pre shave oils are.

Geo F Trumper's Skin Food 

GFT's Skin Food comes in three different scents: coral(rose water), limes and sandalwood. It leaves a subtle film on the skin for protection. Needs to be let to dry (not for long though).

Sauna

Last thing to mention is very usual in my country. A Substitute for a sauna is a hot bath e.g. Let the heat affect a long time. It really softens the skin and whiskers.

Examples

Here are two different examples how you can combine methods to get a best result for you.

1. Short first and this combination works pretty well when I don't want to spend too much time in a bathroom.

• hot shower and hair conditioner
• towel dry your face
• massage skin food and lift your whiskers up and let it dry while making a lather
• lather up your face and shave WTG
• Rinse well and towel dry your face
• massage skin food again to get a good skin protection for the next pass
• lather up and shave ATG/XTG
• notice that do not use too much skin food and let it dry well and create the good film on your skin otherwise you sweep it away with your brush

2. Second example takes a little more time and it is more useful on weekends when there is no hurry.

• hot shower and hair conditioner
• towel dry your face
• massage skin food or pre shave oil
• Wrap the first hot towel
• lather up your face and shave WTG
• Rinse well and towel dry your face
• massage more skin food or pre shave oil
• wrap the second hot towel
• lather up and shave ATG/XTG

After both combinations I rinse first with warm water and then with cold water.

See also

Certain aspects of face preparation have been discussed in greater detail on the SRP forum. Below is a list of some of these discussions:

• Shower vs. hot towel
• Pre shave oils
• Pre shave oils and after shaves

Acknowledgements

Initially created by TonyJ 21:35, 4 February 2009 (UTC)