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Shower then Shave, or Shave then Shower?

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 9:24 am
by funkthulhu
Greetings!

As a man who tries to do the 3 S's in one trip to the loo, I ask you. Which do you do last? The Shave, or the Shower?

I'm a bit of a messy shaver myself, and find it's much easier to remove excess lather, drippage, (blood) etc. while under the nozzle.

Just a random question.

Additionally, for those of you who shave last, how do you stay clean? I generally end up with lather and/or water half way down my chest by the time I'm done. What am I doing wrong?

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 9:38 am
by KAV
Woke up, got out of bed
Dragged a comb across my head
and on the way downstairs
I had a smoke, and somebody spoke
and I went into a dream.........

I wake before sunrise, say a morning prayer for the day
and drink some water while the coffee/tea brews.
Then I shower and shave with the same deliberation
as George c. Scott getting dressed to battle Rommel's army
or Lee Marvin as kid Shaleen in Cat Ballou getting cleaned up.

Finally I strap on my watch, note the time is still well before most people
are bailing out of bed like a scared to death tail gunner in a mortally crippled Lancaster over Germany.

A man needs an edge not only in his razor.

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 10:16 am
by jww
You bust me up, Kav!

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 9:20 pm
by stagger
KAV- I can still see Kid Shaleen doing the drunken horseback ride. Too funny. Thanks for bringing up the memory.

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 10:17 pm
by CMur12
The advantage of shaving after the shower is the soak and softening the beard gets in the shower as prep to the actual shave. If you don't shower first, you have to make a separate effort to soak and soften the beard before the shave.

I shave at night and I shower in the morning. Due to that little disconnect, I didn't vote.

- Murray

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 10:36 pm
by m3m0ryleak
KAV,

You need to get published.


Tony

Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 10:39 pm
by bernards66
Murray, Years ago when I had to be at staffing at 8am I did the reverse; showered at night but shaved before work in the morning. Worked fine, but given my druthers it's shower than shave. I can't see any reason why one would reverse that, except if they were using an electric shaver, which demands dry more brittle whiskers to be effective. But with wetshaving, why not, as you say, take advantage of the moisture and beard softening a shower affords one before taking the blade to the face?
Regards,
Gordon

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:19 am
by GA Russell
I shave first because when I shower first I don't have enough hot water for the shave.

I suppose having a small water tank saves me money on electricity. One day I'll have a tankless water heater, and all my problems will disappear!

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 11:48 am
by desertbadger
Shower first, then shave.

KAV, if I ever get up into the beginning of wine country again, I'll buy you a nice bottle of the squeezed grape..... :lol:

Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 9:11 pm
by brothers
Funky, I shave afterward, and really don't find it creates much of a mess. I just wipe up the water drops that get on the countertop or on the mirror. Dry off the lather bowl and/or scuttle and put the razor away, after I towel my face dry and apply whatever post shave stuff, if anything.

On many days when I need to get up, shower and go to work, then I have a very pleasant non-rushed shave before I go to sleep, and it works out pretty good, if I can remember to do it that way.

Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 8:57 am
by drumana
My preference is to shower, then shave.

If you're getting lather all over the place, try using a smaller brush.

Re: Shower then Shave, or Shave then Shower?

Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 3:09 pm
by CJS
funkthulhu wrote:
Additionally, for those of you who shave last, how do you stay clean? I generally end up with lather and/or water half way down my chest by the time I'm done. What am I doing wrong?
Perhaps there is too much water in your lather? The lather needs to be thick/dense enough to stick to your face. If it is too watery, it will be messy when lathering on your face, and when you actually shave the hair and lather off with the razor

Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 4:52 pm
by Squire
Shower, then shave with a dryer lather.

Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 5:50 pm
by a-cut-above
I have been a "mug an' brush" shaver since the '70's and shaved before showering. Why? It seemed logical to wash the lather off your face and all the other guys in the dorm did it that way. When I discovered real wetshaving here and switched from a Trac II to a DE or a straight, I shaved after the shower. The shaves were a lot better. The shave/shower order isn't the only reason for the better shaves, but it is part of the package, i.e. "automatic" beard softening. Another benefit of showering first is that the shower wakes me up and is refreshing so I don't shave in a sleepy haze. I get a better shave and an enjoyable shave.

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 7:57 am
by Abyssos
every time i shave last 8)

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 7:11 pm
by funkthulhu
Okay, so today I showered first and then shaved. I did notice a marked softening of my beard hairs and my shave went quite well.

No nicks, no bleeding, no razer burn.

However, I then dropped and shattered my apothecary mug. . . bad sign?

Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 3:23 pm
by Gareth
Shower then shave for me, although I will sometimes forego the shower and just have a good splash with warm water before shaving.

Gareth

Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 9:02 pm
by Lou
During the week, I take a shower in the evening and shave in the morning. On the weekend or when I have a day off of work, I shower and then shave. The shower helps soften the beard. After I shave, I hold a face cloth soaked with cold water to my face to cool my skin and close the pores. Showering after my shave would defeat that.

Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 10:16 pm
by KAV
Oh dear, it's holy week and I'm reverting to heathen paganism without merit.
BUT, if you do not want to drop anymore apothecary shaving mugs a suitable offering should be made to the household dieties; saucers with a splash of bayrum, some creme and a bit of bread and I've been good to go all year.
I've also found coffee or Earl Grey steadies my hand.

Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 11:38 pm
by diggity
m3m0ryleak wrote:KAV,

You need to get published.


Tony
Tony, I agree with you. Kav just has a wonderful way of words that to me is as fun to read as e.e. cummings.