SMF

Borowik, welcome to SMF!

I use pre-shave soap to remove the oil. Also, I use all cold water as it seems to make my skin more taut and makes the XTG pass under my neck a lot easier. I also seem to have less irritation.

as someone with bad skin, try phisoderm as a preshave wash. It does a lot of good for you. not just cleans you, but it seems to loosen excess skin off so that when you DO lather, the brush gets it off better.

you should try some nicer soap. proraso is good, but id recommend something more delightful and scrumptious. something tallow.

I use a clairsonic with anti-oil soap or a charcoal type cleansing gel. It has made a huge difference for me. I follow up with post shave healer and an anti-oil "matte" lotion.

If you struggle with dry skin you might want to switch to cold water. The hot water exacerbates stripping the oils from your skin. Cold water less so. I cannot find any difference in the shave of cold vs hot water. Hot water is just what I am used to. In the summer I switch to cold anyway.

I vote for any high glycerin soap and hot water. The best soap, in my humble opinion, is from Musgo Real, any variety, appr. $8 or less, available from multiple vendors.

just be careful of the ingredients.

may not be a good idea to use an acne type wash such as pan oxyl. sure has glycerin. but im getting such a wird itchy feeling now from it.

If I feel the need I use Clearly Natural from the supermarket. I think anything other is just marketing to cash in on a market and screw over folks. Purely my opinion.

I wash my face with Noxzema cream without adding water, then shower, then shave. I rinse the Noxzema cream off in the shower and don't wash my face again with bath soap. Seems to soften my beard and get it ready for the shave. I used to also use a light application of Noxzema before lathering but I no longer do this. I've decided that its not necessary.

With few exceptions, I wash my face with ordinary facial soap (no dedicated pre-shave soap needed) and rinse with plenty of warm water to give my skin some time to absorb the moisture.

I see no need to wash my face again if I just had a shower, and neither do I see any particular need to use facial soap if I intend to use a shaving stick.


B.

If one is prone, to acne, and/or, razor bumps/ingrown hairs, then using something like Clearasil, or Oxy 10 face wash is, usually, recommended. You may use this either before, or, after you take your shave, but, I would recommend cool water only.

There are some good products on the market, but it seems we usually gravitate back to just water. My face does feel cleaner and fresh after shaving, and sometimes I don't even wash my face before I shave and the lather goes on a dry surface.