Proraso - first time user

[sargan]

After starting with a Palmolive stick initially, been using a soap puck ... 'Taylor of Old Bond Street - sandalwood'
and one of 'D R Harris Arlington soap' (Love that Arlington scent)

The latest one is coming to an end, so bought a dual pack of Proraso Menthol & Eucalyptus soap and the same scent pre-shave cream

My shaving approach (DE) is having put brush in warm water to soap and also water on the soap .... work brush into soap to pick some up, them lather up on my face .... never gets to the big deep lather I see in some pics ... but it seems to work OK.
I am either coming from a shower, or use 'D R Harris Arlington' pre-shave oil

Would welcome advice on those familiar with Proraso products.

# Do I use the pre-shave cream on dry or wet skin
# Soap seems very soft compared to previous ... do I still just load brush up and lather on face ?
# Seen some comments that pre-shave cream is also a post-shave cream ... but no mention of that on the jar.

[brothers]

Welcome to SMF! Great first post. Hope you'll keep 'em coming.

Regarding #1, many guys including me don't use a pre-shave, other than water.
#2, yes, the soap will be fine loading the brush on the soap, then building the lather on the face.
#3, whether you use it pre-shave is up to you, but the product probably makes an even better after-shave than a pre-shave. Just my opinion.

[CMur12]

Welcome to SMF, sargan!

I have no experience with pre-shave creams, so I can't advise you regarding questions 1 and 3.
Question 2: Regardless of the consistency of the soap, just load, lather, and use as usual. Every soap is a little different, so some minor adjustment might be necessary to get the best results.

- Murray

[sargan]

Do you mean load up rush and lather in the Proraso soap dish or direct on face?

[CMur12]

Do you mean load up rush and lather in the Proraso soap dish or direct on face?

Either way should work.

You can load the brush and lather on top of the soap,
you can load the brush and lather in a separate bowl,
and you can load the brush and lather on your face.

The method is a matter of personal preference and any good soap or cream should work effectively for all three approaches.

- Murray

[Brutus]

i suspect you use too much water.

Firstly; if you face lather, there is no need to put water on top of Proraso soap.
Proraso, like many other Italian soaps, is relatively soft and it suffices to run some water over the soap and then let it run off so that only the soap surface is moistened. I suspect that many Proraso users may not even go that far and take the moistened brush straight to the soap.

Secondly, your brush might hold too much water.
Run the brush under (or dip the brush into) warm water, shake off excess moisture before you load the brush with soap.

Living in a climate with limited water resources, I try to preserve water and have stopped shaving with running water and only fill the sink.
In my case; if I should find that the brush needs some more water, I just dip the tips of the brush in the sink thereby increasing the water/soap ratio until it feels right.

Keep experimenting, before long it will become second nature.



B.

[sargan]

I am not sure why you think I run a tap during shaving ...but thank yor your comments.

[Ouchmychin]

I agree with Brutus. I have a very hard soap and I only push the brush under water in the sink and rub it on the soap. I have to be careful to shake it well or squeeze it a bit or I will still have too much water to build a thick lather and some water runs out of the brush and down my jaw to my chest, not pleasant. Of course the kind of brush has a lot to do with that. I use a Razorock Monster synthetic and it is a huge brush and can hold a ton of water.

[Brutus]

I am not sure why you think I run a tap during shaving ...but thank yor your comments.

Maybe because a large percentage (if not the majority) of wet shavers do, and you did not give us any clear indication in your post that you do not?


B.

[sargan]

Still fail to understand why you brought it up ........ as it was irrelevant to the question.
The fact I clean razor in a sink of water or running tap makes difference at all to the use of Praso soap

[Brutus]

Still fail to understand why you brought it up ........ as it was irrelevant to the question.
The fact I clean razor in a sink of water or running tap makes difference at all to the use of Praso soap

If you say so....

I was trying to show you ways to better control the amount the water your brush holds, as this is what you appear to be struggling with.
One method applies to running water, another method that I happen to use and tried to describe to you applies to a sink filled with water.


Please excuse if from now onwards I refrain from debating the question of runnning water vs. sink filled with water with you, as it distracts from your primary problem of incorrect water/soap ratio and my reply was meant for your benefit and not mine.

I do wish you good look with your shaves. We all had to start somewhere and most of feel we owe something to the advice of experienced shavers who helped us along the way. Eventually many of us try to give something back to the community, but that is not to say that one cares to be drawn into futile debates.



B.

[BPman]

Sinks are cesspools of bacteria:

http://education.seattlepi.com/types-ba ... -4325.html


I use running water to rinse the razor during and after a shave, but by turning it on & off for just the amount needed. I would never fill up a sink and use the water as it's as filthy as a toilet.

[Ouchmychin]

Speak for yourself. Have you tried Lysol spray. I use it regularly. No water shortage here. We pump it from the Columbia River and dump the processed sewage right back in. We all have lawns and normally use water freely. We have had a couple of droughts and needed to conserve water, but not normally. Farmers use I for irrigation of the desert too.
Anyhow, I wonder if the OP has tried our suggestions.

[CMur12]

And here I thought the lesson was that we can shave out of the toilet!
(After all, my cat drinks from it with no ill effect.)

We have several times as many bacteria in our bodies as we do actual body cells. Not all bacteria are harmful and our bodies and health depend on the proper balance and diversity of bacteria in our systems.

Although I'm sure it has happened, I have never heard of anyone getting an infection or contracting illness from washing or shaving from a sinkful of water.

- Murray

[Ouchmychin]

Many years ago there was a graphic thread about a guy that didn't wash his shaving brush. Not something I want to see again.

[Brutus]

Sinks are cesspools of bacteria:

http://education.seattlepi.com/types-ba ... -4325.html


I use running water to rinse the razor during and after a shave, but by turning it on & off for just the amount needed. I would never fill up a sink and use the water as it's as filthy as a toilet.

Having actually read the link provided:

Let this be a warning to all of us who might contemplate after food preparation in the kitchen sink (e.g. dismembering chicken, a leading carrier of salmonella) running this sink, or any other sink "filthy as a toilet", full of water and then proceeding to shave there.


Me thinks though that for those of us who use a bathroom sink that is kept clean (and not used for food processing), generally dry, and maybe even disinfected (e.g. with Lysol), this link is largely irrelevant.


In all fairness, I do admit though that I do not normally run a sink full of water for shaving on overnights trips when I am staying at a hotel.


B.

[BPman]

Truth be told, Proraso hits far above its weight class for the money. I have only used the cream and never their soap, but it has always given me a perfect shave all things considered and when I use a good razor & blade.