SMF

Been DE shaving now for about two years. Finding a pre-shave routine that works best for me has always been tough. Up until very recently, I always used a facial scrub while in the shower, thinking that this was softening my beard, making for a more comfortable shave. I've come to realize that, not only have I been using this facial scrub WAY too much, but I've always used it as sort of a "crutch" in my routine. I've always had it in my head that it was the only way to prep my beard for a more comfortable shave. I have officially given up the facial scrub. Been trying to figure why my face is irritated and just downright agitated. I really think it's from overusing this facial scrub - all it's doing is agitating my skin. I kept thinking I was getting chronic ingrowns, but it finally dawned on me that those aren't ingrown hairs at all - it's just compounded irritation from the scrub! So I decided to just toss that stuff and see if there's a difference.

From here on out, I'm simply going to apply a hot washcloth to my beard, holding it there for about a minute, and then proceed with my shave. This method seems to be MUCH gentler on my skin and I can already see the difference from dropping that scrub from my routine. That scrub is really irritating - and I've used it for way too long - time to hang that up for good. Just finally realized that I don't need it, and I think my skin is a lot happier for it.

Just wanted to share a few thoughts

Thanks

Makes a lot of sense David.

Congratulations on making a breakthrough!

Thanks for posting your experience, David. A pound of personal experience is worth a ton of theory.

As far as I know, the purpose of facial scrubs is to remove dead skin (which the razor does anyway). They do nothing to soften a beard that regular soap doesn't do. I prep my beard by washing it with mild soap and soaking it with hot water. While that's what works for me, you can determine through your own experience what works for you, and you appear to be doing just that.

- Murray

Having those "Aha!" moments happen all along the journey. What you discovered makes perfect sense and I will suggest that things will continue to develop as time ticks forward and you have the experiences that will develop along the way. THEN, you can go STRAIGHT and the real fun begins!

Antique Hoosier wrote:Having those "Aha!" moments happen all along the journey. What you discovered makes perfect sense and I will suggest that things will continue to develop as time ticks forward and you have the experiences that will develop along the way. THEN, you can go STRAIGHT and the real fun begins!

Until you have to resharpen the damned thing!

- Murray

CMur12 wrote:Congratulations on making a breakthrough!

Thanks for posting your experience, David. A pound of personal experience is worth a ton of theory.

As far as I know, the purpose of facial scrubs is to remove dead skin (which the razor does anyway). They do nothing to soften a beard that regular soap doesn't do. I prep my beard by washing it with mild soap and soaking it with hot water. While that's what works for me, you can determine through your own experience what works for you, and you appear to be doing just that.

- Murray

Exactly. The only thing I can think of, to add to my "new" pre-shave prep, is to wash a with a very mild cleanser. But I already have excessively dry skin, so I tend to avoid washing my face with any cleanser at all. Simply holding that hot washcloth to my face for a minute seems to be working great so far, so I think I'm going to stick with that. The simplicity of the hot towel on the face seems to be the most gentle, straight forward, and traditional way to prep your beard anyway - GENTLE being the keyword!

Sounds good, David. Some of us use soap in our beard prep and some don't, each for our own reasons. Glad you found what works for you; others who read this thread can take your experience into consideration for the reasons stated.

- Murray

This is one of those great threads where we can learn and add our two bits. I found for me, I don't need any hot towels or strong preps at all. In fact, I can use a brushless cream and no prep and get a good shave with 3 passes on the skin with only one smear of the cream to start. The blade must be sharp though. With a dull blade no amount of prep helps.

Pete, most of the time I end up doing it like you do. If I think of it, I might add a splash of water first.

In my own case, the more I can soak and soften the beard, the better.

- Murray