Pre-Shave Ideas for Men and Women
This is a list of hints to prepare your skin for a good shave. I consider this step the most important step.
- Clean the area you are going to shave with a face wash that contains some kind of salicylic acid to remove dirt, oil and dead skin. This will help the razor slide across your skin and keep you from clogging up your pores with dirt on your freshly shaven skin.
- Some say shaving in a warm shower or placing a warm towel on the area to be shaven, for five or ten minutes, helps the hairs stand up. This will usually soften the hairs making shaving a much easier task.
- Next determine which direction the hairs grow. This is critical because you always shave in the direction the hairs grow, NEVER against the grain. Just like the hair on your head, the hair on you face is very directional. Spending a little bit of time on this step can really make a difference. Note: Watch most commercials where men are shaving, they almost always shave the wrong way…
- A few people recommend using a moisturizer to soften the hairs up, but I am not a fan of this because it could swell the skin up and reduce the effectiveness of the shave. To each their own.
- Shaving cream vs. Shaving gels. What actually seems to work best, and was recommended by my dermatologist, was to use the old style shaving cream. I would also use a badger brush or similar shaving brush to apply the shaving cream. The cream provides a superior lubrication and the brush helps stand the hair up.