Adding slickness to my face

I have tried the hot towel, and I like it. But I only use the hot towel if I don't shower before I shave. I've found that a hot shower before shaving and taking my time lathering up with the brush is enough to exfoliate my skin and soften my facial hair to make my shaving experience a lot more pleasant. But whether I shower before I shave or use the hot towel method, I would like to try using some oil before lathering up to see how that works for me. I'm, still very new to all of this, so I'm still doing a lot of experimentation trying to find a process that works best for me. Thanks again for sharing your experience and offering your advice, ejmolitor37. It's much appreciated!

 

This is something I've been doing ever since I started wet shaving. Maybe slickness isn't the issue for me. Maybe I need to use a sharper blade, or maybe my struggles stem mainly from not having mastered the proper technique when it comes to using my safety razor. I tend to think it's my technique more than any other factor that's affecting my shaving experience.

 

I use a DIY pre shave oil and I really enjoy it. Not hard to make and it seems to make my face slicker. I'll have to try some of the Proraso and Noxema and see how they work, but for now I'll keep on using the home made stuff.

 

+1 For Noxzema it's great and here's a marvel of a pre or shave oil. Shave secret! Walmart carries it. Smells lovely, very slick, protects your face and leaves it smooth. Price 3.49 or so. Good luck

 

I can only recommend that you find soaps or creams that have high moisturizing abilities. My skin is very happy with (and would, if it could talk) recommend Meissner Tremonia Pots of Milk and Stirling Scots Pine Sheep.

As for preshave oil: I too tried this out early in my shaving career (not so long ago, mind you), but rather quickly stopped once I figured out lathering. I have tried it since, and find that it actually has the opposite effect (except when shaving with the cream of the same series, Truefitt Hill No. 10.) I always shower before shaving, though, which has the desired effect.

 

You might want to try TSD's own preshave balm => *click* <=. I like it a lot!

 

Thanks for all of your replies and recommendations, hrairy, Roby, Halvor, and macaronus.

 

Have you seen the PSO Tutorial in the tutorials forum? Just wondering. Great ideas in there.

 

Might try adding a small amount of hand lotion before each lather. My wife had some kind of lotion from Bath and Body Works that worked really nice at adding slickness. A pea size squirt from the pump was enough to do the job.

 

Don't forget to try WD-40, Crisco, and Astro Glide (Just kidding, don't try those).

Pre Shave oils aren't really for adding glide. Their purpose is to moisturize and hydrate the skin before you shave to improve elasticity and reduce the chances of nicks, weepers, and irritation. I found a good face cream (I use Nivea Creme) does the same thing without breaking out my skin or leaving my face overly oily.

What you probably want to try is a soap with a clay in it. Stirling is affordable, and is regarded as one of the slickest soaps around.

 

+1

 

Thanks for the suggestion, Steve. Following your advice, I did check out the PSO tutorial discussion, and I made a PSO to try out on my next shave.

 

Thanks for that info, Garrett. I didn't know the PSOs weren't for adding glide; that's good to know.

Just to make sure I understand you correctly, you're referring to a regular face cream and not shaving cream, right? One of the shaving creams in my rotation is the Nivea Men Sensitive Shaving Cream. I really like it, but not enough to ignore the other soaps and creams in my collection. None of the other soaps in my collection are made for sensitive skin. And as much as I like the other soaps and creams I have, I think they could all use a little help with more slickness/moisture. That's why I'm experimenting with ways to make them more slick/add moisture to them.

 

In my opinion, for whatever that's worth, PSO adds glide.

 

Yes and I agree. Lots of good stuff there.

 

Yep, plain old face cream/lotion as a preshave. I've used glycerin soaps, pre-shave oils, glycerin-based lotions, regular lotions, and face creams. They all work well to reduce irritation and cut down on any weepers. The cream works best for me because the others tend to leave my skin oily and/or lead to breakouts. I think the Pre-Shave oils work especially well for hydrating skin, particularly for men since we tend to ignore taking care of our skin. But I struggle with folliculitis on my scalp, so my dermatologist told me to stay away from the oils.

 

Thanks for confirming that I had the correct understanding. And thanks for sharing the info about all the products you've tried. I appreciate all of your help.

 

This has been an education for a newbie like me. I will look for the PSO recipes.

Thank you for bringing up the subject.