Pre Shave Methodology

Discussion in 'Preshave and Aftershave' started by jbcohen, Sep 27, 2007.

  1. jbcohen

    jbcohen New Member

    I might do a hot towel treamtment on myself this week-end. How do you do a hot towel treatment before the shave? How do you heat the towel? Might be interesting to do.
     
  2. Will

    Will Nevermind

    1. Helps to soften beard
    2. Feels good
    3. I just run a washcloth under piping hot water, let it cool off a bit so you can touch it, wring it out, put it on face and neck.
    4. Enjoy!
     
    Easy Going likes this.
  3. jbcohen

    jbcohen New Member

    Good idea will experiment with this. on the week-end.
     
  4. TraderJoe

    TraderJoe Pink Floid

    I typically will only have time to use a hot towel on the weekends. IT works wonders.

    I also like to put a "pre-shave" on before applying the towel. Something with menthol can be nice, but any pre-shave oil or cream works well for me.

    Man, put some pre-shave on, apply a hot towel.........the whiskers just melt away. Razor optional :cool: :D
     
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  5. rick

    rick I'll make ya SCream!

    be a little green, wont ya ?

    ;)
    Fill your sink with hot water.
    While you soak your brush, dunk the washcloth in.
    Wring out and place on yo face for about 15-20 sec. Repeat. Repeat.
    Usually 3x is good for me.
    ........saves some water, dont ya know :D
     
    Easy Going likes this.
  6. qhsdoitall

    qhsdoitall Wilbur

    Dampen towel and nuke it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds (YMMV). Careful. Very hot. Saves water though.
     
    Euro73 likes this.
  7. rick

    rick I'll make ya SCream!

    algore would be proud !!

    ::
    doin whats right for the CA !!
    I use the same sink full O water for the entire process. Start to finish. Not much waste there at all.
    I also try to conserve in the shower by wetting down and shutting off the H2O in between lathering.
    but thats not important here.....
     
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  8. jbcohen

    jbcohen New Member

    I like Mottern Man's method best, just my humble opinion. May try some pre-shave with this.
     
  9. qhsdoitall

    qhsdoitall Wilbur

    Santa Clara County is petitioning to expand the water treatment plant. Toilet water to drinking water. How's that for recycling? :D
     
  10. fritz

    fritz New Member

    The 800-pound gorilla hot towel technique

    My thoughts on hot towels, from trying them a lot...
    If you have a really tough, wiry, and also dense beard, then hot towels (and other preps) can make an enormous difference in the quality of your shaves. If you've the kind of beard where you wash your face and shave one pass ATG, then replace your Dorco blade every Sunday whether it needs it or not, then you probably don't need this.

    I find a washcloth is much too small, and use hand towels about 16x24 inches. If you use a thick, soft towel, and don't wring it out too dry, then it won't cool off so fast. Pass it under your nose, over your ears, and take the flap hanging down and pull it up close around the neck. Rub your hands over it to help transfer the heat.

    Here's a prep that I have found to get my very tough beard almost down to peach fuzz. You might try the full thing, then subtract out parts of it to find the minimum things that YOU need to get YOUR beard as soft as it needs to be for a comfortable shave.

    1. Wet face with warm water.
    2. Smear on generous amount of Noxzema Deep Cleansing Cream (original). Include your forehead and nose if you wish. Massage into beard with fingers.
    3. Shower, washing face last, scrubbing well with rough cloth and soap.
    4. Onto wet face, apply about 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of the following mix: 2 parts extra virgin olive oil, 2 parts castor oil (USP) and one part glycerin (USP). Shake well before dispensing. Rub in well with hands.
    5. Apply very damp hot towel for at least 2 minutes, refreshing with new hot water as needed.
    6. Rinse face with fairly hot water, scrubbing with wet towel about 30-60 seconds or so.
    7. Apply Proraso pre-shave.
    8. Apply light coat of lather. Rub in with fingers or brush for 30-60 seconds. Let stand another 30 seconds.
    9. Rinse with warm water, lather up and shave. Just before the ATG pass, rub a little of the oil mix on your face before applying the lather.

    NOTES:

    * Noxzema is dirt cheap and seems to work well.
    * In step 3, the shower is optional if you wish to shower after shaving. But the Noxzema needs to sit for a few minutes, and be scrubbed off with soap.
    * Steps 4-6 are the major softening parts. The scrubbing part is important, to wash away most of the applied oil, along with the oil/dirt it has removed from your face and beard.
    * For step 7, some other pre-shaves can be substituted for the Proraso. It may be possible to eliminate it, or to use a little Noxzema instead. I just like Proraso.:D
    * For step 8, It's handy to just stroke a little Arko shave stick over the Proraso, lather with a wet brush for about a minute, then let it sit while you build more lather in a bowl with cream or another soap.
    * For step 9, for the ATG and/or touch-up passes, I usually squeeze the brush out and get all the leftover lather in my left hand, then apply with my fingers. Some have expressed concern that the oil will load up the brush-- this way, the brush never touches any of the oil. Even when I lathered on an oiled face with the brush, I didn't notice any problems. I think the glycerin is key here, as it emulsifies the oils so they rinse out easily with water. But, I've got hard water so I soak my brushes every 6 weeks or so anyway.

    Yes, it takes a little time (but you can shave a little quicker). Don't do it unless you need to do it. Modify it to fit your beard. But if you have a really tough beard, don't knock it until you've tried it!
     
  11. TraderJoe

    TraderJoe Pink Floid

    I hereby nominate you for President! :happy088

    Well done ::
     
    Euro73 likes this.
  12. rick

    rick I'll make ya SCream!

    Der Fritzer !

    Most excellent. ::
    Should be good news for those with really tough beards.
     
  13. qhsdoitall

    qhsdoitall Wilbur

    Nice job. I added it to my "How to" reference material. Which reminds me. I should probably come up with/solicit a bunch of "How to" questions. Need to beef up reference material.
     
  14. fritz

    fritz New Member

    Thanks!

    Well, gawsh, gentlemen, :signs001 for the nice words. Much appreciated.:o

    I just stumbled around until I ran into it. The Oil Cleansing Method (Google for it) was quite enlightening. The thing that makes your beard tough is the hardened shell of sebaceous oils mixed with dust that forms around each whisker shaft. That's why most pre-pubescent boys that start some facial hair have "peach fuzz" because they don't produce much of this sebaceous oil until after puberty. Some lucky individuals never do produce much, and thus have "light" beards that can be prepped with a little soap and water rinse.

    Once you remove this oil shell, you still have to apply some soapy water (lather) and let it soak in to soften the whiskers. But now it has a chance to soak in.

    It adds 6 to 8 minutes to your shave time, but it's worth much more than that for the rest of the day! The only thing you'll miss is that the razor doesn't "sing" much any more. Because the whiskers are so soft they don't make that "ping" sound when cut.
     
    Easy Going likes this.
  15. TraderJoe

    TraderJoe Pink Floid

    Couple Comments

    Using the Fritz-method the last three days, I have consistently gotten the best 3 shaves of my life.

    After the first one, in which I basically did an exact replica of his posted routine, I have made a few tweaks.

    1. In the shower, Wet face with warm water.
    2. Smear on generous amount of Lucky Tiger Lemon PreShave Cleanser (I'm getting even better results with this than the Noxzema)
    3. Shower, washing face last, gently rinsing only non-bearded area
    4. Step four is to add oil/glycerin mix......but I cut this out and am able to because the Lucky Tiger lemon lotion is very heavy in oil. Its basically a tub of grease with lemon scent :D It does a fantastic job as pre-shave, as it does an oil-cleanse and it also contains LANOLIN to soften the whisker ;)
    5. At the end of the shower, soak hot towel, DO NOT wring it out. Apply to face fully soaked with hot water. Repeat 6 or more times (do this for a couple minutes)
    6. Before exiting shower, rub face gently with hot/soaked towel to remove any excess preshave. Face is as slippery as dog snot at this point.
    7. Apply Proraso/3P/Prep presahve cream (choose one, or use all - knock yourself out)
    8. Apply proto-lather to face, with brush.....then rub in with fingertips. Rinse with hot water
    9. Re-apply and fully lather face. Then shave.
    10. BBS

    I showered at the usual time, and actually finished my shave faster than I usually do. The whiskers melted away, it was a thing of beauty :cool:

    If you try the Fritz method, or any variation of it........ and any whisker is left standing.......see the doctor quick 'cause it ain't hair, but something else....mutant :rofl ::
     
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  16. Will

    Will Nevermind

    :happy096

    Dog Snot!:happy001
     
  17. Baloosh

    Baloosh Duder

    Gonna try this over the next few days. Gonna be sweet if it takes my shaves to the next level! :cool:
     
  18. TraderJoe

    TraderJoe Pink Floid

    More info

    I think that aside from some changes here and there in methodology and pre-shave technique......a big difference has come from:

    ----------------> the "timing" of the use of hot towels and the resultant increase in flexibility and ease of use.

    Before, I was using a hot towel at the sink, and it became a time-consuming project of heating under hot water, ringing it out so it doesn't drip everwhere and anywhere, repeat a couple times. This becomes a process, and takes too much time.

    Now that I'm using the hot towel in the shower, I have the liberty of leaving the towel Soaking, Sopping wet.....and I think it makes a huge difference, and I know for a fact it takes a lot less time.
     
    Allen Whitney likes this.
  19. Scorpio

    Scorpio Big Hitter

    I propose a name designation:

    Fritz Preshave Procedure or FPP

    This way we can easily reference this outstanding preshave process. I might even propose a sticky as I think new and establish members will benefit from this post.

    Raf
     
    Ryan Hoover likes this.
  20. TraderJoe

    TraderJoe Pink Floid

    I agree! This should definitely be considered as a sticky!

    I consider this a complete breakthrough in the world of wetshaving ::
     

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