So, I have been shaving after or in the shower for years, and I recognize the benefits of a warm beard and moist skin.. But I would think that after a shower, with your skin being very well hydrated, if not even a bit puffy from the moisture and heat, that the shave would not be as smooth... Realize I am trying to intellectualize this here. The skin gets moist and puffy and ever-so-slightly envelopes the base of the beard. The opposite of what happens when alcohol is applied.. After the shave, the skin tightens, the amount of detectable stubble should be greater. Obviously this isn't the way it is.. in fact, any minor stubble I leave behind after my last pass is all but gone, or undetectable, after a short while out of the shower.. Can't figure it out... miscellaneous ramble over. That is all. Thanks for reading...
Yes my palindromatic friend, it most certainly counter intuitive when you look at it that way. Some people have tried cold water shaving with good result though, so maybe it is just more perception than reality?:signs002
Wet hair seems to be longer, so after your face and whats left of your facial hair dries, the remaining stubble shrinks.
Yeah, I guess I am/was kind of caught in and endless, reversible loop... :ashamed001 :sick007 Um.. .not me.. I have enough challenges with my eyes wide open!! See...that makes sense! I didn't factor in the effect of the hydration and subsequent dehydration of the actual hair... Nice!
It's always easy to construct a line of reasoning after the fact that explains why something seems to work better. Before discovering web forums on shaving, I used to shower after a shave to get the last residue of canned shaving cream off my face. Seemed logical, and I never thought about doing it the other way round. When I read about using a soap and brush, the usual advice was to shower first, so that's what I did. I started getting better results, but I was doing so many things differently at once that it was hard to say what was most significant. I've continued showering first, but when I shave without showering at all, I've still learned to prep my face adequately, so I don't know if it really makes a huge difference.
that is the primary purpose/idea behind wet-shaving, to hydrate and soften the whiskers, so that (A) they're easier to cut, and thus easier on your face, and (B) I read somewhere that with the skin well hydrated and "puffier", that that helps the whiskers even more to stand out straight from the face. Add to that the lather and a good massage from a brush helps to get a better cut. Much of it is speculative theory, but it makes sense to me (and feels great, too!)
I think what isn't addressed yet in this thread is wheather "puffy" skin from being fully hydrated caused skin to swell around facial hair, or pushes on hair follicles forcing the hair to extend further out. Standard TWS practice is based on the latter and I'm inclined to believe it. However, it would take some research to determine which is the case with any certainty.
in all seriousness, thanks for the confirmation - I thought I remembered reading that somewhere, but for all I know I could have fabricated it out of my imagination
Long time ago when I was shaving with cartridges and can thing I took a shower beacuse I didn't know that preparation is so important. When switched to DE I started to shower before shave, but in last month or two I've been experimenting a little an found that I get equal or better shave when I shower after shaving. For preparation I just wash my face with hot water while sink is filling (that's about 1.5-2 minutes) and I feel that my face is more moisturized and soft than after a shower. I also found that showering after shave my face skin feels more natural and hydrated.
I just remember 30-some-odd years ago that it was more comfortable for me to shave after a shower. I've done it that way ever since.
I do both - shower before and after!! I was used to showering after my shave. When I read about the benefits of showering before, I tried it a few times and the shaves started getting better even with a cartridge razor - but leaving the bathroom after a shave without showering just did not feel right; the ritual of years could not be broken so easily. So now I shower before the shave, complete the shave, and then take a 1 min 'rinse' shower - come out feeling great
A handful of years ago, some big dermalogical institute (don't remember who) did a study on just this. They found that showering before a shave gave a smoother, easier, and therefore closer shave with less skin irritation because the hairs were softened by the combination of warmth and moisture. They even figured out that the average beard would need something like one minute and forty-six seconds of moist heat before shaving prep to become sufficiently softened. I think I read this in Men's Health, but I could be mistaken. Anyhoo, I'd always been doing it that way, so I just stuck with it.
No, just exposure to moist heat for that amount of time would prep the beard. I don't remember the exact amount of time, but they somehow had it figured down to the second. Of course, it doesn't really matter, as most people don't shower in under two minutes anyway...I hope!
