As a newbie I am spending 20mins+ per shave (doing 2-3 passes). It's way too much time spent shaving on a weekday morning. Now, I am not talking about making it a 30second speed shave, but looking for some tips to optimize it. So far I have been keeping wetshaving limited to weekends unless I can get comfortable with it and it becomes second nature but I would really like to do it on regular basis. Here is my process: 1. (Pre-shower) Fill the bowl with hot water and leave the brush in it to get soaked. 2. (Post-shower) Use 20seconds or so soaping up the brush from the Proraso soap tub. 3. Next few mins to make lather on hand (this is most time consuming). 4. Apply on face (another 2-3mins). First pass takes 2-3mins. Repeat for second or third pass. Generally, last pass takes longer to get little missed spots like on the chin, right under the nose etc. 5. Close shop. Rinse bowl, brush, razor etc and admire myself for 25-30seconds. As I said before, I would really like to cut this time in half? It took me 25mins this morning... too much, IMO. Please help a newbie. All that being said, wetshaving is awesome!! No skin irritation even after two passes (only if I go against the grain) and shave is so close, so smooth.
Cutting these out of your routine will save you some time. I have yet to see anyone prove a need for soaking a brush. It's simply a preference for some. Try face lathering instead of hand lathering. Keep in mind, for some face lathering may cause irritation, depending on the brush's scritchiness.
i tried it directly on face (that's how dad it before Mach 3 and shaving gel 'revolutionized' the world) but that doesn't as much lather. Using it on hand, I can almost enough to make the santa beard.
Honestly, I'm at a loss for words. I always take about a half hour for the shave. I hate to rush, so I don't. I just set my alarm clock to give me enough time to do my thing.
I Got it. Just out of curiosity... why do so many people like to lather on hand or in bowl? Wouldn't face be the best way to do it?
I can't promise that my advice will help, but here's my take: 1. Cut out the hand lather stage. Just load it from the cup/ bowl and apply directly to your face. 2. Cut out as many passes as possible. You can do this by lowering your expectation of the shave (a good enough shave instead of the best shave possible) or by getting an aggressive razor that requires fewer passes. I shave in something like ten minutes. I load my brush, apply lather to my face, and then do one pass + touch ups. I have a thick, fast growing beard and sensitive skin. I also have three kids that I drive to school in the morning. I am trying to get an adequate shave in as little time as possible. I do not get BBS shaves this way, but I'm okay with that. My go to razor is a Gillette NEW head paired with a long and heavy Sabi handle. It's just right on the aggression scale, for me anyway. Hope this helps.
Go to bed earlier, and set your alarm earlier. Seriously though, many of us enjoy the time spent shaving and would like to increase it if we could. As you gain more experience, you will get faster. I can do every step that you have outlined in 5-6 minutes, total time. It took me at least six months to get to that point. There are steps you can take to shorten your shaving routine at this point, but they will decrease your enjoyment of the shave. You may just want to get a can of Barbasol for those mornings when you are running late. Keep it up...and you'll find yourself cleaning TSD Route 5.
I found I didn't have enough time to shave in the morning. So I started shaving in the evening. I keep the morning shaves for the weekend now, when i have time.
You may find that a different brush or soap may be more suitable for face lathering. I use either: Mitchell's Woolfat (Which some find difficult to lather) or Bodyshop Maca Root which I find great for face lathering with a Semogue or Vulfix boar brush. I'm in a hard water area btw. YMMV of course with regard to product choice, but I think that being able to build a decent lather quickly in as few steps as possible would be a good timesaver. I like Proraso's bowl soap but I do find it often produces a thinner lather than the afore mentioned products. A razor more on the aggressive side is also helpful. Fewer passes means less time. I can get a good-enough shave with one pass of a Fatip, plus touch ups. It also depends on how long it takes you to make the passes. This might be down to technique. Perhaps some of the vids on Youtube might be helpful. If you're wary of using an aggressive razor and very careful and considered, a much milder razor might be helpful where you can perhaps make much faster passes, more like a cartridge razor. I hope that these suggestions may be of use! It's great to take time and enjoy the experience, but I know that's not always practical.
I'll second a lot of the suggestions and maybe proffer more ? ,.. - Face Lather (some brushes and soaps/creams seem to thrive on face lather) - Sometimes using a cream can help the face lather go quickly. Though I find that a good soap can often be worth the few seconds to load the brush. - Fewer passes. An added benefit ...don't need as much lather = less time loading and face lathering. - Restrict the lather shave to a DFS. It may be a little less than smooth in places, but most folks would not likely notice unless they run their hand across your face. No one is allowed to do that to me at my work! . Anyway, maybe this is all a rehash of what has been presented in the thread already. Either way, you'll note that there are a lot of similar suggestions presented in the thread. Maybe some will work for you as well. At least you have a few suggestions you can try. I'd be interested to see how it goes. [edit: word choice error - correct context]
I take about 20 mins on a normal day. I have a couple of cans of Proraso Foam for the times I wake up late or have formation coming up and only a few minutes to shave.
same here i usually shave at night since im always on the go for my morning commute, but last week i woke up 1.5hrs earlier to shower, enjoy my shave and grab a quick bite before leaving for work Also, if i shave in the morning i go for an acceptable shave as stated above and save my weekends for the long enjoyable shaves with crooner music in the background
I also find I'm taking far longer in the morning and as a result am getting to work later and later. Part of this is because the orocess takes longer, but more of it is actually because I finally enjoy shaving and am lingering and enjoying the shave in the morning. I've cut the process back to 3 pass on the face and 2 on the neck (to reduce irritation and after-care time), and I think I've hit a sweet spot. Still takes longer than mach 3, but totally worth it. Enjoy the shave! Don't rush it. Brian H.
Get up in time to enjoy your shave... I like to take (30)-(40) min. or more to enjoy my shave and smell the Roses..& GOD help anyone that wants to rush me...
It take me a little better than an hour to brush my teeth, shower and shave. With most of that time devoted to my shave.. I've cut back to two passes with touchup, but it hasn't cut the time down much. Part of my problem is I shave with two razors(ER 1924 first pass and EJ89 second pass and touchup) and clean and dry both after each shave, plus the brush,bowl,counter top. Hmmm now that I think about it the time seems reasonable.... So I guess it's a 25-35 minute mostly BBS, irritation free shave. This was a GREAT post it's made me feel better...
