Hello, I'm wondering if anyone has a suggestion for a good step-by-step routine as well as products to use? I have normal to oily skin, and my beard is quite thick. I was also prone to ingrown hairs on my neck. I was using a Gillette Fusion and before that, all the other Mach whatever razors they've had over the years but have recently switched to wet shaving with a Merkur HD 34C. Is this step-by-step routine too much? Not enough? Out of order? 1. Cleanse 2. Exfoliate 3. Pre-Shave Oil 4. Lather 5. Shave 6. Second Pass 7. Cold Water Rinse 8. Alum Block 9. Aftershave 10. Moisterize (the places you don't shave) 11. Toner I can't figure out what products are good for my face or what are just useless or pointless products that I've been lead to believe are necessary. Do I need ingrown hair treatment or razor burn repair lotions, or are these already included in proper aftershaves? Are toners as pointless as some people say? Should I just grow a giant beard to live in the woods? Thanks for your responses!
Welcome to TSD! This is the best wet shave board on the planet! As for the routine you have posted...it is a bit involved for me, but that is me. If it works for you then cool! One of the best ways to see what our daily routines are is to hop over to the SOS thread. There you will see first hand how elaborate, or spartan of a routine many folks have. Yeah, or you could just grow a beard to live in the woods! Happy shaving! Or... not?
Welcome to the Den. Yeah, a bit involved for me, as well. Jeff had a good idea - peruse the SOS threads. Check out some of the videos from here. As for what will work for you, only you'll be able to figure that out. It's going to take trying this and trying that. I do hope you find what works for ya!
The one product that I find indispensable in my shaving routing is Visal gel. I often find that an hour or so after a shave, despite having used witch hazel, aftershave splash/balm, I get a bit of face itch. The Visal always kills that. I believe Shoebox Shave Shop has it.
This is my routine. When I started wet shaving, the quality of my shave declined until I developed a passable technique. It may take a few weeks, but once it clicks the shaves only get better. To borrow Steve's words, It's your shave, have it your way. If this routine works for you, then great. Stick with it and get the best shaves of your life. If something isn't working, don't change multiple things at the same time as you won't know what worked or didn't work. Make one change at a time. Also don't get discouraged, you have some shaves that are better then others. Just listen to your face and go with it.
I switched to wet shaving because I had issues with ingrown hairs on my neck. I have not had any problems since. My routine is: 1) Hot shower (I used a gentle face cleanser in the shower, Cetaphil) 2) Jack Black Beard Lube (an x-mas present that I will stick with forever) 3) Lather up and shave WTG, XTG (I'm still experimenting with DE razors so depending on how the shave feels I will go ATG.) Between each pass I re-wet my face with hot water. 4) Warm water rinse (remove an shaving cream left) 5) Cold water rinse 6) witch hazel splash If its dry out I moisturize after the witch hazel splash. Make sure you give your preshave and shaving cream time to work and let it sit on your face for a minute. The only bad shaves I've had with my neck have been when I've rushed. I hope some of this helps. Good luck.
I've only been wet shaving truly for a few months and I've yet to find the routine for me. There are so many variables which makes it so hard to describe the perfect shave.
Drop the exfoliate. Shaving itself does that and the double dip can increase your chance of irritation. Good luck.
Thanks everyone! I don't actually do all of these steps in this routine, that was just as full as I thought you could possibley make it. (Personally, I think that full of a routine is a little Patrick Bateman-esq if you catch my meaning.) I did get a pre-shave witch hazel cream, which seems to help (at least it feels nice).
