pre shave just because you can!

@WindsorCitrus

@WindsorCitrus

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No one has posted here for a while so I thought I could start a discussion.

My question is, do you use a pre shave because it actually improves your shave or because it's just a nice thing to include in the shave?

I originally at the start of my Traditional shaving journey would have put my self in the 'nice to have' category. Things such as shaving oils I thought hindered my shave. Over time and with expirence and passed on knowledge from forums like this I changed the way I used pre shaves and now I love the use of them. I use pre shave glycerin soap, shave oils and pre post cream all with great success. So are you a 'actual improves my shave' or 'nice to have' or maybe even 'they just don't work for me' person.
 
I too have been through a whole range of thoughts on this.
As a cartridge + goo user, I definitely benefited from a layer of pre-shave oil.
When I made the move to brush and DE, I continued to use pre-shave oils and even created lots of different blends. However, I did notice that when I didn't use the oil, my shave didn't really suffer much. I also noticed that with some soaps, the oil affected the lather. I had tried proraso pre but didn't really feel it did anything for me.
For the last few months, I have not used oils at all. However, I do like to keep my face moist whilst loading my brush. For this reason, I have gone back to using the proraso pre from time to time when using a soap just for that reason. If I'm using a cream, I don't bother.
 
When I started wet shaving this time last year Proraso Pre Shave cream was in my first delivery of kit and I used it religiously for the first few months. When I switched to face lathering and starting using other soaps I found the pre shave cream to affect the lather in a negative way so stopped using it. To be honest, I didn't really notice any difference to the quality of the shave without it. I reach for it sometimes when I'm using Proraso green soap just because I like the menthol hit. But when it runs out I doubt I'll be replacing it.
 
I think for newcomers to traditional shaving it improves the structure of the skin - after whipped gel in cans, skin can be a horrible mush, but conditioning with a good pre-shave oil really accelerates getting good skin ... and then good shaves.

I've not used a PSO for a good number of months, but did just the other day - T&H's Ultimate Comfort (the citrus one) and post-shave, my skin was so much better conditioned. I think I might well just bring that back into my routines.

In terms of helping the actual shave, glide, slip and all that ... I don't think it does anything for the actual shave. Perhaps there's some skin protection, but the soap does all the glide and slip.
 
Paul you have touched on something there and I agree with you. Pre shaves certainly effect the quality of your skin not just the shave. I find that it helps with the shave particularly in the first 2 passes but where I see the difference if I wasn't to use a pre shave is in how my skin feels after the shave.

T&H is a good one really nice lemony scent, expensive though. If you ever get the chance grab some Maggards oil.
 
I didn't use one before and went straight into the Proraso shaving cream, and got a good shave usually. Now I use a lotion and it softens the hair a bit more and allows more prep time to really get the skin ready for a shave. I've never really had razor burn or anything but its always nice to have a good cushion between razor and skin, esp across the grain.
 
I've used quite a few oils and other pre-shaves and find they do make a difference particularly when using a straight most days. For the past year or so I've used Jagger's Hydrating cream and apply a hot flannel over the top - you can really feel the difference when you do this, especially with a few days growth.
 
Every single shave for me. Murdock is top of my list, T&H ultimate comfort (No10 range is way down the list) is a close second.
The most slippery is Zirh but it has no scent so falls into third which is a shame as it is like Teflon!
 
When I first started with DE shaving, I used Proraso Pre-Post (white one) or PREP cream. I discovered oils work best for me when used sparingly. I use the Aqua Di Parma oil or the Gentlemans Refinery oil, both of them are really good in my opinion. A couple of months ago I discovered Santa Maria Novella products and I have to say that their Pre/Post cream is the best I've used so far, really excellent stuff.
 
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