Sometimes, simply shaving with a good razor isn’t enough to squeeze the maximum performance or comfort out of your grooming session.
One of the major missing elements is a pre electric shave routine which can drastically enhance both the experience and the outcome.
There are different types of routines, some are brief while others slightly elaborate. Each has their unique requirements and reasons you need to understand.
In today’s article, I’ll give you four different categories of pre-shave routines: common for all consumers, dedicated routine for foil and rotary shavers and one for manual shaving so that you can draw a comparison.
Contents
Common Pre-Shave Routine
This is the segment describing the common pre electric shave routines that can be applicable to any sort of shaving and caters to general consumers without exceptional requirements.
Cleanse Your Skin
Firstly, you must cleanse your skin thoroughly. The build up and dirt on the skin are the prime reasons for causing ingrown hair, tugs, pulls or even accidental cuts.
Start by washing your face with lukewarm water to remove all the sweat off of the skin surface. Then, apply a natural cleanser to remove dirt and oil from the pores.
After cleansing, mop up your face with a clean towel and proceed to the following step.
Exfoliate (Optional)
A lot of consumers, particularly ones using good electric shavers, don’t perform exfoliation – but it has tons of benefits as opposed to the time spent behind the procedure.
Exfoliation is a scrubbing process that removes all the dead skin and ingrown hair from the surface and the pores.
It functions as a more intimate version of facial cleansing, with additional rubbing and scrubbing animations for around 2-3 minutes.
This also regulates blood circulation of skin which is an essential preparation for your skin before applying the cutting actions.
- Methods: Using exfoliation scrubs based on fine particles like sugar, salt or microbeads, you need to massage your skin in a circular motion for 30-60 seconds.
- Chemical Exfoliation: Although I don’t support it, there exists chemical exfoliation methods that utilize Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs), Beta Hydroxy Acids (BHAs) and enzyme exfoliants.
- Mechanical Exfoliation: Certain mechanical tools do come in handy in this regard, for instance, ones with microbeads that vibrate or other advanced tools to remove the top layer of the skin.
- Natural Ingredients: Otherwise, these natural ingredients have given me the best possible results ensuring skin health: sugar and honey scrub, coffee grounds or baking soda paste.
- Exfoliation Products: Exfoliation creams or pads can hydrate your skin while scrubbing, but it’s better if these are based on natural elements.
It’s generally applicable for most skin types except for those with sensitive skin or certain medical conditions.
Additionally, there are exfoliation tools like face brush, loofah, washcloth or even exfoliation gloves – you can pick any one of these based on your requirements.
Dry Your Skin
If you’re using a dry electric shaver, you’ll have to mop your face till it’s fully dried. Otherwise, you can let the skin be moist for those with a wet shave device.
After exfoliation, don’t scrub the drying towel vigorously on the skin, rather gently press it until the rag absorbs all the moisture.
Inspect Your Face/Neck
Before diving into the cutting actions, check your face, neck or the overall skin in the shaving region to check for bumps, ingrown hair or other types of growth.
You can generally achieve this by running your thumb over your skin and looking for uneven surfaces.
That should give you a baseline for grooming – identification of the areas that can directly be shaved on and the areas requiring minor adjustment in blade positioning.
Pre Electric Shave Routine for Foil Shavers
There are certain measures you can take when it comes to preparing for a grooming session using a quality foil shaver. Combining these with the common pre-shave routine will certainly boost the quality of each shave!
Skin Preparation
This step includes both cleansing and exfoliation if needs be. In addition, make sure you’re starting off with dry skin without any dampness.
Because damp skin prevents the foil elements from gliding efficiently. On a dry skin, you can apply shaving lotion or cream to reduce frictions of the cutting elements.
Otherwise, shaving powder is also a viable solution. Both of these are applicable for dry shaves, whereas wet shaving can endorse shaving foams or gels.
Trim Long Hairs
Most foil shavers capable of close shaving have one common restriction: the ability to shave over stubble growth between 3 to 5 days.
Any growth over this can compromise the cutting efficiency of your foil razor, therefore trimming the beard to a shorter length becomes essential.
With a zero-gap trimmer, you can easily get this job done within minutes. Otherwise, tools like Braun Series 7 come with trimmer head attachments dedicated for such tasks.
Stretch Your Skin
Always try stretching your skin when it comes to shaving with a foil razor. Although it’s not a part of the pre-shave routine, I feel obligated to mention this for a smoother experience.
If you’ve completed a solid pre-shave routine, you need to maximize the potential of your shaver and stretching is definitely a part of that journey.
Pre Electric Shave Routine for Rotary Shavers
For rotary shaving, your pre-shave routine will be almost the same as foil shaving but with certain alterations due to its unique animations. Let’s get started on those!
Skin Preparation
I’d recommend a rotary razor that’s capable of wet shaving because that way you’ll get the smoothest possible glides.
Otherwise, it’s absolutely necessary to apply shaving lotion after exfoliation, otherwise your circular motions might leave red patches afterward.
Generally, rotary shaving isn’t as close as foil shaving but offers a more comforting experience on the skin.
And applying shaving lotion, foam or gel can only boost that comfort by softening the facial hair and hydrating the skin.
Shorten Long Hairs
Similar to foil razors, rotary shaving as well demands shortened facial hair or at least a particular stubble growth length.
Generally the maximum size is around 5 days but certain rotary razors can perform well with a 7 day stubble.
Still, to render the fastest and most convenient grooming experience, you should either shave every other day or use a trimmer to shorten long hair.
Norelco rotary shavers often come with a built-in trimmer unit but it’s better to settle for a dedicated device to get the job done much faster.
Pay Attention to Problem Areas
The shaving animation of rotary shaving encompasses a much larger area than any other category of grooming.
Therefore, you have to check the areas that are problematic on your face – could be your sensitive neck region or sections containing medical conditions.
Once those areas are recognized, consider slowly animating over those areas with less pressure. Also, keep the exfoliation scrubbing to a gentle degree by reducing pace.
Pre-Shave Routine for Manual Shaving
Although I promised a routine dedicated to pre-electric shaving, I still think it’s necessary to highlight manual shaving pre-routine so that you can learn the differences between the two categories.
Pre-Shave Shower or Hot Towel
Manual razors are definitely very sharp but the degree of comfort varies based on your skin type, beard density and hair texture.
So I recommend either going for a shower before shaving, or at least pressing and holding a hot towel on the beard for a couple of minutes.
That way, your skin receives sufficient moisture and the beard strands are softened to allow the blades to chop through them without much resistance.
It’s worth noting that the cleansing routine must be included for manual shaving as well, and exfoliating definitely generates better results for most cases.
Apply Shaving Cream/Gel
You should consider applying shaving cream or gel all over your beard and let it sit for around 30 seconds.
Certain grooming enthusiasts tend to apply antiseptic cream mixed with water across the shaving region to protect the skin.
While applying shaving cream or gel, be sure to get to the root of your facial hair by gently scrubbing over during application.
For the closest results, perform the shave twice – both times having applied shaving gel or foam and your skin will definitely feel silky smooth!
Sharpen or Replace the Blade
As the final step of your pre-shave routine using a manual razor, it’s ideal to either sharpen or replace the blades.
For cartridge system razors like Gillette, check how long each of the cartridge is meant to be used and frequently perform the replacement.
Other shavers using stainless steel blades, it’s ideal to use one blade per shave and safely throw it away once the grooming is over.
How Do I Choose the Right Pre-Shave Product for My Skin?
There are a few things you need to assess before choosing the perfect pre-shave product for your particular skin type. Let me help you out very shortly:
- For Dry Skin: Apply pre-shave oils that hydrate your skin or lotions for moisturization.
- For Oily Skin: Non-comedogenic products or lightweight materials should be applied following a thorough wash.
- For Sensitive Skin: Products that are alcohol and fragrant-free should be prioritized. Best way would be to choose products with natural ingredients.
In general, these are the three major skin categories that need to pick a product based on the skin type when it comes to pre-shave routines.
Similar confusions arise during a post electric shave routine and it’s better to match the product category you find useful in both cases for better outcomes.
FAQ
Before the closing argument, let’s answer some important questions regarding the pre-shave routine to inform you about certain unexplored yet often-asked factors!
Q: Why is a pre-shave routine important?
Ans: A pre-shave routine is important for numerous reasons including protection of your skin, softening facial hair before shaving, reducing irritation and chances of tugs, pulls or ingrown hair, getting a closer shave and so on.
Q: How often should I follow a pre-shave routine?
Ans: Every time you shave, you should follow a pre-shave routine. Even when you have very little time to spare, at least apply a basic pre-shave routine to keep your skin healthy after rough shaving actions.
Q: Is it necessary to use pre-shave products?
Ans: It’s not absolutely necessary to use products to complete a solid pre-shave routine. But certain products do help out to smooth out the procedure. If you’re uncertain, you can opt for products that contain natural ingredients, otherwise skip the product segments altogether if your skin doesn’t support it.
Q: Can I skip cleansing my skin if I’m in a rush?
Ans: Sadly, I can’t advise you to do skin cleansing even when you’re in a rush. Because cleaning is an integral part of shaving in any category and without a clean skin, your shaving actions can pose a wide array of problems ranging from irritation to ingrown hair.
Q: Can I use the same pre-shave routine for my face and body?
Ans: No, facial and body skin have different properties and the frequency also varies between these two grooming areas. For your body shaving, follow procedures that fit your body skin and hair condition in the best possible manner. But you cannot take the lessons from facial pre-shaving and directly apply that into body grooming.
Final Thoughts
Let’s end our discussion on pre pre-electric shave routine with one final statement – you cannot and should not skip one – even if you perform the most compact one.
Because no matter how safe your electric shaver might be, there’s bound to be an interaction between your skin and the cutting elements of the razor.
And these interactions need to be smooth to avoid any sort of discomfort and to protect the integrity of your skin.
A pre-electric shave routine is the viable solution to all these troubles and in the bigger picture – it’s going to boost the quality of your shaving experience by a huge margin!