Preparing Your Face And Beard

Preparation is often overlooked but it is actually the key to a smooth and close shave.

There are two key ingredients in preparing your face and beard for the shave – water and heat. The water softens the beard while the heat opens the skin's pores and there are many easy ways to achieve this. Washing and rinsing your face with hot water, applying a folded wash cloth or small towel that has been soaking in very hot water or shaving immediately after a shower are all good solutions so choose which works best for you.

Pre-shave oils, gels and creams are designed to enhance or speed up the preparation time by softening the beard and opening the skin's pores. They often leave a slight residue that leaves the skin feeling slicker than usual which can further reduce irritation when shaving.

By the end of your preparation you should be able to feel a noticeable difference in the softness of your beard. If you are first starting out in wet shaving then it is often advised to start with as much preparation as possible (using pre-shave products combined with a shower or hot water towel) and then, as you begin to understand and be more comfortable with wet shaving, you can reduce the level of preparation to the amount required for your skin and beard.