Great Shave On The Cheap!

Hi guys 'n' gals,

Been away for a long time, but I've been doing some experimenting and found what works the best on my skin! just stumbled across it while messing around and got a fantastic shave with no redness or nicks at all! While unorthodox, this might be good for some of you with sensitive skin like me, so here goes!

Note: This is a routine for someone who shaves every 3-4 days, it may cause skin irritation in those who shave every day, as exfoliating more than twice a week is considered counter productive for most skin.

Will Need:
-Good Bar Soap
-Lather Bowl or Scuttle
-Shave Cream or Soap
-Face Washer Towel (good quality cotton)
-Pre shave oil, non water soluble
-Liquid Styptic or Alum Block
-Good Quality moisturiser
(oil free in my case for combination skin)

Method:

1. Soak brush and go domething constructive, like any other small grooming needs you can do before your shower, grab a face washer, some good quality bar soap (hand made Lemon Verbena in this case, so good!) and your pre shave oil (Avocado oil for me,) and place them in your shower cubicle for later.

2. once brush softens up, go about building lather (I used Proraso in this case) in a bowl, then set it aside in a sink full of hot water so it's warm when you come out of the shower. those of you with proper scuttles, this is your chance to shine!

3. Have a regular shower and let some hot water run on your face for a minute, then grab that face washer from earlier and wet it, then rub the bar soap into it and create a slight foamy lather with it. Give your face a medium exfoliating scrub (not too vigorous!) with it for a minute or so and rinse with plenty more hot water, be sure to scrub your whole face, remembering the sides of your nose, forehead and any dry skin trouble spots!

4. After that, rub a generous amount or pre shave oil on your skin and let some more hot water run over it to warm up the oil.

5. Start your shave routine by lathering up with your nice warm lather from before, then do a pass with the grain, if you're very prone to ingrowns I suggest you might skip to step 7

6. rinse off excess lather with hot water to make your face really wet, the re lather and go against/with the grain. On my skin, there are some spots like on my neck and moustache where I just can't go against the grain at all; so I go diagonally in a mix of against and across as a compromise; know your skin people!!

7. Rinse the whole mess with plenty of cold water to close all them pores and soothe the skin, then pat dry (don't wipe) with a towel.

8. After care time! I used a folded up makeup remover pad with a generous splash of cosma liquid styptic (great stuff!) and wiped it over the whole shaved area with the grain. If you want, you could go fancy and use some witch hazel on the non shaved areas of your face to condition the rest of your skin; which can't hurt, but i was stuck for time in this case.

9. give the styptic 10 minutes or so to work its magic, you might need to dab extra on any nicks and cuts to seal them better. Apply a generous slather of your moisturiser to soak into your chops and you're ready to face the world!

Thanks for reading, hope some or even all of this helps; gave me a pretty luxurious shave that lasted a day or so longer than usual, and didn't inflame my mostly sesitive skin; happy shaving boys and gals!

-Neill