A lot of people get into wetshaving/safety razor shaving/double-edge razor shaving because it can be a simple thing: razor, soap, water…But you quickly learn that really, you’ve just changed some of the hardware, and that likely, you’ve ignored a bunch of the software.
Cartridge razors usually come with lubrication strips or other “features” on them to help the razor to glide across the skin. Safety razors don’t. And while shave soap is meant to provide a bunch of lubrication in addition to support to soften and stand up beard hairs, it frequently can’t do a complete job on the lubrication front. And it’s important to note that if a razor, especially a safety razor, stops gliding smoothly on the face, it can cause damage and irritation.
So enter pre-shaves.
Pre-shaves, like just about every other product used for shaving, can come in numerous forms. The first pre-shave I used was Truefitt & Hill’s pre-shave oil. It has a light lemony or citrusy fragrance, and it is an oil-based product (obviously).
I’ve also used Sterling Soap Company’s beard and pre-shave oil. As with all Sterling products I’ve tried, the fragranced products have a very strong fragrance (for me), but their unscented beard and pre-shave oil has no noticeable fragrance.
These oils worked better than just water, obviously. But on my face, they seemed to just get washed away or wiped away easily with the soap and razor. Yes, they improved the overall shave, but not as much as other products did.
I next tried the Proraso pre-shave (shown above). This is a cream, and I think I’ve described it here as a bit weird because it’s kind of chunky…or has little flecks of something in it. It’s not thick, but it isn’t really thin or watery, either. But you rub it onto the damp face and neck skin and work it in a little bit, and it forms a nice layer of moisturization. And it’s obviously got a lot of oil or fat of some sort in it, because when I rinse my hands after applying it, there is an apparent oily sheen on the water as it rinses away.
The Proraso works very well, especially in combination with their soap and after shave balm. I’ve never had an issue with good lubrication with the Proraso pre-shave when using it, and while it does have a fragrance like the other Proraso white products, it isn’t strong or unpleasant. That formulation is made of oatmeal and green tea, so you wouldn’t expect much fragrance.
The last pre-shave in the stable is the Razor Emporium unscented pre-shave soap stick. This is a soap, in a twist-up stick form that’s good for travel. The soap itself is slick and quick to lather on the face. I’ll smear some on to my damp face and neck, and then rub it in with my hands, and it lathers up as a good face soap would, but it’s also thick, so that portion that was smeared on directly sticks around for a while and provides nice slick lubrication.
This pre-shave also works well for me. As I’ve rated the Proraso and Razor Emporium pre-shaves, the Proraso does come out on top, but if I ran out of the Proraso pre-shave, I wouldn’t hesitate to use the Razor Emporium soap. Both work extremely well, and for me, they work substantially better than any pre-shave oil.
If you’re getting started in safety razor shaving, I’d always recommend trying the Proraso set, just because they work so well, and they’re so inexpensive. But also try other form factors like oils and soaps and see what works best for you. As always, this takes experimentation to find what works well for you.
