Your Shave Routine - page 34 -

• #495 by Derris The Barber on 15 Apr, 2012 17:07
• thanks bro!
• #496 by vsG734 on 25 Apr, 2012 16:21
• I have oily skin which sucks. I'm trying for the matte look as hard as possible. If anyone has advice, let me know. I've revamped my routine a bit into the following:
  
  1. Hot shower, rinse off all the dirt and oil with water
  
  2. Wash head with Old Spice Hair and Body Wash for men (I probably REALLY ought to find a better product- might be part of the problem)
  
  3. Apply Edge for Sensitive Skin gel to the horseshoe, and depending on the stragglers that day, to the top too.
  
  4. Shave with the grain, moderate to light pressure, feeling with my free hand to see where I miss.
  
  5. Shave against the grain moderate to heavy pressure, somewhere lightly shaving the top stragglers in between all this.
  
  6. Rinse thoroughly with hot water. Then I use Proactiv on my face (I have the acne problem).
  
  7. Shave my face in the shower.
  
  8. Rest of shower...
  
  9. Close up the pores by turning the water temp down and dousing my head.
  
  10. I should probably use some sort of moisturizer here after the shower with a bit of SPF for the day. I see people mention this Head Lube Matte stuff. Yeah- matte is definitely what I want. Dry as a bone.
  
  
  Help me out if you get a good matte finish and have oily, sensitive skin...
  
  Thanks for reading.
• #497 by Tg96 on 25 Apr, 2012 18:36
• Hey vs "matte for men" is a 3 in 1...moisturizes, has a 25 SPF, and has the matte which reduces the greasy look....it's about 30 bucks for 2.5 ounces, I have yet to try it but I hear reall good reviews about it, I have oily skin as well
• #498 by BillOnBass on 25 Apr, 2012 18:37
• Hi vsG734,
  
  If you have oily skin but you want the matte look I'd recommend keeping your routine very simple.  
  
  From my experience, using bar soap and other deodorant soaps (possibly the Old Spice wash that you use) actually does the opposite of the desired effect: reduce oil.  Deodorant soaps and other soaps that eliminate most of your natural skin oils seem to cause your skin to, over time, produce even more of the oil than was originally present.  Try using a moisturizing soap.
  
  Also, I've noticed the cold water rinse at the end of a shave seems to give a nice shine, so try skipping that part and go straight to a moisturizer lotion.  I usually use an astringent/toner before an SPF-moisturizer, but like I was saying earlier, if you already have oily skin and you use something that dries it out then you end up with more oil than you began with.  Seems counter-intuitive but I'm pretty sure that's how it works.
  
  EDIT:  I have a bottle of Headblade's SPF 30 Moisturizer and it eliminates shine very well, so you may want to give that a shot, too.  I break it out during the summer when I'm outside for hours and it hasn't let me down yet!
• #499 by Mike P. on 25 Apr, 2012 21:54
• Have any of you guys used The Art of Shaving products? I went there once, and I ended up buying the sampler pack. The other day I was looking on the back of the ingredients for their aftershave, and it mentions parabens. I thought I remember hearing that those aren't good for your scalp.....or am I thinking about sulfates? Does anyone know if it's a good idea to use their aftershave on your head?
• #500 by Tg96 on 25 Apr, 2012 22:06
• I use art of shaving cream and their brushes and plan on adding their oil to my routine but I never used their aftershave or plan to really
• #501 by vsG734 on 26 Apr, 2012 16:32
• Thanks a lot Bill on Bass... I will definitely consider all of your advice. BTW, where do you find HeadBlade products?!? Walgreens? Wal-Mart? Rite Aid?
  
  PS- You make it look good man, esp with the beard. I'm jealous.
• #502 by Mike P. on 26 Apr, 2012 20:15
• Quote from: vsG734 on 26 Apr, 2012 16:32

  Thanks a lot Bill on Bass... I will definitely consider all of your advice. BTW, where do you find HeadBlade products?!? Walgreens? Wal-Mart? Rite Aid?
  
  PS- You make it look good man, esp with the beard. I'm jealous.
  

  
  I've seen Headblade products at Wal-greens and CVS. I'm not sure if all of them carry it, but you could check there.
• #503 by Baldstu on 27 Apr, 2012 04:27
• Quote from: vsG734 on 26 Apr, 2012 16:32

  Thanks a lot Bill on Bass... I will definitely consider all of your advice. BTW, where do you find HeadBlade products?!? Walgreens? Wal-Mart? Rite Aid?
  
  PS- You make it look good man, esp with the beard. I'm jealous.
  

  
  You dont need  a  beard   you look good without
• #504 by vsG734 on 27 Apr, 2012 15:37
• Thanks!
• #505 by Mr Jules on 29 Apr, 2012 15:44
• Today, experimented by first shaving with the Panasonic electric razor, then following up with HeadBlade.
  
  Possible the smoothest result yet. Bit time consuming. During the working week, the Panasonic is sufficient.
• #506 by Baldstu on 30 Apr, 2012 02:30
• Quote from: Mr Jules on 29 Apr, 2012 15:44

  Today, experimented by first shaving with the Panasonic electric razor, then following up with HeadBlade.
  
  Possible the smoothest result yet. Bit time consuming. During the working week, the Panasonic is sufficient.
  

  
  This is what concerns me is an increase in time , but veryinteresting
• #507 by Lynchy on 02 May, 2012 17:45
• Hey all! I have a spare minute here at work so thought I would put down my current routine. 
  It has changed heaps since day one, from reading on here and other random internet sources. I have read all the posts in this thread lol so thought I should contribute!
  
  Put shave oil on dome
  
  Boil kettle
  
  Put shaving mug in bathroom sink, fill sink with boiling water, fill mug with hot (not boiling water) let omega shave brush soak whilst I shower. 
  
  Shower - exfoliate head first with generic exfoliating pad and antibacterial soap (a tip I picked up from here somewhere). Rinse that off, cover head with conditioner (whatever the wife has in the shower) complete the rest of the shower as normal. Last thing as I get out is wash the conditioner off. 
  
  Turn the cold completely off and get a small towel under the hot water, get it nice and hot then slap in on my head!
  
  Out of the shower, dry arms and face. Head over to the sink to start making the lather. 
  
  Remove the towel and put some KOS shaving oil on the dome. Replace the towel.
  
  Empty the mug of the water and shake the brush out a little. I am currently using Palmolive men lather shave cream. Put a dab of that in and make the lather.
  
  Remove the towel and brush the later onto the dome, nice circular motions for about a minute or so. (The lather is usually all warm because of the cup, it feels so good!)
  
  Currently using a Mach III Turbo, so bust that out and shave against the grain (because I shave daily with the grain seems pointless), I have been starting at the back of my neck as this is the area most prone to shaving rash.
  ( I thought leaving the shaving cream on for the longest period on the most sensitive areas would be the best. As it would soften the hair and make it easier to cut, however for me it seems the opposite is true? I think it has to do with the benefits of the hot shower and steam being well and truly gone if I wait to do the neck last....anyway whatever works I suppose) 
  Against the grain all over, wipe off shaving cream with hot towel.
  Re-lather and go against, with, across, diagonally, all over the silly areas that don't follow the conventional grain of the hair!
  
  Wet spare hand and check for any missed spots, if there is any shave them.
  
  Back into the shower for another exfoliating (another tip i seem on here) with the antibacterial soap. The put the shower on just cold and let that run over my head for a few minutes.
  
  Back to the sink for witch hazel (TN Dickions) , slather that all over. Sometimes use a tiny but of rubbing alcohol if there is any nicks or cuts (My god it stings, but it does the trick)
  
  Ice rub all over the head. Let the head dry naturally. Then a second witch hazeling!
  
  Then before I leave for work I will moisturise with either Nivea with the SPF 15, or my Clineaque for men after shave balm, or lately a tiny bit of Bio-Oil for that extra shine. All depends what I'm in the mood for! :p
  
  Clean up everything, dry brush, and razor.... Also lately I have been sterilizing the razor, which has seemed to help dramatically with razor burn (again another tip from here!)
  
  Typically I shave in the morning, so befor bed I will Witch Hazle again to make sure the dome is nice and clean! 
  
  So there you go, it's a fairly lengthy routine, all in all it takes me about 25 minutes (including the shower) to get that all done. 
  
  I know all the steps probably aren't necessary, but for now I am enjoying the ritual of it all.
  
  Hoping to move to a DE soon, so the routine will change again! 
  
  Anyway I am open to comments, suggestions, improvements and critiques? 
  
  Thanks
• #508 by kalbo on 02 May, 2012 22:30
• Wow.your routine takes a lot of time and effort but aslong as you are enjoynig everytning, hats off to you.
• #509 by Lynchy on 03 May, 2012 04:42
• Quote from: kalbo on 02 May, 2012 22:30

  Wow.your routine takes a lot of time and effort but aslong as you are enjoynig everytning, hats off to you.
  

  
  Lol I know it's getting a bit much ... I will probably drop a few things as time goes on!