How to Shave Without Showering
It’s common knowledge these days that the best time for men to shave their face (or anywhere else, for that matter) is straight out of the shower or in the shower. This is when your skin is relaxed, your pores are opened, and shaving will be easiest, causing a minimum of redness and irritation.
But there are times when it’s just not practical to shave right after showering. Perhaps you already showered today, or you’re running really late, or you’re not at home and able to shower. Whatever the reason, there are steps you can take to mitigate the razor burn and shaving bumps that are more likely to arise from shaving an un-showered face.
Four Tips to Shave Without Showering:
- Hot Towel. There’s a reason you see barbers wrap a hot towel over the guy’s face they’re about to start shaving in all those old movies. It works. With effects similar to showering, placing a warm-to-hot towel over your face before shaving will absolutely mitigate potential razorburn or irritation. Fill a clean sink with warm water – as hot as you can stand against your skin, and drop in a small towel. A hand towel is the best size. Remove and wring out. Put your head back, close your eyes and lay the towel over your face. This is easiest when sitting if possible. When the towel gets cool (which will happen quickly)
- Exfoliate.
- Pre-shave oil. (This step is unnecessary if you use a high quality shave gel like Cleanse & Shave) Apply a pre-shave oil underneath your shaving cream or gel, to provide an additional layer of protection against shaving bumps and irritation.
- “Shaving Light.” You can take steps to make the process of shaving easier on your skin, especially if you’re unable to shower first. First, don’t press your razor quite as hard on your skin as you typically do. Next, make fewer passes of the razor over the same part of your face. Third, don’t shave upwards if you typically do. Although you won’t get quite as close a shave with these techniques, for many men it’s a reasonable trade-off to avoid unsightly razor burn.