The Importance of Face Washing

Have been using a custom glycerin soap without dyes and additives made by physician friend that works well but remember using phisoderm years ago and with great results albeit for acne.  May try phisoderm again - is memory correct in that it has a funky scent??

No smell.

I've personally used a large number of face wash products over the years ranging from your standard Noxzema and Cetaphil to the L'oreal stuff BPman  wrote about with charcoal in it. I've even tried some more botique offerings like Oars and Alps. Most of them dried my face out quite a bit after using them due to the detergents/charcoal in them.

Lately I've actually been using the Lucky Tiger Face Wash. It's one of the only ones I've tried that don't leave my face feeling dried out after using it.

It has a lot of the face food that you find in many quality shave soaps these days and a very light citrus scent to it. So I find it great for use in the morning and at night. I highly recommend trying it if you're looking for something other than the mainstream products.

I did try their face scrub as well. It's essentially the same as the face wash, but it adds exfoliation to the mix, so I personally prefer the face wash.

BPman mentioned more research being needed on this topic. I've read everything I can find, including studies. I'm on a journey to become a true expert on shaving irritation and face washing as part of pre-shave prep is critical. Here is what I've come up with. Dealing with shaving irritation, of which face washing is a part, isn't a function of any particular products. It is a function of process and best practices.

Washing our faces before shaving with soap and a wash cloth or similar rough surface is critical for a few reasons. First, our faces are covered with staph bacteria and other germs. We want those removed. Shoving staph into hair follicles will cause infection which presents as bumps, irritation or ingrown hairs. Thankfully, staph bacteria seldom make it to the second level of the hair follicle, which can cause the staph infections that kill people.

Next, we all know that we want to soften our whiskers. Having water soak into the whisker is what does this. We want to wash the natural oils, which of course shed water, off the whiskers so the water can get in and soften them.

Next, shaving removes about the same amount of dead skin as it does whiskers. We want the soapy wash cloth to remove that skin. Nothing good happens when the razor pushes dead skin into the hair follicle.

Finally, we all know what ingrown hairs are. There is another thing that happens to most men, which are referred to as trapped whiskers. They occur mainly on the neck, where the whiskers exit the follicle at a much lower angle that elsewhere. If laying flat enough, skin will grow over them, which leads to nothing good. The soapy wash cloth will free most of them. The skin layer is really thin in the beginning, so it isn't that hard.

Other than softening the whiskers, none of my comments apply to the quality of the shave itself. I saw a comments where someone said a particular product made their shave smoother. When I said its a matter of process and best practices, I was speaking from a shaving irritation perspective and not a shaving smoothness one.

I stopped using soap products on my face with the exception of shave soap and my skin has never looked better. It’s amazing.

I just wash my face with the same soap I use on my body, currently Kirkland's Signature, when I take a shower in the morning. I then go through my morning ablutions with the Rogaine, flossing and brushing my teeth, and then my leisurely shave. I prep with some pre-shave oil and just a light splash of water without drying it off. I bowl lather but really take my time working the lather into my beard making sure all the water on my face is incorporated into my lather. This approach works really well for me. My face is far healthier looking and feeling than it ever was before I discovered classic wet shaving and stopped using Edge Gel. So drying. I love how my face feels after I apply the alum and then rinse it off. I love how it feels after I rub some witch hazel on. I love the feeling of my aftershave of the day and in the winter love the balm I put on since my steam heat in my house is very drying. Anyway, the Kirkland Signature soap is pretty good. I looked up the ingredients as follows:

Ingredients:
Sodium Palmate, Sodium Myristate, Sodium Laurate, Water, Glycerin, Potassium Myristate, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Laurate, Potassium Stearate, Stearic Acid, Titanium Dioxide, Cetearyl Alcohol, Fragrance, Ceteareth-20, Disodium Distyrylbiphenyl Disulfonate, Pentasodium Pentetate, Tetrasodium Etidronate.

I have no idea what most of that stuff is so if anyone sees something that isn't cool or considered bad for you, let me know. They say animals were not used in testing and it is made in the USA.

Interesting. I've been using a charcoal face was for a good few months now.
SPAPharma dead sea minerals.

BPman mentioned more research being needed on this topic.  I've read everything I can find, including studies. I'm on a journey to become a true expert on shaving irritation and face washing as part of pre-shave prep is critical.  Here is what I've come up with.  Dealing with shaving irritation, of which face washing is a part, isn't a function of any particular products.  It is a function of process and best practices.

Washing our faces before shaving  with soap and a wash cloth or similar rough surface is critical for a few reasons.  First, our faces are covered with staph bacteria and other germs.  We want those removed.  Shoving staph into hair follicles will cause infection which presents as bumps, irritation or ingrown hairs.  Thankfully, staph bacteria seldom make it to the second level of the hair follicle, which can cause the staph infections that kill people.  

Next, we all know that we want to soften our whiskers.  Having water soak into the whisker is what does this.  We want to wash the natural oils, which of course shed water, off the whiskers so the water can get in and soften them.

Next, shaving removes about the same amount of dead skin as it does whiskers.  We want the soapy wash cloth to remove that skin.  Nothing good happens when the razor pushes dead skin into the hair follicle.

Finally, we all know what ingrown hairs are.  There is another thing that happens to most men, which are referred to as trapped whiskers.  They occur mainly on the neck, where the whiskers exit the follicle at a much lower angle that elsewhere.  If laying flat enough, skin will grow over them, which leads to nothing good.  The soapy wash cloth will free most of them. The skin layer is really thin in the beginning, so it isn't that hard.

Other than softening the whiskers, none of my comments apply to the quality of the shave itself.   I saw a comments where someone said a particular product made their shave smoother.  When I said its a matter of process and best practices, I was speaking from a shaving irritation perspective and not a shaving smoothness one.

As someone who's easily prone to ingrowns, I follow a similar routine by using light touch and face wash and a baby hair brush for exfoliation. Works pretty well for me.

Two products get the job done for my face and head... I'm a head shaver.

1. daily washing with L'Oreal Charcoal Cleanser
2. few times a week and especially if you have multiple days growth - St. Ives Apricot Scrub.
3. Liberal and frequent use of Thayers Witch Hazel

and if you really want to get fancy... go on keto and watch your skin flourish after dumping the carbs.

...I just got a charcoal face soap too...hmm. Thumbs up to get you over the 666 mark

I should clarify that the one I used is the one for men by L'Oreal. Regardless, I noticed measurable razor "drag" after using it as a pre-shave wash. YMMV.

MMDV. Though I don't wash with it I just apply as pre shave. Mates well with MDC I don't use face soap unless I have particular reason to, haven't for years, my skin is better for it.

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This thread is mainly about products, though washing our faces before shaving is important for several reasons.  For me, the product is artisan made bath soap.
Why washing is imortant:

1. Staph bacteria, the kind that can make you very sick, is part of the natural human flora.  Probably won't get badly sick, but it will cause uncomfortable bumps.
   
2. We want to soften our beards, which is done hydrating the whisker with water.  Washing our beards removes the natural oils to water can soak in.
   
3. Dead skin needs to be exfoliated and removed.  If not, it will be shoved into the hair follicles, which can cause uncomfortable bumps.
   
4. Whiskers on the lower part of the neck exit the hair follicles almost laying on the skin as opposed to pointing outwards in other places.  Skin tends to grow over some of them, creating what are called trapped hairs.  Once covered in skin, you get an uncomfortable bump or an ingrown hair.  Soapy fingers aren't enough to release trapped hairs.  I use a soap wash cloth, scrubbing gently.