What shaving soap or cream do you use? It makes a huge difference.
If I am using a top tier artisan shaving soap, I find I have no need to use a preshave product; nor do I need to use a postshave product after the shave. I normally do four passes with minimal pressure: WTG, XTG, ATG then a clean-up pass with buffing strokes.
With my elite soaps, I relather for each pass, but I do not rinse my face or applying extra water between passes.
With my super elite soaps, I relather for my first three passes, but can accomplish the clean-up pass without relathering. These super-elite soaps have such a high level of residual slickness that I can even do buffing strokes without relathering. Normally, I will relather, but my face will not suffer if I do not.
Finally, my highest rated soap is so good that I can even do my ATG pass without relathering. That is not a typical practice, even for that soap, but I have done it a few times just to prove how good that soap really is. That soap is the only one in my collection that will allow me to do that.
The only time I use a post shave splash or balm in in extreme conditions. Extreme means the temperature is either over 95F or below 10 F. With anything in between, my elite and super elite soaps keep my face feeling great, even without a post-shave product. I do have many lesser soaps in my collection that benefit from a preshave and postshave product. However, I have enough Top Tier soaps that I rarely use the lesser soaps that I acquired along the way.
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