Shave Before or After Shower? The Eternal Question

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Whether you shave before of after shower is a debate we’ll never see the end of. The answer depends largely on your own preference and situation.

Shaving preparation requires plenty of hot water. Therefore it can make sense to have a nice hot shower first. This is the main reason to have shave after showering. If you are also using a shaving brush then you can get this prepared with hot water as well.

The downside is a hot shower will often fog up your bathroom mirror. You can stop mirrors from fogging up by applying a thin layer of soap. Whether you use liquid or bar soap, mix it with some water as if washing your hands and then apply the mix to the mirror. A good extractor fan and leaving the door slightly open can also help with this problem.

Some bathroom mirrors come with heating elements to stop steam condensing on them.

You can also get mirror defoggers that attach to the back of the mirror and can then be wired to the same circuit as your lights and fan so when you enter the mirror heats up.

You may also find you get cold shaving after showering as you were in a nice hot shower and are now naked in the bathroom. This can be helped with a bathroom mat to separate your feet from the cold tiles and drying off and wrapping a towel round you. Again if your bathroom is full of steam this will be much nicer, but you’ll need to stop your mirror steaming up.

Finally, after shaving your face will still be covered in soap and bristles requiring you to wash again. This is not a major problem but it does feel like you may have been better off showering after.

Overall whether you should shave before or after a shower seems to lean towards the former. However, the quality of shave is much better if you can have a nice hot shower first. The biggest problem is the bathroom mirror fogging up but there are ways to manage this. Wrap a towel round to stay comfortable and then enjoy what feels like a barber-quality shave with luxury shaving cream and a single edge safety razor.

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