Wait a minute! You may want to hang on to that can of shaving cream after all...
A few days after reading Halcyon&on's writeup I decided to test out his findings, mainly because I think shaving is a hassle and making the whole process quicker would be very nice indeed.
By eliminating the need for shaving cream I could not only save time and money, but also be spared the inevitable exasperation of having to wash down the drain the excess shaving cream I always have in my hands after applying rich amounts on my face. How come there always comes too much shaving cream out of the can?
Anyway, I had waited a few days so as to have a bit of beard to shave off. After a long shower, I started to shave, not using shaving cream. And, HANG ON(!), this actually worked!
I must admit I had been a bit sceptical, because previous efforts of shaving without shaving cream had been quite painful and not very successful. But then I had not known about the need for saturating the hair with water.
But now, shaving went pretty smoothly, although it felt different than when using shaving cream, the beard was shaven off quickly and without any cuts or scratching. Good.
But...
Yes, there was a but. Even if the shaving itself went pretty good, the result really wasn't too impressive. After shaving and washing up, I realized that there really was quite a bit of stubble left.
OK, I had better try this again...
Another long shower, and yet again, shaving without shaving cream. But this time, scrutinous and meticulous work went into the removal of facial hair. The result? A bit disappointing really... Lots of stubble, and lots of time spent. And this time I didn't have all that much beard when beginning.
Conlusion... well, sort of
So, what this has taught me is that shaving cream is actually a good thing, especially if you want a close shave. But you really have to let it stay on your face for a little while for it to work properly.
Shaving without shaving cream does work though, just not as well as Halcyon&on claims.