These are the steps I've been following lately when I shave:
- I heat up some water and soak a small towel in it, which I then apply to my face for a couple of minutes.
- I remove the towel and wash my face with the remaining warm water.
- I soak the synthetic brush in the water.
- I apply an oil (usually coconut or jojoba).
- I take the brush, squeeze it, and start swirling it on the soap (lately I've been using Whitebeard's Peppermint, made in Thailand by a farang), then I lather it in a bowl.
- I apply the lather to my face and begin shaving with one of my Japanese-made safety razors. (I use different blades, I have a set of about twenty, to find the one that suits me best.)
- At the end of the shave, I rinse with cold water and apply a pass of alum.
- I wait a minute, rinse again, and put a drop of oil on my face (as I haven 't yet found a good aftershave).