As always, the key to a good shave is to rinse at the end with cold water, the colder the better. This is especially true if you, like me, have wavy or curly hair; ingrown hairs are virtually emlinated because the cold water causes the oil glands at the base of each hair to seal shut immediately.
To my mind, the ‘gel’ or ‘foam’ question is moot because I don’t have time to use either. I shave standing in the shower using only soap. Check that, never use soap soap, use detergent soap (Dove, Olay, maybe there are others). Because soap is mildly alkaline (pH of 8-ish), it will pit the blades after a few uses and the blades are ruined very quickly. Detergent-based soaps, though, don’t change the water’s pH and work fine. You can get one of those shower mirrors if you need one, but I learned my facial contours by touch and I can shave very quickly and bloodlessly in just a few minutes now. So: wash well, rinse face, lather face with Dove, shave, rinse face, shampoo, rinse everything, turn the hot water off and rinse only your face with cold water (hurry!) (turn water off quickly!) (will help save time drying too as some parts may feel compelled to retreat from the action). Thing is, using a good razor followed by a cold-water rinse means I can shave against the grain of my beard on the first pass, and still no razor bumps (Mach 3 still lasts 28 days, no problem). Granted, my showers run about 15 minutes each and probably waste a buttload of fresh water: so sue me.
Don’t forget to rinse with cold water, even in winter!
