This time of year hundreds of thousands of men will shave clean on November 1st and then forgo the razor for the rest of the month, either in pursuit of fundraising for numerous charities (most notably colon cancer) or out of corporate laziness. However the key is a clean and close shave at the start of the month, and it is the small things that make the difference in a good shave.
A while back I posted about receiving my starter kit from Wet Shave Club. There is something refreshing about taking the time to do things the old fashioned way. Over the years somehow we have gotten to five bladed disposable razors and dozens of different shaving creme formulas purporting to cater to every possible skin type at often insane prices. However my grandfather and yours managed to get close and clean shaves every morning using a double-edged safety razor, a puck of shaving soap and a brush. Shaving is becoming a lost art, but it doesn't need to be.
Here is how to shave the way our grandfathers did:
Step One: Use a new clean blade every three days or so
Step Two: Prep your shaving brush by soaking it in warm water to soften the bristles
Step Three: Prep your beard. This was often done at barber shops by placing a hot towel over the face to soften up the beard, but in my experience nothing beats a hot shower to soften up your hair and get it ready to come off.
Step Four: Build a lather with your brush. Start with as little water as you can and add water as needed to get lather to desired consistency.
Step Five: Apply lather to beard. Dab on, brushing with the grain.
Step Six: Put razor to face! Start with handle parallel to floor and then slightly drop end down until the blade just starts to grab hair. Apply as little pressure as possible, letting the razor do the work unlike disposable razors. Make sure you shave with the grain of your beard to avoid ingrown hairs.
It could take two or three passes to get a nice clean shave, but it is a beautiful thing.
