I shave like a MAN now. Roar.
I know this is going to sound lame, but I have totally been turned on to the art of shaving!
Until recently, my morning shaving routine would be to hop out of the shower, (unless it was one of those VERY SELDOM times that I didn't shower in the morning...Right, Breanna?) wet my face a bit, slather on whatever gel-in-a-can product that Gillette or Edge had to offer, and then drag the latest and greatest triple blade razor over my face, removing, and sometimes it felt like ripping out, the three or four days beard growth that I had allowed to accumulate on my facade. Those triple blade shaving cartridges are so damn expensive, but they only seemed to give comfortable shaves like five or six times. And I always seemed to get irritating and unsightly red bumps on my face from the constant scraping I was doing. I didn't know there was a better way.
A few weeks (and a little bit of studying) later and I now have what could be called a beginner's shaving kit. For starters, everything I read said that the cream in a can had to go. I didn't know that the stuff was mass produced cheaply to sell more volume. I also didn't know that most of the shaving creams and gels in aerosol cans can actually DRY a person's face, thus making shaving more difficult and less comfortable. There are literally dozens of shaving creams and soaps out there that use a glycerin base. These keep the face lubricated better, plus many of these products also pack in moisturizers, so it's like I'm getting a facial every time I shave! (insert sex joke here.) I picked out the only cream they offered at the local Body Shop in the mall, mainly because I'm pretty compulsive and when I want something, I'll usually try to get it as fast as possible, but when that runs out, I'll be looking online. As an added benefit, there are some crazy scents that these creams and soaps come in, like Lavender, Rose, Almond, and Lime. Rose may seem counter-intuitive to the very "manly" idea of shaving the face, but I've heard it's a favorite around the world, and I'd much rather smell like roses than a teenager's arsenal of colognes (which is what most of the mass-marketed shaving creams smell like.)
Also, at The Body Shop, I picked up a shaving brush. A lot of what I read suggested that if you had to change one thing about your shaving routine, start with buying a brush. The very idea brings up pictures in my head of old barbers and straight razors (more on those later.) A shaving brush does a couple of things. First, it retains water and heat, which are both essential to a comfortable shave. The water it retains mixes with the shaving cream in a bowl or palm to produce a thicker later. Secondly, when brushing the cream on the face, it actually exfoliates the skin. It also helps to stand whiskers up and to get the cream under the hair, where applying with the hands tends to paste the hair down, making it harder to shave clean off. Mostly, I just like the feeling of "painting" the shaving cream onto my face. Most sites recommend a brush made from badger hair, but the one I picked up is all synthetic. It seems to work fine for me.
Finally, the pièce de résistance: The double-edged razor. With all the marketing geared towards more and more blades making the shaving experience better, it's easy to forget what shaving actually is; cutting the hair off of a person's face, preferably as close as possible to the skin. Why use five blades when one can do nicely? Replacement cartridges are expensive, and the bulky plastic packaging is a landfill nightmare. Double edged razors are inexpensive (usually between fifty and seventy-five cents a piece. They're also compact, made of recyclable steel or platinum and are usually packaged only in paper and wax-paper. I got my new shaver plus 100 blades for $30 from amazon.com. Each blade can last at least four shaves comfortably, and I don't shave every day, so that's around two years of shaving for a very nice price.
(my new razor!)
With one blade, I can control the angle of attack, plus the whiskers and shaving cream don't get all clogged up like they do with multiple blades. It takes a bit longer to do the job, but it's well worth it. I haven't nicked myself yet, and my face has never been smoother. Also, I no longer get razor rash. I don't know if it's the fact that I'm being more careful, or that shaving this way is truly better, but I like the results. Plus there's just something old-fashioned about it. I guess I'm just getting old.
Once I get really used to this, I think I'm gonna go all the way and spring for a straight razor:
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I can't imagine a more exciting way to start my day than with a piece of metal that could do some serious damage if I sneezed or got bit by a cat or something.
Until recently, my morning shaving routine would be to hop out of the shower, (unless it was one of those VERY SELDOM times that I didn't shower in the morning...Right, Breanna?) wet my face a bit, slather on whatever gel-in-a-can product that Gillette or Edge had to offer, and then drag the latest and greatest triple blade razor over my face, removing, and sometimes it felt like ripping out, the three or four days beard growth that I had allowed to accumulate on my facade. Those triple blade shaving cartridges are so damn expensive, but they only seemed to give comfortable shaves like five or six times. And I always seemed to get irritating and unsightly red bumps on my face from the constant scraping I was doing. I didn't know there was a better way.
A few weeks (and a little bit of studying) later and I now have what could be called a beginner's shaving kit. For starters, everything I read said that the cream in a can had to go. I didn't know that the stuff was mass produced cheaply to sell more volume. I also didn't know that most of the shaving creams and gels in aerosol cans can actually DRY a person's face, thus making shaving more difficult and less comfortable. There are literally dozens of shaving creams and soaps out there that use a glycerin base. These keep the face lubricated better, plus many of these products also pack in moisturizers, so it's like I'm getting a facial every time I shave! (insert sex joke here.) I picked out the only cream they offered at the local Body Shop in the mall, mainly because I'm pretty compulsive and when I want something, I'll usually try to get it as fast as possible, but when that runs out, I'll be looking online. As an added benefit, there are some crazy scents that these creams and soaps come in, like Lavender, Rose, Almond, and Lime. Rose may seem counter-intuitive to the very "manly" idea of shaving the face, but I've heard it's a favorite around the world, and I'd much rather smell like roses than a teenager's arsenal of colognes (which is what most of the mass-marketed shaving creams smell like.)
Also, at The Body Shop, I picked up a shaving brush. A lot of what I read suggested that if you had to change one thing about your shaving routine, start with buying a brush. The very idea brings up pictures in my head of old barbers and straight razors (more on those later.) A shaving brush does a couple of things. First, it retains water and heat, which are both essential to a comfortable shave. The water it retains mixes with the shaving cream in a bowl or palm to produce a thicker later. Secondly, when brushing the cream on the face, it actually exfoliates the skin. It also helps to stand whiskers up and to get the cream under the hair, where applying with the hands tends to paste the hair down, making it harder to shave clean off. Mostly, I just like the feeling of "painting" the shaving cream onto my face. Most sites recommend a brush made from badger hair, but the one I picked up is all synthetic. It seems to work fine for me.
Finally, the pièce de résistance: The double-edged razor. With all the marketing geared towards more and more blades making the shaving experience better, it's easy to forget what shaving actually is; cutting the hair off of a person's face, preferably as close as possible to the skin. Why use five blades when one can do nicely? Replacement cartridges are expensive, and the bulky plastic packaging is a landfill nightmare. Double edged razors are inexpensive (usually between fifty and seventy-five cents a piece. They're also compact, made of recyclable steel or platinum and are usually packaged only in paper and wax-paper. I got my new shaver plus 100 blades for $30 from amazon.com. Each blade can last at least four shaves comfortably, and I don't shave every day, so that's around two years of shaving for a very nice price.
(my new razor!)
With one blade, I can control the angle of attack, plus the whiskers and shaving cream don't get all clogged up like they do with multiple blades. It takes a bit longer to do the job, but it's well worth it. I haven't nicked myself yet, and my face has never been smoother. Also, I no longer get razor rash. I don't know if it's the fact that I'm being more careful, or that shaving this way is truly better, but I like the results. Plus there's just something old-fashioned about it. I guess I'm just getting old.
Once I get really used to this, I think I'm gonna go all the way and spring for a straight razor:
I can't imagine a more exciting way to start my day than with a piece of metal that could do some serious damage if I sneezed or got bit by a cat or something.