fitzage.me

I've written about my new shaving methods twice in the past, but have not been completely satisfied with the results. I've been modifying my technique here and there to try to achieve better results.

Yesterday I asked one of my Twitter friends what he used for a pre-shave technique, and he sent me this link. I gave it a try this morning, and the difference in shave experience is astounding!

My previous method gave me a closer shave with less irritation than other methods I've tried. This method of preparation, however, gave me no irritation (except for opening a couple of wounds I created yesterday) and made my face feel like a baby's backside when I was done. A clean one, that is. The hairs were so softened that the razor glided across my face with a smoothness I wouldn't have thought possible.

Since the forum post is a bit obtuse, I'll combine the salient steps from the initial post, as well as the steps for the morning routine that goes along with it. You can click through to read the rest of it and the science behind it if you want.

1. Don't get in the shower yet.
2. Apply lather to the face with a rotary motion of the brush. Notice there is no longer the step of applying pre-shave oil or cream.
3. After you've completely lathered, work the lather in with the tips of your fingers in a rotary, massaging motion.
4. Evenly wet a towel or large washcloth with hot water (make sure it's not so hot that you can't hold it on your face).
5. Place the towel so that it completely covers the portion of your face and neck that is to be shaved. Leave it there for around 3 minutes (although I'm sure I didn't do it quite that long).
6. Remove the towel from your face and use it to wipe off the remaining lather.
7. Re-lather and proceed with the shaving process as I've outlined before.
8. Take your shower.
9. Apply after shave.

For those who have not yet made the jump due to the problems I've had in the past, I can definitely recommend classic shaving with no reservations now. It's an excellent experience.

I was beginning to think I would never get my new shaving technique down quite right. Lately, though, things have been shaping up nicely in that regard. I’ve given up on the two pass method for the most part because it seems to be a little too rough on my tender neck. Now that I’m only doing one pass, I don’t seem to have nearly as much trouble with hacking my neck to pieces.

One advantage of using a real razor is that I don’t get nearly as many zits or ingrown hairs as I used to with other methods. This shaving method is gentle on the skin, and helps keep your pores nice and clean.

The main thing to watch for is the fact that you have to remember to let the razor do all the work. Don’t press down, but let the weight of the razor do all the pressing. When I forget this and start pressing down is when I have more problems with cutting myself. A gentle glide of the razor actually gives a closer shave with less irritation.

I’ve also changed the shaving cream I use. This was primarily a financial consideration, as I had no problems with the quality of the previous stuff. I now use Proraso, which is significantly cheaper. It has the added advantage of being available at places like Target, instead of specialty online retailers that charge obscene amounts for shipping and handling. They have a cream and a soap, and I decided to use the cream, and it works well enough that I haven’t bothered trying the soap. I think the cream was actually cheaper per ounce, although the soap might lather up better without using as much.

I’ve used a couple of different types of after shave, and I’m using the Sharps brand now, which is also available at Target. I started with a more expensive variety, but this seems to work just as well. Just make sure you get an after shave that is alcohol free to be more gentle on your face.

Over the past few months, I’ve been becoming less and less satisfied with the quality of shave provided by my electric razor. The first thing I considered was buying a different type of razor (one that uses foils instead of a rotary version). That was a pretty heavy investment, however, especially since I wanted one that was self cleaning and didn’t have a NiCad battery.

A few weeks ago, I read an article about shaving the old fashioned way with a brush, shaving soap, and a safety razor (a little saver and more up-to-date than a cutthroat razor). After hemming and hawing about for a couple of weeks, I finally decided to try it out. The initial cost of entry is actually higher than some electric razors, although the blades and soap are really cheap (if you go with fancy cream made for using brushes, it’s a lot more expensive than the soap, but it lasts a while). I got some cream and some soap, so I could give them both a try. My kit also includes some pre-shave oil to help the process along.

There are some problems, however. My neck, so far, is a little raw. I was warned this would happen at the beginning, and I’m confident that it will get better as my skin adjusts to the new shaving procedure. I also need to become more familiar with the razor, as you have to be somewhat precise with the angle. One thing that’s nice is that I don’t have to press hard to get a good shave. Sometimes I forget, though, and that causes a little bit of trouble.__I didn’t get around to posting this on the day I wrote it, so here’s some updated info.After I wrote this, I decided to see if the special (non-foamy) shaving cream would work better than the soap. Sure enough, it did. I got a closer shave with less irritation and less blood. The problem is that the tube cost about $25 instead of about $5. It will last a while, as it doesn’t take more than a pea-sized drop (or smaller), but that’s still a lot of money. Perhaps I’ll try the soap again after I break my face in to this razor better. I did look at another brand of soap at Target, which is more expensive than the soap I got, but cheaper than the cream. It looks just like my cream, so I’ll try that next to hopefully save some money. Target actually sells several different brands of old-style shaving supplies. I’d only heard of one of them in any of the articles I’d read on the subject, but it looks like I’ll be able to get buy without paying for shipping in the future. The only downside of using the cream instead of the soap is that I don’t get to use my cool new shaving mug. Oh, well.The only time I’ve ever had a shave this close was when I shaved against the grain with my Mach 3 (which makes for lots of ingrown hairs). So far, though, my skin has been better overall than shaving with my electric razor. I still have a little bit of trouble with my neck, but it’s getting much better.