Getting That Near Perfect Shave
By Kazona 46 Comments
Note: This is a long read. I've tried to make it easy to skim through, but even so, you have been warned.
Introduction
This may come as a surprise to some, while others have known it for the longest time: I am a vain person. Sometimes I wish I had a fancy job just for the sake of being able to wear nice, tailor-made, clothes. With my current job, however, wearing a suit would not only look weird, but I'd also risk having to throw it away after about a week or two.So I am left with my hair and face, both of which I am very particular about. I hate it when the wind blows my hair out of style, and I can easily spend 30 minutes in front of a mirror just to get it the way I want. (And if it weren't for the awkward looks I'd get, I'd frequently check and restyle my hair at work as well).
However, as vain as I am, the one thing that I have always hated doing the most during my morning routine, was shaving. Over the years I have tried all kinds of stuff to prevent irritation, stubble, redness, but nothing worked. And for the longest time I simply accepted that I would never get satisfactory results. There were times that I simply decided not to shave at all because looking scruffy was a better alternative than my skin feeling like it had been dragged along pavement.
But over the last couple of months, I have been doing research on how to get that smooth shave, without having any of the irritated skin afterwards. And yes, I do mean research. I have read countless of articles on the web, and experimented with numerous different methods of shaving. And very recently, I finally found the method that gives me the results that I want.
Of course everyone has different skin, so what works for me, might not work for someone else. But even so, I'm so satisfied that I decided to share some tips with you all.
General Advice
Get A Good Razor
One of the biggest factors in getting a good shave, is having a good razor. If you are using a cheap, disposable, razor because you don't feel like shelling out for a better one, then you deserve whatever problems that may come from it. So do yourself a favor, and get a good razor. Personally I used the Gillette Fusion Power. The neat thing is that it vibrates, which makes shaving that much easier. And on average, I need to swap blades every 3 or 4 weeks, which is a pretty long time to shave with the same blades.Take Your Time
If you don't want to spend more than 5-10 minutes on shaving, then you might as well stop reading now. Getting a really good shave takes time. Although I do have to say that a "good shave" is a very subjective matter. For me, a good shave means no stubble, and no irritation of any kind. And unless you got perfect skin, that's something that takes time. So my advice is to plan in about 30 minutes for shaving. If you get the hang of it quickly, you might need less than that, but 30 minutes should be more than sufficient.Getting Down to Bussiness
Ok, time to get to shaving! I'm going to divide this thing up in steps, and make it as easy as possible to follow. I should preface that I do my shaving in the shower, but you can also do it before or after if you so choose.Wash your face with a hot wash cloth
By doing this, you open up the pores in your skin, and soften the hairs. Normally the hairs on your face are even tougher than the blades on your razor, even when you have a fancy, expensive one. So to soften up the hairs, and get your skin ready for shaving, you should, thoroughly, wash it with a hot wash cloth. It should be as hot as you can handle, but not so much that you burn your skin. So experiment with this a little.
Note: By thoroughly, I mean giving it a good wash without soap. The heat has to 'sink' into your skin sorta speak, so just dabbing, or splashing, on some hot water isn't going to cut it. If you want to go real fancy-like, you can always go the hot towel route.Apply just enough shaving cream or foam
I've tried shaving gel for the longest time, but in my opinion the foam or cream works better because you know exactly how much you'll be getting when you squirt it on your hand.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when shaving, however, is that they use too much. The foam is simply meant to help the razor glide over your skin. If there's too much of it, then the blades will simply be scraping away the foam instead of actually cutting the hairs underneath. Again, it's a matter of experimenting to figure out the right amount, but it's better to use too little the first time, and increase it from there, than to use too much at once.Rinse razor in cold water
Even though you can't see it, the blades on a razor aren't perfectly straight. They have microscopic, jagged edges.
If you rinse the blades under hot water, the metal will expand, making these little notches bigger, which is exactly what you don't want. So rinse it under cold water to make the metal contract, resulting in smaller jags, and providing you with a better, more comfortable shaving experience.Shave with the grain at first
Not only will it result in a poorer shave if you go against the grain on your first pass, but skin irritation is also much more likely. So on the first pass, go with the grain, which is to say, go with in the direction that your facial hair grows. To figure out which direction it grows in, simply feel around with your hand. Going with the grain will go smoothly, while going against it, you will feel some resistance from the hair.Frequently rinse the blades
Personally I rinse them every 2 or 3 strokes to avoid having too much foam and bits of hair clogging up the razor. After all, if the blades are covered with gunk, they won't do a very good job at cutting.
Again, you should rinse the blades under cold water. I can't stress this enough. Always rinse the razor blades under cold water.A second, optional, pass against the grain
If you are satisfied with the result by now, then you can skip this (last) step. If you are like me, though, and you want that extra smooth feeling when you touch your face, try giving it a second pass, going against the grain this time.
Don't wash your face before doing this, though. Some articles will tell you to wash your face, and then reapply foam, but I've found out that this only serves to make things harder on my skin, so I don't do it. Instead I just continue my shave with whatever little bit of foam is still left on my face. If you notice that the blades really don't glide smoothly enough over your skin, then apply the tiniest amount of foam/cream on the spots you're having difficulty with. But preferably, don't add any extra foam to your face since there should still be enough of a film left on your skin.
I should also note that not everyone's skin can handle shaving against the grain. Plus, there is the slight risk of ingrown hairs, but so far that has never happened to me.Wash your face
Simplest step of all. Just wash the remaining foam off your face with either warm or cold water, whatever you find the most comfortable.Apply After Shave (If you want)
And I am not talking about that crap that contains alcohol, which makes your skin feel like it's on fire. A good After Shave should alleviate any irritation, redness, or dryness that your skin might have after shaving. If your current After Shave doesn't work properly for this, ditch it, and try something else. I, myself, have been using Nivea For Men: After Shave Balm for sensitive skin.Do the Fonz
After a good shave, one should always do The Fonz. Failing to do it, could result in your face exploding. You have been warned. Also, if you don't know what The Fonz is, you should smack yourself real hard.
And we're done! I hope these tips help at least some of you in achieving that near perfect shave. And I say "near perfect" because there is no such thing as perfect.
Edit: Vito_Raliffe just pointed out that using a double-edge razor, and a brush made out of badger hair to apply the cream/foam, can result in an even better shave. It's up to you whether you want to try this or not. Just note that using a double-edged razor is different from using your standard cartridge type razor, but if you're careful there shouldn't be any problems.