The Biology of Shaving, Part 3 of 4
3. Shaving
Shaving is by its nature a destructive act. It cuts body hair at the base of the skin. A typical shave is going to bring skin damage. When you pull a very sharp precision blade across your skin, there is going to be superficial abrasion at a minimum. Depending on the nature and condition of the skin, the damage could be more severe. It is extremely important to prepare the skin and hair sufficiently for the shave, to use an optimal lubricant, and to nourish and restore the skin during and after the shave.
Preparing the Skin and Whiskers
It is absolutely vital to having a close, comfortable shave that your whiskers be saturated with water. When dry, whiskers are hard. You don’t want to cut them in that condition, no matter what lubricant is used. Whiskers soak up water like a sponge, and when they do, they soften, making them much easier to cut. Think of spaghetti noodles; out of the box they’re hard and difficult to cut, but after they’ve been boiled in hot water they’re quite soft. Which would you rather cut? Water is the singular agent responsible for softening whiskers. Not cremes, oils, or lotions. Just water. Hot water works better than cold.
And not just a splash of water on your face. You’ve got to soak the whiskers. Gillette recommends three minutes. That’s what professional barbers do, but it’s not practical for home. So what’s the solution? A wash cloth.
Soak a wash cloth in hot water, saturating it till it’s dripping wet. Then press it against your face for 5-10 seconds. Then your neck for another 5-10 seconds. Re-soak the wash cloth in hot water again and repeat, face and neck. Then do it one more time. You’ve already got the wash cloth out, you’re going through the process; do it right. This process is the most efficacious way to saturate your whiskers and soften them. Then, just before you apply lubricant, do a quick re-wet by splashing hot water on your face and neck.
How hot should the water be? Your hot water heater temperature control is set at 120 deg F. You don’t want it that hot, your hands won’t be able to take that much heat. So make it comfortable for yourself – as hot as you can stand and then back down a little bit. That slight temperature reduction won’t make a difference in saturating your whiskers.
If you’re shaving a 2-3 day growth of beard stubble, you will be astonished at how effective this process is at softening the whiskers. With this process and the right lubricant, your razor will smoothly glide over the worst whisker growth you may have.
The Optimal Lubricant
You are cutting your whiskers and pulling a very sharp blade across your skin. You want a lubricant that is going to lubricate both. Secondly, you want that lubricant to have some measure of benefit to the skin as you shave. If you are using foam, then three pieces of advice:
Don’t use foam.
Stop using foam.
Quit using foam.
It doesn’t work. It’s mostly air. It’s a very poor lubricant, it does very little for your skin, and it soaks up water.
There are plenty of shave cremes and lotions on the market, as well as shave soap in a hard puck that needs to be whipped into a lather with a brush. And in a class by itself is OPR Shaving Soap. Shop around. You will find something you like. Use it, but keep shopping. You may find something even better. You’re going to shave for the rest of your life; you’ve got time. Use it wisely.
A third characteristic of the lubricant you use is staying power. A close, comfortable shave will require at least three passes; first, with the grain, then against the grain, and then across the grain. Your lubricant should remain (in gradually diminishing presence of course) through those three passes. You will almost certainly re-wet your face for either the second pass or third, or both, and you don’t want to wash away the lubricant. That rewetting should revitalize the lubricant remaining on your face.
The Razor
Unless you have a burning desire to step back into tradition, there’s no point in using a straight-edge razor. It will take about 30 days to start to acquire the technique, and during that time you will cut your face and neck into shreds. Same with a safety razor. Takes about a month to gain the technique, at the cost of a lot of painful cuts and nicks. From a purely practical matter of getting a close, comfortable shave, there are better options. But if the tradition is important, and for some it is, then go for it. Once you gain the technique, it can be satisfying. And sooner or later your face and neck will heal. Pretty sure.
Razor manufacturing technology is very, very good. With good preparation and a good lubricant, razor cartridges are more than capable of doing the job. So which cartridge to use? A double, or multi-blade? Well, shaving is a precision act. You’ve got to trim sideburns, shave around ears, shave along jawlines and chin, and get into the right angle of skin and nose. A double blade razor cartridge seems a whole lot more suitable to that aspect of the shave than a multi-blade razor cartridge. And a cartridge lasts 1-2 weeks. Multi-blade cartridges are priced much higher than the double razor cartridge.
What About Electric?
Electric razor technology is extremely good. And there are several skin types that cannot bear a razor blade. For those skin types, an electric razor is absolutely the best choice. There are two options – electric razors that shave dry, and electric razors that shave wet. Our personal preference is the wet razor. Again, you want to soften those whiskers, and water is the way to do that. Plus with a wet razor, you have some options of using lubricants. And frankly, a wet electric razor with OPR shaving soap delivers a very close, comfortable shave that will not irritate sensitive skin or cause abrasions to the skin. It’s the smoothest, most comfortable shave we know of. Not quite the closest, but close.
Technique
If you’re using a blade, you want to first shave with the grain of your whisker growth. For most people (okay, everyone) that means shaving in a downward motion. Face and neck.
Then take a second pass against the grain, shaving up across the face and neck. Then a third pass across the grain. That should get you into the close shave ballpark. You will want to rewet your face as necessary to keep it lubricated; should just take a splash. You’ll find that you’ll need the most lubrication for the first pass, less for the second, and just a small amount for the third. And rewetting the face should revitalize the remaining lubricant without having to add more.
At this point you’ve got a pretty good shave, one that will get you through the day. However … there’s more. Now you’re ready to shave by feel. Run your fingers across the face and neck. You might be surprised to find there is still some slight stubble. Whiskers are funny things. Some patches seem to need a shaving pass across the grain from left to right, while other patches need a right to left pass. Or both. You’ll just have to feel how the whiskers lay and shave against that.
This process will deliver a close, comfortable shave. Providing, of course, you are using a quality lubricant. If you are using foam, there is no hope for you.
And finally, at the completion of the shave, close the skin pores by splashing cold water on your face and neck. The cold water will act as an anti-inflammatory agent to soothe the skin.
One last note: Buffing.
Buffing is a technique of using fast, light strokes against the smallest remaining stubble. Nothing wrong with that; just remember to keep the strokes light. And if you find you are having to do more and more buffing, it’s time for a new blade.