Safety razor
You have everything to gain from a safety razor shave. An important part of the traditional shave is heat. Transferring heat onto your face and facial hair. Certainly makes it easier to be shaven. This is due to the skin being looser and the hair being softer. Another important component of a good shave is water. Which is the worlds best lubricant.
The traditional barber will apply a hot wet towel to the face of the customer. This will steam and soften the grain to make it easier for the barber. To shave in the cold is also a difficult job, as found out by a barber I knew. He shaved at a show in a department store which had the air conditioning on. This made a difficult job of keeping the customers face warm, resulting in some cuts.
Therefore my advice is to wet your face thoroughly in a hot sink. Some people jump in the shower before which I find a bit uncomfortable. So I saturate my face prior to a shower in a hot sink. Until my face is dripping.
Lather
There is more lather with shaving cream it is also firmer. However shaving soap is cheaper by a long way. We are talking 6 months more use than a shaving cream. There is more lubrication on shaving soap to. Also a organic natural shaving cream is hard to come by. Where as there is a great deal of natural shaving soaps, that don’t contain chemical foaming agents.
If you use a shaving soap you can pretty much lather it quick onto your face. However a shaving cream takes a little work. You need to create friction for this, so I put a small amount in a bowl. Before the cream I leave the bowl in a hot sink, which adds to the hot lather. I leave the shaving brush also in the sink until hot which is important.
I then extract a hot dripping brush from the sink. Then whip the cream in the bowl hard. Backward and forwards I circulate the brush until it is thick with a firm lather. This will only take 15 seconds or so despite my explanation. Apply it to my face in a painting manner. I then circulate the brush to make more lather again. Until I have a good three millimeters of shaving cream on my face.
Shaving technique
Using a middle aggressive safety razor. Like a Muhle or a non aggressive razor like fatip. I start with my cheeks. Carefully I shave with the grain in a down or diagonal method. I shave my mustache line with care also tricky places around my mouth. I chamfer my jaw line across and with the grain also. I then go straight down the jaw to make sure I have not missed any parts. As I often find after my shave the point of my chin is still stubbly.
Down the face I employ long strokes of two inches. However on my throat, I will use small strokes which are more delicate. I also don’t tighten my skin on my face. But I am sure to not stretch it on my neck and throat. The Adams apple is a tricky one as finding which way a grain goes is tricky. I sometime take time plucking each hair with the razor.
Once the first pass is done I wet and lather my face again. I then shave up with a knowledge of the map of my grain. Take heed as sometimes it is baffling which direction it goes. However I shave against the grain on the second pass. I use more care as the first using smaller strokes. Once completed I inspect my face. Often my chin and back of jaw has hair on it still so I employ a third pass.
End game
I jump in the shower after I shave. I soap and wash my neck and face so I don’t get irritated. Some people use a shaving balm or after shave to close and cleanse the pours. I just shower and then hit the freezing streets of London. I apply cologne of an evening but this is to my clothes not my face as a stringent. An aftershave balm is a great thing if you have dry skin or want that added gleam. However applying it you realise how good or bad your shaving method is. That’s why this article is shaving gold dust.