As a professional barber, I am always urging men to give their shaving habits some thought – and readjustment when necessary! – in a bid to reduce painful and irritated skin.
Spring, when the ever-increasing lighter nights and warmer weather naturally gives us all a psychological lift, is the perfect time for men to give their shaving regime an overhaul to help get their faces in tip-top condition for summer.
Here’s my 10 top tips which will revolutionise the shaving experience for men of all ages and skin types.
- Always prepare your beard well before scraping the blade across it. Proportionately, you need to spend more time preparing your beard than actually shaving it.
- Shave after a bath or shower as this ensures maximum hydration of the hair and skin. It also warms up the 30-plus muscles around the face.
- The key to any great wet shave is to think ‘wet’ and ‘warm’. Never allow your beard to dry at any stage of the shave. Re-apply water at regular intervals if necessary. The water should be clean and as warm as you feel comfortable with.
- Always remember that the bottom line of shaving is you are scraping a sharpened piece of metal across your skin, it will cause damage. The key is to minimise and then quickly repair the damage.
- With point four in mind, avoid using multi-blade cartridge razors as it means you are scraping even more sharpened pieces of metal across your skin. A quality stainless steel double edge (DE) razor is far kinder to your face and will also save you a fortune over time.
- Remember the phrase ‘the art of shaving’, and take your time – do not rush it. Get to know the various directions your own beard grows and shave as directed in point seven.
- When your beard is fully prepared, use a clean, sharp blade and always shave with the grain of your beard first. If a second pass is necessary, shave across the grain but never against. Shaving against the way your hair grows is almost sure to lead to a sore, red and very irritated face!
- The object of a good wet shave is to give the appearance of being clean shaven while minimising damage. Don’t be tempted to over-shave as this can lead to more damage.
- After shaving, rinse your face with cold water and gently pat dry with a towel.
- To finish, never put alcohol like cologne or aftershave on your freshly-shaved face. You need to put moisture back into it, so always feed your skin using a quality balm or skin food.
Many men try to get what is known as a ‘baby butt smooth’ (BBS) shave by repeatedly shaving every last hint of bristle from their face.
Apart from inflicting more damage on your skin, guess what? You’ll have to shave again in a day or two anyway. My professional advice is to leave BBS for babies’ butts!
When you leave the bathroom after a shave, your face should feel decidedly damp to touch and never dry. Your skin will absorb the balm over the course of the next few hours which will keep it fully moisturised and actively repair damaged skin.
Lots of men still say they hate shaving but I am convinced that if they learn to do it correctly, they will learn to love it!
Happy Shaving, guys!
Check out my shaving tutorial videos here: https://www.villagebarber.com/videos/