- Joined
- Jan 13, 2001
- Messages
- 10,972
I shave with a straight razor my wife gifted me when I finished school. It's one of my most treasured possessions, maybe more so than any of my knives. While I've been gifted many knives over the years, I've only been presented with the one razor which I've been using for over two decades now.
Wet shaving with a soap and brush is an indulgence, but worth it because of the pleasurable experience. It also results in a superior shave. The biggest factor in getting a superior shave is the preparation. The best time to do so is immediately after you have taken a shower. Your skin should be nice and supple and the facial hair softened. Wet your shave brush (badger is best, although boar's hair is perfectly usable) with hot water and work up a nice lather with your shaving soap. Making sure that your face is still wet (which you need to maintain with hot water), you then apply the lather to your face with the brush. You then shave with your chosen instrument (whether straight or DE). Go with the grain at first. If all you want to do is look presentable, this should suffice and you can stop right here. However if you want a really close shave you'll have to relather and shave against the grain. Just make sure you re-wet your face with hot water as well as re-wet your brush and make some additional lather before you shave against.
The preparation I mentioned above will improve any shave, it doesn't matter if it's a straight razor, a Merkur DE, or a Gillette ProGlide. You'll figure out what you do and don't like and sooner or later you'll have your own method. Just remember to be patient and take your time, it'll take a while for your face to get used to the shaving process. Once you get in the groove you'll have yourself a nice little ritual in the morning to help you focus and start the day.
