We recommend watching the video guide as well, which can be found here.
Before you begin, it's important to ensure you have all the necessary tools.
A fresh blade in your safety razor is always a good idea. Most double-edged blades can last for 5-7 close, comfortable, tug-free shaves. We recommend that you change the blade at least weekly. As for the shave soap, make sure to get a scent you like but make sure that the soap has shea butter. This will help moisturize and keep your face from drying out. As for the brush we recommend a badger hair brush, as the natural fibers absorb water easily and soften quicker than a synthetic brush.
1. Firstly wash the face with hot water or apply a warm towel. Alternatively, many people recommend shaving straight after coming out of the shower. Both these methods work well and will help open the skin and hair pores allowing for a closer, more comfortable shave.
- At this point, you are good to lather up. If unsure of the process of making shaving lather, here is our Video Tutorial. Using a good quality pre-shave treatment will help reduce the friction between the safety razor and the skin, helping it to glide more effectively allowing for a closer shave, whilst protecting the skin at all times.
- Next, ensure that you have put a generous amount of your shaving lather. whilst applying shaving cream, lather the face in a circular motion, this ensures that you lubricate the skin properly and get under beard stubble.
- The correct order to shave is the underside of the neck under the cheeks, then the remaining center of the under neck, the goatee/mustache area, and finally the cheeks.
This method is based on the varying sensitivity of the skin on your face. You want to use the blade at its sharpest on your most sensitive skin to reduce irritation and lower the chance of an ingrown hair.
A quality safety razor will be weighted/ balanced, this means that very little pressure is needed. Most of the applied pressure should be from the weight of the razor. Most nicks and cuts occur at the beginning of a safety razor shave, to prevent this, allow the safety razor bar to contact the skin first, lift the razor to the desired angle, then begin your short even strokes. Stretching the skin/ manipulating face muscles to keep the skin taught helps with the process. The blade has a much easier time on smooth skin. This entire process should be done two times minimum, as hair grows in different directions and one pass will not give a close enough shave. On your second pass, you can go across or against the grain.
This is a foolproof method if you aren't familiar with the direction your hair grows yet.
- Make sure to hold the safety razor loosely in your hand and allow it to glide across the skin's surface without pressing it to the skin. Throughout the shave strive to maintain a thirty-degree blade angle relative to the skin. This is the optimum angle at which to shave and you’ll see and feel the results.
-
After shaving, wash the shaved area thoroughly with warm water to remove all traces of shaving cream, and finish off the process with cold water to close the pores.