The Art of the Shave
Shaving. I don't recall anyone giving me an instruction booklet back in HS. I don't recall my dad 
giving me any tips. Hell, I barely needed to shave in HS. I had buddies with full beards but I couldn't grow shit. Then I went into the military and I'd be unable (as in not allowed) to grow a full beard for the next two decades. When I got out ... I had the opportunity to finally grow one. I did. .. then shaved it off. Couple of years ago, I took another run at it... and then... the clippers came out and I shaved off not only the beard, but the long hair I'd grown ( well ..... not really all that long.. but was for me). Buzz... all gone.
Shaving. I don't remember shaving before the military but I know I must have. But come Basic Training, it was a ritual. It'd be a ritual for the next twenty years unless I was on leave. And it sucked. I remember always nicking myself on the chin. Hell, I'd be getting cleaned up for a night on the town and before I'm headed out I'd have a few tissues on my face trying to sop up the blood. I discovered Styptic Pencils and that helped. But you'd have white spots on your face after it dried. But, they stopped the bleeding. I was pretty cheap back then and I remember always using shitty throw away razors. Once I tried a high end razor that you put the double sided blades in. I think they were called butterfly blades? Well, that didn't work out so well. I think I was in too big of a hurry all the time. Eventually, I'd move on to a better setup similar to what we have today... dual blades... then three blades.. then four. I think my current Gillette blades have six? But for the life of me, I'd always nick myself .... eventually. Then I read an article about shaving. That article was the game changer. My biggest takeaway was that water is the key. The best lubricant. Now, that didn't really make sense to me, because we have an entire industry revolving around shaving cream. I'd found some good ones that seemed to work, but .....water. Water was the key. Taking it the next level, I put a mirror in the shower so I could shave in there. I went through several; middle of the night they'd fall off the shower wall and wake up the house. Eventually ... breaking. But I've had one now for over a decade that works perfect. Even has a lil storage spot for the razor. Now, during a hot shower, a lil soap (actually I found hair conditioner works best), keep the razor clean and wet, and .. tada! I think I've nicked myself once in the last decade and that was a fluke. Still, it's not perfect. Sometimes I've somehow missed a spot so then at the sink I do a quick fix with the razor out of the shower and off I go. Hell, I've found that with a good razor setup, I can do a quick dry shave if it's been less than 24 hours. Douse the razor with hot water and ... quick shave and out the door. Still, to me it all an after thought. I don't actually enjoy it... it's just a few swipes and that's it. Well, used to be.
I've seen the ads on TV but didn't see the value. Saw some ads on the web. I don't remember when I had the weak moment and broke down. Maybe I got an introductory offer email Or it was a groupon. In any case for $5 I started up the 'membership'. A week later a nice box with the new heavy razor handle, 4 sets of blades and the secret sauce arrived. Secret Sauce? Well, the 'shaving butter'. Additionally a prep scrub you clean up the chin with first and lotion of sorts for the post shave. Is this all a big deal? Well... apparently it is , to me. For the first time in a long time... I'm enjoying the shaving experience again. Damned if I don't get a really close shave with this setup. And like many of the things we do today, it arrives at my door with free shipping. Now, is this stuff better than the Gillette brand blades I was using? Well, it appears to be. But I haven't done a 'shave off' side by side comparisons. I'm thinking part of real magic here is that 'shaving butter'. The razor just glides now. But to be honest I haven't used a shaving cream in a long time; at least 10 years. Still, my takeaway from this is .. I'm just enjoying the experience. I've never been able to get a close shave like this before 'moving to the shower'. So for now... I'm all in. I may even try one of their competitors ( H' Harrys). They claim to be better and cheaper.
One thing that has always intrigued me is the straight razor. I'm aware of two guys that use it. I had it used on me at a barber shop once, but other than that just something you see 'in the movies.' Still, I hinted to my wife about it. Maybe father's day one will show up. Until then, I'm enjoying this new found interest in the 'perfect shave'.
Note : After writing the above, I did some additional research , finding an article where someone had written some similar things to mine. He actually compared DSC (Dollar shave club) to Harrys and ... apparently Gillette has a shave club now too. He's a fan of DSC. But, he mentioned the "Double Edge Safety Razor". And me being me, I just ordered one. Inquiring minds want to know!
giving me any tips. Hell, I barely needed to shave in HS. I had buddies with full beards but I couldn't grow shit. Then I went into the military and I'd be unable (as in not allowed) to grow a full beard for the next two decades. When I got out ... I had the opportunity to finally grow one. I did. .. then shaved it off. Couple of years ago, I took another run at it... and then... the clippers came out and I shaved off not only the beard, but the long hair I'd grown ( well ..... not really all that long.. but was for me). Buzz... all gone.Shaving. I don't remember shaving before the military but I know I must have. But come Basic Training, it was a ritual. It'd be a ritual for the next twenty years unless I was on leave. And it sucked. I remember always nicking myself on the chin. Hell, I'd be getting cleaned up for a night on the town and before I'm headed out I'd have a few tissues on my face trying to sop up the blood. I discovered Styptic Pencils and that helped. But you'd have white spots on your face after it dried. But, they stopped the bleeding. I was pretty cheap back then and I remember always using shitty throw away razors. Once I tried a high end razor that you put the double sided blades in. I think they were called butterfly blades? Well, that didn't work out so well. I think I was in too big of a hurry all the time. Eventually, I'd move on to a better setup similar to what we have today... dual blades... then three blades.. then four. I think my current Gillette blades have six? But for the life of me, I'd always nick myself .... eventually. Then I read an article about shaving. That article was the game changer. My biggest takeaway was that water is the key. The best lubricant. Now, that didn't really make sense to me, because we have an entire industry revolving around shaving cream. I'd found some good ones that seemed to work, but .....water. Water was the key. Taking it the next level, I put a mirror in the shower so I could shave in there. I went through several; middle of the night they'd fall off the shower wall and wake up the house. Eventually ... breaking. But I've had one now for over a decade that works perfect. Even has a lil storage spot for the razor. Now, during a hot shower, a lil soap (actually I found hair conditioner works best), keep the razor clean and wet, and .. tada! I think I've nicked myself once in the last decade and that was a fluke. Still, it's not perfect. Sometimes I've somehow missed a spot so then at the sink I do a quick fix with the razor out of the shower and off I go. Hell, I've found that with a good razor setup, I can do a quick dry shave if it's been less than 24 hours. Douse the razor with hot water and ... quick shave and out the door. Still, to me it all an after thought. I don't actually enjoy it... it's just a few swipes and that's it. Well, used to be.
 |
| DSC - Dollar Shaving Club |
I've seen the ads on TV but didn't see the value. Saw some ads on the web. I don't remember when I had the weak moment and broke down. Maybe I got an introductory offer email Or it was a groupon. In any case for $5 I started up the 'membership'. A week later a nice box with the new heavy razor handle, 4 sets of blades and the secret sauce arrived. Secret Sauce? Well, the 'shaving butter'. Additionally a prep scrub you clean up the chin with first and lotion of sorts for the post shave. Is this all a big deal? Well... apparently it is , to me. For the first time in a long time... I'm enjoying the shaving experience again. Damned if I don't get a really close shave with this setup. And like many of the things we do today, it arrives at my door with free shipping. Now, is this stuff better than the Gillette brand blades I was using? Well, it appears to be. But I haven't done a 'shave off' side by side comparisons. I'm thinking part of real magic here is that 'shaving butter'. The razor just glides now. But to be honest I haven't used a shaving cream in a long time; at least 10 years. Still, my takeaway from this is .. I'm just enjoying the experience. I've never been able to get a close shave like this before 'moving to the shower'. So for now... I'm all in. I may even try one of their competitors ( H' Harrys). They claim to be better and cheaper.
One thing that has always intrigued me is the straight razor. I'm aware of two guys that use it. I had it used on me at a barber shop once, but other than that just something you see 'in the movies.' Still, I hinted to my wife about it. Maybe father's day one will show up. Until then, I'm enjoying this new found interest in the 'perfect shave'.
Note : After writing the above, I did some additional research , finding an article where someone had written some similar things to mine. He actually compared DSC (Dollar shave club) to Harrys and ... apparently Gillette has a shave club now too. He's a fan of DSC. But, he mentioned the "Double Edge Safety Razor". And me being me, I just ordered one. Inquiring minds want to know!
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