Old School Shaving

Because of the genetics I inherited from my father and grandfathers, I've never really had to shave all that often.  When I was young, I remember being amazed at any man who had a beard as my father never seemed to get past the 'whiskers' phase of facial hair.

When my father would get his two week vacation from work he would often go all caveman and not shave... but at the end of those two weeks he still only had what could realistically be called a five o'clock shadow.  And so it was and is for me.

My history of shaving was a long fight between getting a good enough shave that I wouldn't have to bother with it for several days while trying to keep my face from bleeding all over the place or becoming as red as a stop sign.  My first shave was using my dad's cheap disposable bic razor and water.  I think I ended up with about a dozen little pieces of toilet paper dotting my lacerated and badly shaved face.  I didn't feel all that bad about it as my father would often have the same look after slicing hair from his chin and just expected that this was what all men had to deal with.

For a couple years that's what I did.  I'd splash some water on my face, run the dollar store special razor under the running faucet and start rubbing it over my face.  The cut's never bled all that much and I was able to remove the bloody bits of TP by the time I headed off to school.  That lasted until I moved up to the University.  While there I decided to get serious about this activity.  I went electric.

This is close to what my electric razor looked like.

My first electric shaver wasn't anything to write home about.  It had two foil covered blades and did a good enough job.  My shaves didn't get any closer, but I wasn't repeatedly cutting myself.  I still had to shave every third day or so.  This worked well enough for a year until I dropped the razor and nicked one of the foil covered blades.

The nick didn't look all that bad, but I quickly found out just how horrible it was.  The blade's didn't come popping out and rip my face off, but the bent foil protector DID cut my face.  It cut it often and cut it well.  Within a few weeks of using it like this I was experiencing Déjà vu and covering up all kinds of nicks and cuts with little bits of TP.

Now, the big advantage of the Electric razor was that I could shave without cutting myself to ribbons.  But there was more than just that... I didn't have to shave right out of the shower and in fact didn't need to be near the sink at all.   Since I was now going to be cutting my face either way I shaved (I couldn't afford a new razor), I decided to keep that advantage and keep going with the electric rout.

Eventually the cheap razor started to fail.  It's battery wouldn't hold a charge and I'd have to use it's short cable to shave... meaning I'd have to bend over near some electrical outlet.  That frustration eventually lead me to consider other options.   This is about the time in my life that I started trying to focus on doing things well.  Not just school or being nice to other people... but the little things.  Sadly the Internet wasn't what it is today so I did the next best thing and went to the local pharmacy to see what they had for razor blades.  Sadly I didn't see much in the way of good razors so I went back to my dad's method.... Bic disposable razors.

Modern Shaving at it's 'best'

Fast forward a few years and I was still unsatisfied with the whole shaving experience.  I remember seeing a commercial for a new razor from Gillette called the Mach 3 and I was more than a little intrigued.  I bought one and fell in love.  At least it felt like love at the time.  The three blades got me a closer shave in the same amount of time and it's cushioned lotioned area around the blades felt far smoother over my skin.

The only change to my shaving habit over the next 14 years was adding in various shaving gels and creams. When the Fusion came out I eventually tried it but was getting a little tired of the expense.  The razor's themselves were inexpensive but the replacement blade cartridges were wildly expensive.  Then last year a close friend introduced me to a website; ClassicShaving.com.  Not only did they sell a wide range of razors, brushes, soaps, creams, and other accessories, they had many articles on just how to properly remove facial hair.

Old School!

This was right around the time of me getting my nursing licence, so I was still dirt poor.  The thought of dropping 40 or 50 dollars on a razor was out of the question, but the idea of buying replacement blades for pennies really excited me.  So instead of buying something new, I went looking through my dad's old stuff.  I had remembered seeing an old school double edged razor and quickly found it.  A Schick Krona.

Using this razor I wouldn't get the whole 'old school' package, but I would be able to save hundreds of dollars a year on blade replacements.  Now it should be said that moving from a modern cartridge shaving system to an old school double edged safety razor system isn't exactly easy.  First, the blade has to be pressed against the skin at a very particular angle.   To little or to much and it will just glide harmlessly across your skin and not remove a single whisker.  The amount of pressure used is also important... to much and you'll start leaving razor burn.  To little and you won't get all of the hairs.  Better razors accomplish this by being heavy.  You simply let it lay on your skin and it's own weight will add all the pressure you need.  A Schick Krona from the late 60s is mostly plastic and very lightweight, so I had to master that as well.  The cartridge systems accomplish this by using multiple blades and having the head flexible so that it always sits at the right angle.  It also acomplishes this by being expensive.

So I bought a pack of 10 replacement double edge blades at the local grocery store for just under four dollars. For comparison's sake, an 8 pack of Fusion cartridges goes for about thirty dollars.  THIRTY!  It probably took me about a months worth of shaving to get the results I was looking for... a decently close shave with minimal cuts and nicks.  Considering how much money I was saving while getting the same level of shave I couldn't be happier.

Or so I thought.

No No NO!

Many of the articles I read about shaving postulated that correct lathering was just as important to good results as a good razor and blade combo.  Correct lathering NEVER comes out of a can.  You can get a good lather out of either a soap or a cream, but both methods require working the material up into a lather.  Doing that properly requires a shaving brush.  And my God, there is a lot to know about shaving brushes.

Boiling it down to the bullet points, the best shaving brush consists of silver tip badger hair.  You can get other types of badger hair as well as boars hair, horse hair, or even synthetic fibers.  They each have their advantages and disadvantages, but silver tip badger hair supposedly had all the advantages and only a few disadvantages.  As in all things in life, the 'best' costs money, and that's the disadvantage of silver tips.  You can drop fifty dollars on a 'good' brush, but you can also spend upwards of a couple hundred on the best.

This past Christmas I ended up with $80 in gift cards, so I decided to go ahead and really get into the nitty gritty of a good shave.  I found a silver tip badger hair shaving brush for just under $50 and paired that up with a holder (it has to dry hanging up side down), a bowl (a place to make the lather), and a puck of shaving soap.  I also added a pack of feather blades which are supposed to be some of the sharpest in the world... at a cost of only a few cents more than the ones I found at the grocery store!

Before going into this experience, let me cover my shaving method. I slap some warm water on my face, get some shaving creme from the can and pat it onto my face.  I then shave 'down' (with the grain of my whiskers) removing the creme in several passes.  I follow that by using several passes 'up' (against the grain), and again with several passes 'across' (across the grain).  It's a good solid method and leaves me with a fairly close shave, minimal cuts, and only a few problem areas where whiskers remain.  In other words, it's perfectly adequate.

My first shave with this new setup was last week.   I followed the directions I had read on how to properly make a good lather.  Start with filling your bowl with HOT water to warm it up and let your brush soak in that for a few moments.  Pour some hot water over your soap to loosen it up.  Pour the water off the soap and start running your brush over the soap until you see a lather forming.  Take your brush and the soap/lather on it to your bowl and start whipping it like whipped cream.  It takes about 2 minutes but you are rewarded with a thick silky smooth lathered cream.  Using the brush apply it to your wetted face and work it around to massage the hairs up to a standing position.

Using a feather blade in my Schick razor I did as instructed and used a single smooth motion running it across my face.  I made a single pass on each area of my face going with the grain until the cream was all removed.  I then re-lathered and did the same motions, but against the grain this time.  One last lathering and one more pass going across the grain.

The result?  Amazing.  The blade touches my face far less than the previous method leaving far less 'razor burn', but at the same time giving me the closest shave I've EVER had.  Not only is the shave better, but the process of making my own lather is actually quite soothing.

Admittedly the price of admission to this method of shaving is quite high.  A good razor (and on, my Schick Krona is not considered a good razor) will go for between $40 and $200.  A good brush will go for between $50 and $200.  A puck of soap is about the same cost as a can of shaving cream, and the blades are about fifty cents apiece.  Even if this was merely 'as good' as using a Fuison system razor and shaving cream out of a can, you'd still end up saving money by the second year just in the cost of the blades.  But this shave is SO much better that it would be worth MORE money.

Maybe next year?

I still have some things to add to my shaving system.  I'll eventually get a better razor.  Adding an alum block will help with any small cuts.  Adding an after shave will help ease any of the remaining razor burn.  I've considered adding a 'pre-shaving' skin prep, but I only shave right out of the shower and I think that preps my skin well enough.

I can also explore various soaps and creams once I get accustomed to the lather I can make, but I need time to see just how good I can make it from what I have now.

If you have a little time to read up on how to properly shave, a few dollars to spend on the initial purchase, and some patience, I would HIGHLY recommend trying this out.  It really is a night and day difference between shaving with any cartridge system.  The only thing I've heard that is better is shaivng with a straight razor... and I might try that next year!