Like most guys, you probably shave 4 or 5 times a week. You do it because you need to and because the Geico caveman look hasn’t been “in” for the better part of two centuries. It’s routine and things done in routine are often done complacently, without much care. So why should you deviate from what works? We answer with a question. Why fly economy when you can fly first class? Both will get you from Point A to Point B. So what’s the difference? Of course, this is a no-brainer. First class is A LOT better – more comfortable and a better experience.
Well unfortunately, most of us are stuck in the economy class of shaving. Symbolized by the ubiquity of cheap, disposable blades, the practice of a proper shave has become a lost art. In this article, we’re going to show you that a luxurious first class shave – the wet shave – is not out of your reach. When you’re done reading, a once uninspired morning routine will become an anticipated ritual of masculinity that will help you start your work day right.
What is the Traditional Wet Shave?
So what exactly is wet shaving? To put it simply, wet shaving is a shave whereby your face remains wet throughout the entire process and you use a single blade razor, a shaving brush and a glycerin-based shaving cream to execute the shave.
It takes a little longer than your normal shave, so use the time to get your mind going and set goals for the day. After all, your grandpa probably shaved this way and your grandpa was a wise man.
Why Should I Incorporate a Wet Shave into My Daily Routine?
- It’ll be the best and closest shave you’ll ever have. In the opinion of many shave enthusiasts, the classic double-edge (DE) safety razor runs circles around a disposable. Why? In essence, a disposable uses densely packed inferior blades and relies on pushing hard against the skin to remove hairs, damaging skin along the way. A proper DE on the other hand, relies on the weight of the razor and the preciseness of a single, quality blade to cut more efficiently.
- You’ll save some money in the long-term. While the razor itself isn’t cheap (probably the most you’ll spend on a manual razor), replacing blades can cost as little as $20 a year vs. up to $100 a year for cartridges. So as far as investments go, a quality razor is a good one.
What Will I Need for a Wet Shave?
Razor Option A: The Double-Edge Safety Razor
The double-edge safety razor consists of a metal handle and two metal headpieces that hold a single blade in-between. A quality, metal double-edge safety razor will not only deliver a closer shave than some battery-powered vibrating gimmick, but save you money in the long run. If you’re just starting off, we strongly recommend a double-edge safety razor.
We Recommend:
Merkur Heavy Duty Safety Razor
Razor Option B: The Straight Razor
Mr. Bond’s shaving tool of choice, the straight razor is used by barbershops and shaving enthusiasts alike – basically, dudes who really know how to cut whiskers. Also called open razors or cut-throat razors, these razors provide some of the closest shaves but at the cost of a higher learning curve. If you’re just starting off, the double-edge safety razor is an aptly named safer bet (for your face). But not to worry, we’ll risk our necks and master the straight razor shave so we can throw together a step-by-step guide for you in a future post.
Until Then, We Recommend:
Razor Option C: A Machete
We kid!
Shaving Brushes
Brush + face = female? Most of the time, yes. This time, no. A shaving brush is used to pick up and hydrate the shaving cream so that it forms into a thicker, richer and more emollient lather than you would get with just your fingers. A shaving brush also gently exfoliates your skin, removing dead skin and debris and raising the hairs on your face in preparation for the shave. For this reason, many shave enthusiasts claim that using the proper shaving brush is the single most important element of an effective shave. And the bonus? It feels really nice.
There are a few types of shaving brush hairs you can use. The best kinds are badger hair brushes followed by boar hair brushes. If the idea of using animal hair rubs you the wrong way, synthetic hair brushes are also available.
Within the badger brushes themselves, you’ll get different grades. In general the grades are categorized as “pure” (being the lowest grade), “best,” “super” and “silver tip.” The “super” or “silver tip “badger brushes are going to be the softest, highest quality brushes you can find, and will have a white color instead of the usual black / brown. However, if the idea of dropping $100 on a brush isn’t in your plans, a high-quality, “pure” badger brush will serve you just fine.
We Recommend:
Edwin Jagger Pure Badger Brush
Escali Pure Badger Shaving Brush
Park Safety Razor Synthentic Brush
Shaving Soaps / Creams & After Shave Products
There’s nothing wrong with a cheap can of Barbasol except when high school kids use it to decorate your car with phallic symbols on Halloween. So if you’re looking for something that’s a touch classier, all you have to do is spend a few extra bucks for a high quality, glycerin-based European shaving cream that will revamp your shave experience. In tandem with a shave brush, it will not only result in one of the most closest and comfortable shaves ever, the feel and scent of an English shaving cream can give your morning a much-needed freshening.
And don’t forget after shave care. For most guys, the “after shave” is probably choosing what tie to wear that day. But making sure you address any nicks, razor burns and irritations with the proper products is an integral part of the process. Using the proper after-shave products is the icing on the cake – it will leave your face feeling healthy, moisturized and smoother than ever.
We Recommend these Shaving Creams:
Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandwood Shaving Cream
Trueffit & Hill 1805 Shaving Cream
We Recommend these After-Shave Products:
Nivea for Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm
Proraso Liquid Cream After-Shave
The Technique
When is it not about technique? Now that you’re stocked on the tools of the trade, here are the 4 steps for a proper wet shave.
Feeling manlier already? We thought so. But more importantly, your facial skin and hair will be healthier too. Sure, it takes a little extra effort and care, but so do all the fine things in life— like that perfectly dry-aged rib-eye steak with a great bottle of cabernet-sauvignon and of course, a well-tailored custom suit. A complete gentleman knows how to shave like one, so go forth and add the traditional wet shave to your list of gentlemanly skills.
Got questions or comments on wet shaving? Share with us in the comments below!
Image Credits: Jean-Baptiste Mondino / NYTimes
18 comments
Chris says:
Feb 14, 2013
A lot of guys probably won’t be able to go from ‘with the grain’ to ‘against the grain’ without a bit of irritation. If you have an extra minute or two, it’s usually more comfortable to throw a third step in, and go ‘across the grain’ before going against. Imagine rotating the razor ninety degrees instead of one-eighty, and then shaving from your ear toward your mouth, instead of up or down. This will make the third pass (against the grain) much smoother and leave no irritation on the face.
Black Lapel says:
Mar 22, 2013
Great advice Chris!
Joshua says:
Feb 14, 2013
Don’t go against the grain til you’re comfortable shaving with one. Just keep your disposable handy at the beginning. And do across the grain once you feel comfortable. Against the grain, wait til you’re comfortable with across the grain.
When you’re shaving with the grain, never press… the razors are heavy for a reason — just let them rest against your skin and let the weight do the work of pressing for you. And when you start going across and against, use as little pressure as possible… it’s not the pressure that’s going to cut the hair, it’s the very sharp blade. You can’t treat a DE razor like a modern cartridge that has springs inside it and a blade that flexes with the curves and imperfections of your face. It will just cut them if you press too hard.
And you don’t need to drop a bunch of money on a safety razor. There are tons of old ones available on ebay and you can probably pick one up at a local junk shop or vintage store for a couple bucks.
Brushes — you can get cheap reasonably good quality ones on amazon. It’s not really that badger is best, and boar is next — Badger is best for softer soaps (love the sandalwood taylor of old bond street), boar is best for harder soaps (like the organic handmade bars the lady at my local farmer’s market sells). There’s also horsehair, which is somewhere between the two in stiffness and water retension, but they’re not as widely available (mostly vintage US ones from the world wars, when it was hard to get badger and boar since they’re mostly imported). The only synthetic brush I tried wasn’t very good at soft or hard soaps, but there may be some good ones out there… but if you’re really worried about cruelty from brushes, get a horsehair one, since those were just from haircuts, not an animal getting shaved bare or killed.
Black Lapel says:
Feb 14, 2013
Thanks for this epic write-up Joshua! You’re absolutely correct regarding avoiding going against the grain until your comfortable. As for horsehair, those are a bit tougher to come across like you mentioned, but we’ll have to look into it now that you’ve mentioned it! It’s rare for us to come across people as passionate and knowledgable about shaving as you are. Thanks again for the input!
Steven says:
Feb 14, 2013
This guy’s youtube channel has the best video guides to learning how to wet shave. He taught me and countless others the joys of wet shaving.
http://www.youtube.com/user/mantic59
Black Lapel says:
Feb 14, 2013
Agreed! He’s a great teacher! Highly recommended.
David says:
Feb 14, 2013
Awesome article. Always love reading your stuff!
Black Lapel says:
Feb 14, 2013
Glad you enjoy reading The Compass David! Share the love and tell your friends about it!
Aman says:
Feb 16, 2013
Would you be able to say what brand razor and brush stand and shaving bowl is displayed in the photos? Thanks!
Black Lapel says:
Feb 16, 2013
Hey Aman, the razor is a Merkur Futur Adjustable Razor and the shave stand is also from Merkur. As for the shaving bowl, here’s a lather bowl that’s very similar. Hope that helps!
Jonwill says:
Mar 1, 2013
This great shaving advice. However for Africn-American skin I would not and do not shave against the grain because of in-grown hairs that cause bumps. I do have a small area that appears scarred for pulling ingrown hairs. Any alive on that would be appreciated. Also found The Art of Shaving store to be helpful with supplies.
Black Lapel says:
Mar 1, 2013
Glad you enjoyed the post! And you bring up a great point about ingrown hairs. The first line of defense for ingrown hairs is a good lather, a proper shaving technique, a ONE blade razor (i.e., double-edge safety razor), and thoroughly rinsing the lather to prevent clogging. The moment you start seeing an ingrown hair, using a plain toothbrush to gently brush over the ingrown hair can help. The last resort is using a tweezer to gently bring the hair into the open air (don’t pluck it out or it may cause an infection and make it worse).
Anshumali Srivastava says:
Mar 29, 2013
I’m first time visiting this site… But I love this..
Black Lapel says:
Mar 29, 2013
Glad you love it Anshumali. Browse around and enjoy our guides and tutorials on all things style!
Chris says:
Apr 21, 2013
I shave in the shower. I have ultra-sensitive skin so I had to purchase expensive sensitive skin products. Even applying those occasionally made my skin itch and burn all day. Then I started a regimen of ice cold water after hot water in the shower that opened and then closed the pores. That seemed to do the job but I hated showering in a frigid stream; reminded me too much of my Army days
Then I read an article that suggested running an ice cube over the face after showering. It worked great! I ditched the pricey skin care products. I can use any moisturizer on my face now and my skin doesn’t get irritated. Best part: no more ice baths.
Black Lapel says:
Apr 22, 2013
Hooah! We loved this story Chris. Glad you found something that works for you. We’re going to give this a try (the ice cube not the ice bath).
Paul says:
May 26, 2013
I am fairly new to double edge shaving so I have a few questions, if you could help a rookie out please?
What is the significance of the numbers and letters for the actual razor itself (34C, 40C, etc)?
The razors are VERY expensive. If I want a quality shave, is it a must have over the ones in the average drugstore that are very inexpensive?
Are the Merkur blades the best ones to use and if so why?
Black Lapel says:
May 26, 2013
Paul, no sweat! we were all rookies once (and we’re still learning)! The numbers and letters represent the model of the Merkur razor. The main differences in the models will be the length of the handle, as well as the overall weight of the razor. As for the cost, we do agree that it is a bit steep for a handle compared to a disposable razor, but if you factor in the blades and quality of shave, it turns out to be a much better value in the long term. The Merkur razor, for example, is the razor that men the world over have learned to shave with for nearly one hundred years. It’s recognized for its quality of construction and durability–with proper care, a Merkur has been known to last an entire lifetime). Also, take a look at our “Ask a Black Lapel Stylist” article on the cost breakdown of using a disposable vs. a DE safety razor. It should give you a better picture as to the cost savings over the long term. Stay sharp!