Shaving

[Liberal]

Greetings, Dex.

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mshave.html

Just thought you might want to know that your advice regarding shaving pretty much jibes with the standard advice given by Kyan Douglas. It is best, according to him, to shave immediately after a hot shower because the whiskers are already softened considerably.

(Incidentally, your so-called "long" answers do not hold a candle to Bibliophage's. ;))

[flapcats]

What about chemical hair removal products - like Immac or Veet?

[Little_Bear]

After searchng for an agreeable way of shaving for years (I have a tender face and a tough, fast-growing beard - shaving hell, basically), I have found that the system that works best for me is to shave with an electric razor while in the shower.

[short pause]

However - be SURE to use a CORDLESS electric that is made for this purpose (I personally recommend the Panasonic wet/dry line). Use a shaving gel instead of a cream (the cream washes away to quickly), and get one of those fog-free mirror gadgets. I get a close shave, little or no irritation, and, as a bonus, a valid excuse to take a longer shower! ;)

[gonzoron]

I was very perplexed by Dex's claim that electric razors are worse for your skin. I have very sensetive skin and was always told by my doctor to use an electric. I think the reasoning is that the electric blade never actually touches the skin, preventing exfoliation, which can be bad news for folks like me.

Empirical evidence supports this, since the few times I've been forced to use a blade, my face won't forgive me for several days, despite using a technique very similar to Dex's.

[deaconmc]

I'm glad someone brought up Kyan before I posted. My girlfriend and I are big fans of Queer Eye, and only have one gripe. Sometimes the product placement takes precedence over good advice.

Multiple products for shaving? I've had thick, quick growing facial hair since high school, and just a few years ago, the same girlfriend suggested run-of-the-mill hair conditioner for shaving. This is easily the best shave I've ever had and I'll never try anything else. Conditioner makes the facial hair soft, so soft that my normally thick beard melts off without cuts or burns. The conditioner also moisturizes your face, and comes off easily.

Kyan on Queer Eye actually suggested two specific products for preparing your face, when no special purchase is needed. The actual shaving tips were great, stuff I've learned through trial and error over time. But I can't stress enough how garden variety hair conditioner will do the same job as multiple creams and moisturizers for much less cash and effort.

[pcroughn]

I use plain old soap to shave. Shaving creams are another product that people have been duped into buying.

Now, I have a tough beard and sensitive skin. Shaving hurts! No creams ever worked too well. I finally started using Edge Gel as it seemed to be the best.

One day I ran out of Edge and since I shave in the shower, decided to use soap, like my wife uses on her legs (and stuff ;)). It worked better than anything I ever tried.

Here's my technique; First of all, I shave in the shower. I use the soap for a bit to soften it up. I then rub it on my beard as if I were shaving with an electric razor. THen I rub the soap in my hands, adding water when needed to make a frothy lather. The lather goes on my face. I then shave WITH the grain. After done, I shave AGAINST the grain. No need to relather, your fave will be slippery enough. I even 'scrub' my face with the razor with no ill effects.

I have never cut myself this way and rarely get razor burn. Try it next time and you'll be amazed. Let me know how it comes out.

[arteitle]

Thanks for the great article. I personally have used an electric shaver for years, and the convenience makes up for not getting quite as close a shave as with a razor. I wanted to add that when shaving with an electric with a foil (e.g. a Braun or Remington), one should go against the grain, so that the hairs are forced into the holes in the foil. Shaving with the grain wouldn't accomplish much. It can be helpful to make multiple rapid passes in varying directions over any stubborn areas.

Also, as mentioned above, there is one other method of facial hair removal not covered in the article: chemical depilatories. One such product is Magic Shave Powder, marketed to African-American men because it's less likely to cause razor bumps. One mixes the smelly stuff with a little water and spreads the resulting paste on his face, then after a few minutes squeegees it off, ideally taking the hair with it.

Aaron T.

[RiverRunner]

I just wanted to throw in the fact that Dave Barry's column of 7/31 had to do with the subject of shaving. Opening bit:
Attention, consumers with bodily hair: The razor industry has news for you! You will never in a million years guess what this news is, unless your IQ is higher than zero, in which case you're already thinking: ``Not another blade! Don't tell me they're adding another blade!!''

He also mentions that Neanderthal man used to pluck his facial hairs with two seashells used as tweezers. Check it out!


RR

[patchbunny]

I've got the beard stubble from hell. No matter what I use to shave, or what direction I go, I still feel stubbly. I can't solve the problem by growing a beard, because I didn't inherit beard genes from my parents (I wound up looking like Shaggy from Scooby Do the one time I tried). :(

I was using a Gilette Mach 3 for a while, as it did the best job, but the blades get expensive very fast. I finally bought an electric razor. If I can't get a decent shave no matter what, I might as well try and save some money.

I like the chemical depilatory idea, though. I'll have to see if I can find it.

--Patch

[jjimm]

Originally posted by pcroughn
I use plain old soap to shave. Shaving creams are another product that people have been duped into buying. Thus speaks the man who has never used King of Shaves (http://www.shave.com/) gel.

[MacSpon]

Here's (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/dave_barry/6287648.htm) a link for the Dave Barry column RiverRunner mentions.

[Achernar]

I really appreciate brief columns, because you know, I'm a busy guy. :) But I'm glad I stuck around to the end of this one, for this little gem:Laser removal. Follicles are permanently destroyed, although it may take several sessions, and it's way expensive. This should only be done by professionals.I'm picturing some guy in his bathroom pointing a laser gun at his face, reading this column, and putting the gun down, so much the wiser. :)

[pcroughn]

Originally posted by jjimm
Thus speaks the man who has never used King of Shaves (http://www.shave.com/) gel.

.Quid pro quo...

Thus speaks the man who has never used plain old soap.

I actually went to their website and was excited to see "Free Samples", but aparently they don't sell King of Shaves in the US

[Irishman]

I have trouble getting rid of the stubble feel no matter how I shave. I don't like it. I feel like if I'm shaving, my skin should be smooth, and when it's not it bugs me.

I used to use a Norelco spinning head razor. Have to scrub the face to get most of the stubble, and left my face raw. Talking when it's summer and I start sweating, my neck starts stinging raw. OUCH!

I switched to blades - Atra plus with shaving gel. Not as raw, but more prone to nicks. Then switched to Sensor XL. Finally I tried shaving in the shower. I use regular soap. Best method I've found. Almost never get nicks, and avoid the really raw feeling.

I shave against the grain striving to get rid of all the stubble. Still not perfect.

[Irishman]

Oh yeah, he says pat dry, don't rub. But no reason why.

[kaylasdad99]

If a few more guys chime in with their shaving techniques, I'll enter a motion to move this thread to IMHO.

:D

[constantine]

One other tip I learned from the Learn2.com website, back when it was cool and had discussions of how to shave, and tie balloon animals, etc.

Take a wet washcloth, and rub your beard against the grain.

This (1) gets the whiskers wet so they are softer, and (2) makes them stand up so they are easier to shave off. THEN apply your cream or gel or whatever.

Even though I shave right after I get out of the shower, I still use this technique because I find it leads to a closer shave, with fewer scrapes.

[flapcats]

When you use a chemical hair remover, does the hair grow back blunt, smooth or flat like it had been shaved?

[C K Dexter Haven]

kaylasdad, it's sometimes a tough call, but frankly, the Staff Report is about shaving, so personal anecdotes are still "Comments on Staff Report"... although I agree, we should try to keep such anecdotes relevant to shaving techniques.

I did not find a reason given in any of the books for "patting" rather than "rubbing" to dry, but several books said it, so I passed it on as is. I suspect that rubbing runs the greater risk of turning the little teeny tiny hair stubble inward, and thus runs greater risk of infection, but that's just my wild guess.

[Baldwin]

All this makes me glad I've had a full beard since 1981. I shave my neck about once a week; not too concerned with getting a close shave. However, I admire the dedication of you smooth boys.

[bump]

Originally posted by pcroughn
.Quid pro quo...
I actually went to their website and was excited to see "Free Samples", but aparently they don't sell King of Shaves in the US


They just don't give out the free samples in teh US. They most definitely do sell King of Shaves in the US- I got a tube of the regular gel at the local Super Target(Frisco, TX), of all places for $5 a couple of months ago.

Great stuff, although I think that for me, it's a dead heat between KoS, Nivea for Men Unscented, and Burma Shave/brush.

All 3 give a close shave that's pretty painless, and beat the tar out of Barbasol or Foamy!

[Happy Lendervedder]

This was interesting:
A male face has between 10,000 and 30,000 whiskers, with the average somewhere around 15,000 to 16,000.

But when I got to the part of the article entitled "Other Approaches," this killed me:

Plucking. This takes a lot of patience and a great deal of masochism. With a good pair of tweezers, you can pluck hairs one at a time, but they will grow back and you can damage the hair follicle.

Are you kidding me?? Are there actually dudes out there who have the stamina to pluck 15,000 fucking hairs off their face?

I think I'd rather set my whiskers on fire and remove them that way.

Yowch!

Happy

[luben]

Well, personally, I use an electric for my face and a Gillette Mach 3 Turbo for 'anywhere else'. I pluck on my throat though, 'cause the electric doesn't get those fine hairs and the razor does bad things to the skin there. Generally I use Gillette Gel, and sometimes a great lidocaine gel called 'Bikini Zone' to soothe and prevent razor burn afterwards.

Of course, there's always waxing... but I don't think any guy wants to wax his face!

:eek:

Luben

[jimpatro]

I do use hot water to soften my whiskers before shaving but cold water to rinse the blade in as I go. Warm or hot water dulls the blade as in holding a stubborn jar lid under hot water to loosen it.

[spingears]

As the holder of a liftime membership in a nearby health club I first shower, remove excess water from my face and apply the club supplied face and body lotion to the beard. Then after about 5 to 7 minutes in the steam room at 115 deg.F. Shave with a tripple blade throwaway with blade at 45 deg. angle to the grain. Voila an excellent shave and the razor will last about three weeks!

[C K Dexter Haven]

Innerestin' that this thread has attracted so many first-time posters, so welcome to deaconmc, arteitle, and luben and we hope that we hear more from you.

[MovieMogul]

Shaving with the grain always leaves me with sandpaper cheeks; the only way to completely finish the job and get smoothness is to do it both ways. Because it's a bit treacherous, however, I only do so on special occasions.

I've tried soap but still prefer my Edge gel (the Mrs. loves the smell, too).

[moriah]

For all you soap users: try the liquid hand soap -- much more lubricious.

Peace.
-------------
My two bits for a shave and haircut.

[josejones]

Originally posted by jimpatro
I do use hot water to soften my whiskers before shaving but cold water to rinse the blade in as I go. Warm or hot water dulls the blade as in holding a stubborn jar lid under hot water to loosen it.


i was always told that hot water also has the effect of allowing the blade to expand slightly, decreasing the tension and not giving the blade the chance to run evenly across the skin.

even given that though and the chance that i'm dulling the blade, i still rinse in hot, because shaving is bad enough without having to run an ice cold blade across my face.

by the way, mug/brush/hot lather. the mug and brush you can pick up anywhere for about 10 bucks and a cake of burma-shave runs $1.50 and will last for months. besides hot lather, you also get the mini-massage when you brush the lather on.

[Pablito]

Shaving both ways, with and then against the grain, seems to be necessary only for certain parts of the face, particularly those hard-to-scrape-cleanly areas just below the jawline and on parts of the neck, for me.
Of course, figuring out which way the grain goes takes some experience, too. The advice I've heard given to newbie shavers is to 'shave toward your chin' and that that technique will take care of most grainy issues and give you a pretty good shave.
And I'll second the opinion already expressed, that shaving in the shower with hot water and plain old soap gives a very good shave and saves some time as well. I do that 9 times out of 10.

[halbrown]

If you want to bypass all the problems associated with the quest for a close smooth shave, and still look presidential, you don't have to grow a beard and look like Lincoln. I prefer the five o'clock shadow look, smoothly and easily achieve with a Norelco (although any brand will do) beard trimmer at tle closest setting.

You probably will want to do a little blade shaving around the edges so your facial countenance looks respectable and you don't really look like President Dick, or another bum.

While you're at it, you can save some money on haircuts and set the shaver at another length and give yourself a Matt Laurer buzzcut.

[Tomcat]

Has anyone ever used a straight-edge razor? Strop and leather and all that? I was thinking about trying it, but the problem is that I wouldn't want a cheap razor (that could be dangerous as well as ineffectual), and a good pricey one starts at around $100. Now, I'm not rich, so a $100 test doesn't seem so hot. Has anyone done this themselves (as in not just letting your barber do it, you actually shaving this way)?

-Tcat

[Tir Tinuviel]

You guys thinking about using hair removal creams on your beards might wanna read this thread (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=116672&highlight=cream+AND+beard) first. ;)

[thorrice]

Moisterizers?, wait a minute to let the beard absorb water?, new blade a week? Perhaps you can write a missive on how a man can rince out his panties in the kitchen sink.

[cletus]

Reading Dexter's article and that list of elaborate steps to shaving made me think of Homer Simpson and his shaving 'technique'.

Next, we take some toilet paper, tear off some teensy little squares, and stick one there... and there... and any place you're bleeding... there... and there... Don't worry, the blood will hold it right on your face.
Copied from www.snpp.com

Just picture Homer trying to decipher Dexter's instructions. :)

[sj1hoo]

get a good shaving oil and follow the instructions. It will transform your (shaving) life.
And use a cut throat razoe for a close sahve that will last a lot lot longer.
There is a learning curve with the cut throat though.

Juan

[Roches]

About depilatories: all the ones I've seen say not to use them on your face. Depilatories are far too harsh and toxic for me to want to use them on my face, even if the bottle said I could.

At the already-mentioned risk of my personal shaving technique being off-topic: against the grain, then with the grain, then sideways. Shaving with the grain doesn't work. I use a three-bladed razor and 'therapeutic' shaving gel, and I shave in the shower -- otherwise it hurts, and even in the shower I bleed often. As you can probably imagine, almost all my male relatives have beards.

In conditions like these, electric razors are wholly ineffective -- they seem to set back the facial hair clock a couple hours, but they don't make my face even look smooth.

Anyway, in my experience, triple-blade razors are much more effective than double-blade ones. With a double-blade razor, I almost always bleed (even with a new blade); with triple-blades, it's rare, especially if the blade is sharp.

An SD article from 1983 (which was posted here recently), however, suggests that the world would have been a much more painful and bloody place for me 20 years ago (or that I'd have a beard):
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_183.html

Single blade razors. Any single blade razor I've used (like the white-and-orange Bic disposables) has left my face red and bleeding. Does anyone know if the single-blades have just declined greatly in quality now that double-blade is the norm, or were they always that bad?

[halbrown]

From the Straight Dope (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_183.html) (if I have the link wrong search the word "razor.")

Here is the link for Cecil's answer. Sounds like "the straight dope" to me.

[Little_Bear]

Originally posted by Roches
....even in the shower I bleed often...

Originally posted by Roches
...left my face red and bleeding...

PLEASE!!! Roches and all of you other red and bleeding shavers out there:

I, too, used to be amongst the suffering masses who believed that dragging sharpened steel blades across one's face (verily, even against the grain!) was the only path to smoothness, and that bleeding was an acceptable and even necessary consequence of one's morning ablutions in order to present a shining, rosy cheek to civilized society.

Bleed no more! Try, please try, a wet/dry cordless electric shaver. Even the cheap ones work well (I believe the low line Panasonics are under $40), and even I, member of the tough bearded, tender faced, shaved twice-a-day clan of the cave bear-like beard mongers, now enjoy smooth, irritation-free mornings and stubble-free afternoons.

Little_Bear

P.S.
For best results, use a shaving gel, shave last in your shower, shave in all directions, including against the grain, and smooth on an aftershave gel afterwards

[serena]

Oh joy: a chance to mention comics :))

In the UK, there is a comic called "The Beano", in which one of the main strips is about "Desperate Dan". Dan lives in Cactus Gulch, eats cow pies (whole, naturally), and shaves with a blowtorch. I guess he lives in the US (well, it does say Cactus Gulch).

Don't y'all do that over there ??

[Colophon]

I'd just like to say that those shaving oils are rubbish. I got a little bottle of the King of Shaves oil (it's only like a quarter of an ounce or something) to take away travelling, cos it's a whole lot lighter than a big can of gel or foam. To judge from their adverts, you'd think it was revolutionary stuff - well it simply doesn't work. At all. Plus it makes the stubble stick to the razor so it doesn't rinse off properly.

[AngelicGemma]

Originally posted by flapcats
What about chemical hair removal products - like Immac or Veet?

I haven't even read the rest of the posts yet, but after reading this I felt compelled to post - VEET IS RUBBISH! IT DOESN'T WORK! I ended up shaving my legs after using it.

[Oat1957]

Originally posted by pcroughn
I use plain old soap to shave. Shaving creams are another product that people have been duped into buying.


I use a shaving mug soap and a brush. Much better than shaving cream.

Also, the brushes aren't made out of horsehair anymore so they don't rot when left wet, which is why shaving cream became so popular.