razor and increase the number of passes you make. By passes, I mean the number of
times you lather and shave. It might seem like you’re using the razor too much, but
using a single blade for three passes is still less blades on your face than one pass
with a five lade cartridge. The purpose of multiple passes is to focus on a gradual
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reduction of hair in different directions instead chopping it off in one fell swoop.
One of the biggest mistakes I see guys make when shaving is not letting the razor and
blade do the work for you. I believe this is a result of cartridge shaving which allows
for a greater margin of error, but the solution can be applied to single lade shaving
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as well as cartridge razor shaving. Ease off on the pressure and focus on the angle
of the blade itself. Cartridge razors set the blades at an appropriate angle negating
the need to focus on angle as much, but all that leads to is reckless shaving. With a
single lade razor, angle becomes much more important. Applying too much pressure
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doesn’t improve your shave, it just chews up your face and causes cuts and nicks.
Every barber I have talked to about shaving has told me the same thing about pressure; they learned to shave faces by shaving balloons. I’m not saying that you need to
run out and buy a bunch of balloons, but the next time you shave pretend your face
is a balloon that will pop with any amount of pressure. I wouldn’t be surprised if you
experienced a better a shave.
While I would be willing to bet that most guys shave with warm water, I would not be
nearly as confident that most guys are finishing their shave with cold water. Cold water, for me, is the first step in my post have process. After shaving I rinse off any extra
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lather then splash some cold water over the newly shaved area. This helps to close up
pores immediately preventing ingrown hairs or blemishes.
Taking care of your skin after shaving is the final step to a better shave. In fact, your
post have process is the first step to a great shave next time. This is also the only
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product recommendation I will make in this article. Go online and buy an alum block.
You can get one for less than ten dollars and it will last for months. After you rinse
your face with cold water, but before you dry it off, rub the alum over the shaved
area. Alum is antibacterial, a blood coagulant and an astringent. It will keep your skin
healthy, stop nicks or weepers from bleeding and close up your pores even more than
the cold water splash. You can then follow up with any sort of aftershave splash or
balm you like. If you have drier skin, you might want to use something more moisturizing; likewise, if you have oily skin, a simple aftershave may be a better solution for
you.
I think the most important thing to remember is to enjoy the process. Shaving doesn’t
have to be a chore. It can be a chance to think or have a few minutes of s olitude. I like
to listen to my backlog of podcasts while shaving. I suggest putting just a little more
into your shave. You just might be surprised what you get out of it.