Gentleman’s Essential #11: Cutting it Close

After a failed attempt at writing a piece about shaving, we’re going to revisit the subject.  No fancy stats about what women actually want, but we’ll start with a story from my favorite period in antiquity – Ancient Rome.  Shaving became so important in Roman culture that when young men went to the barber for the first time, it was a celebration and their hairs were offered to the gods.  After famously rising from the ranks and driving his nemesis to Egypt, Julius Caesar attained the throne of the Roman Empire.  This great leader and conqueror opted for the clean-shaven look – and he demanded that of his soldiers.  Unfortunately, Caesar achieved this by having the hairs individually plucked; even worse, his soldiers in the field “shaved” by rubbing their hair out with a pumice stone.  It kind of puts drudgery of the daily or bi-weekly shave in a new perspective.  Let’s look at how to do this ancient gentlemen’s ritual properly.

1.   Prepare your face with warm water.  The hair on your face will soften up and stand up for a closer shave if you begin by washing your face.  I prefer to shave in the shower, which can easily be done with a fog proof mirror installed, but if you opt not to, you can begin with a warm washcloth. 

2.  Next, apply the shave gel in small circles, again to prepare your facial hair.  I prefer shave gel versus foam because it helps the razor glide across the skin easier.  I generally use Gillette Extra Comfort Shave Gel, but Lab Series for Men makes a really amazing shave cream.  

3.  Use a newer razor blade.  As you all probably know, I shave more hair than most so I go through blades often.  Even if you’re just going for your face, you ought to be changing your blade every other week or so.  You should definitely change the blade before shaving for an important event.  I’m a Gillette Mach 3 guy, but you should go with whatever works best for your face.

4.  If you have the time, shave first going with the “grain” of your hair.  Then reapply shave gel and shave again against the grain.  This will give you a much closer shave and help reduce the likelihood of ingrown hairs.

5.  After the shave wash your face again with a face wash.  This will take away any remaining shave gel, shaved hairs, and clean your face for the day.  Neutrogena Men Invigorating Face Wash will do the job well.

6.  Always, always, always apply moisturizer to your face.  If you don’t after about 30 minutes you’ll feel like your skin is going to fall off.  The reason for this is because the act of shaving and washing depletes your face of its natural moisturizers.  I also find that as I apply the moisturizer I can feel if I missed a spot during the shave.  If you do, simply apply a little more moisturizer to the area and re-shave that spot.  Few things are more embarrassing than realizing midway through the day that you missed a spot.  I prefer Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion. 

So next time you put metal to face, know that you are taking part in a tradition that is thousands of years old.  After all, this is your face – it’s kind of important.