Shave! How to Get a Cleaner, More Comfortable Shave

by Ken Gilberg, Herbaria Partner

Shave! was my proposed title for a book I wanted to write 40 years ago. The book promised a cleaner, easier, more comfortable shave. I make the same promise to you here. Revised and updated.

The title typography of Shave! was a script written in shaving cream. That was many years before I began my career with Herbaria, a world of natural, healthy living. We’re all about soap, not detergent, essential oils, not synthetic fragrance. I wish I knew then what I know now.

I’m 76. Figuring I have shaved for 300 out of 365 days for 46 years, I’ve shaved 36,800 times. That's an underestimation because I was shaving by age 18 and liked/needed to shave every day. I grew a beard for a year back in college, but I don't like my face to be hairy. It held moisture and was scratchy. Couldn't imagine why a girl would want to kiss that. 

Don't get me wrong. I love to see beards on other men. I think they're cool as hell. What would Santa be without his beard? Or Fidel, Abraham Lincoln, Moses, Jesus, or the Lord Himself, as pictured by Michelangelo? I don’t know about those guys, but today even bearded guys shave their necks and cheeks to keep styled. Here’s a plug for bearded men: Try our Beard Oil!

Different Strokes for Different Folks

Asian facial hair tends to be sparser, straighter, and softer. East Asian men can get away with a quick pass around the mouth with an electric shaver.

I understand why men of African descent grow beards. Their hair is thick and dense. It grows in coils, making shaving difficult and often causing ingrown hairs. Blacks who want to be clean-shaven suffer the sulfurous smell and stinging burn of depilatories, which chemically dissolve whiskers. 

Caucasian beards grow quickly. I can have a full beard in a month or two. Middle Easterners and Mediterranean guys can be densely hairy. Some Caucasians have thicker hair, some finer.

Clean Shaven

I'm a product of my time. Growing up, men typically shaved every day as a standard of masculinity and good grooming.  Fairly recently, guys flaunt the stubble of a three- to five-day growth, the “scruff” look. “Left to its own devices, it can quickly look messy.” The scruff look requires regular maintenance with fancy clippers, not a simple razor.

Choosing the Right Razor

Wet shavers practice the traditional art of shaving with a straight razor and use a badger shaving brush to whip up lather. We make creamy Shave Soaps for those people. Personally, I don't think that's necessary. Straight razors scare the crap out of me, the way some people are frightened by even a picture of a snake. Straight razors are also known as cut-throat razors. Yikes!

Razors need to be strong and sharp. Whiskers are tough, with the tensile strength of alloyed steel or annealed copper wire. Beard hair is largely "hard keratin," and is about twice as thick as scalp hair. The density can easily dull a blade.

Thank Goodness for King Camp Gillette, inventor of the safety razor in 1895. 

I have the same tough beard as my father had. I can picture him holding a hot, moist washcloth to his face with both hands to soften his whiskers. I see him loading his safety razor with a double-sided Gillette Blue Blade, twisting the handle to secure the blade in place. Perhaps he put on Barbasol, Burma-Shave, or Rise Menthol. 

Often, after a shave, Dad would sport a little torn piece of Kleenex with a spot of blood, stuck to his pronounced Adam’s apple to stop the bleeding. 

I hail it as a major step forward when the twin-blade razor, the Gillette Track 2, was introduced in 1971. Supposedly, the first blade would lift the hair, the second would cut it close. However it worked, it made for a much more comfortable and less bloody shave. 

Years ago, I visited a professional, experienced barber to get an old-fashioned shave, curious if it would be better than what I was getting with my twin-blade safety razor. It was not. It was too close in some places and not close enough in others. The bleeding from the nicks stopped eventually. 

Today, there are three, four, and five-blade razors. I think that’s overkill. With each pass of a razor, a bit of epidermis is taken away. Besides, the blade set gets too big. Maybe that works well for a woman’s legs. I don’t know. 

Lubricating Strips

Down with lubricating strips! Big companies put them on razors so you'll replace the razor when the strip looks worn, even before the blades are dull. Worse than that, when shaving in warm water, our pores are open to the strip’s petroleum-based polymers, such as polyethylene oxide (PEO) or polyethylene glycol (PEG). I’ve removed the strip from my razor, but I warn you, it’s dangerous and not easy. They’re firmly stuck on.

Shaving Cream

I don't believe in shaving cream for several reasons. It's mostly air, so what good is that? I imagine in the old days, it proved that the soap that made the lather was mild. In movies and commercials, lathering up a fluffy white mask and then erasing it was like magic, which was visually appealing.

Barbasol aerosol shave cream ingredients include: water, stearic acid, isobutane (propellant), triethanolamine (TEA), laureth-23, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), propane (propellant), and fragrance. 

Avoid aerosol foams for their detergents, propellants, and synthetic fragrance. Gels have more crazy chemicals in them.

Shave in the Shower

I like to start the day clean-shaven. Like the majority of Americans, I shower in the morning. 

Although I can shave without a mirror, a mirror helps. I have an unbreakable plastic mirror at face level in the shower. The mirror stays fog-free for a while after I rub a little soap on it, then rinse it off. 

Once I step into the shower and put my head under water, my hair absorbs water and softens. Whiskers, too—but they take a little longer.

First, I usually shampoo my hair with one of our natural shampoo bars. Then, with one of our face and body soaps, I wash up first, scrubbing my whole hairy body. Today, I used the Chai Spice Luffa bar. I’m giving some time for my beard to soften.

I especially clean my face and neck in preparation for the shave. 

After my whiskers are soft and clean, I smear soap over the areas to be shaved. The creamy soap that comes off the bar when wet is a wonderful lubricant that makes the razor glide easily. 

Our moisturizing, gentle soaps are perfect for even the most sensitive skin. Our natural bars won't strip or dry out your skin. Any of our smooth bars will be fine to shave with. You wouldn’t want textured ones containing oatmeal, pumice, etc. A few of my favorite bars for shaving are Eucalyptus Mint, Peppermint, Bay Rum, and Traveler’s Choice. 

Some people recommend using oil as a shaving lubricant, but I think soap’s viscosity and water solubility make it a better choice. 

Take the Razor to the Face

To save hot water, I turn the shower off while I shave. 

I take my time. 

I use light pressure and make gentle strokes of the razor. 

I don't shave against the grain of the hairs. 

I make funny faces, stretching my skin taut for a clean shave. 

Some shaving instructions say to rinse out the blades every few swipes, but I wonder if it’s necessary. Whiskers from a three-day growth passed easily through my disposable. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to rinse it.  

I wash my whiskers down the drain—no mess at the sink.

Out of the Shower, After Shave

Out of the shower, at the bathroom sink, it’s time to look in the mirror to shave any spots I might have missed—a couple of stray whiskers under my chin or high on my cheek. 

A swing-out shaving mirror over the sink will extend out to meet you face-to-face. Triple magnification on one side lets you see eye-to-eye, up close and personal. 

I give my Aftershave bottle a good shake, squirt a few drops in the palm of my hand, then splash it on my face. Herbaria Aftershaves contain denatured alcohol, an antiseptic to prevent infection. Witch hazel is a main ingredient, an astringent to help close pores, tone, soothe, and protect your skin. The witch hazel we use is a distilled hydrosol made from the twigs and leaves of the witch hazel shrub. Also to protect and moisturize, Herbaria Aftershaves contain nourishing hemp seed oil.

My favorite Aftershave is 7 Mints, which contains herbal essential oils with natural menthol to cool and make my face feel wonderful for hours. The Lavender and the Bay Rum varieties also smell terrific.  

Try as we might, we couldn't figure out a better term for our Aftershave. It's not about being cologne-like, it’s to make your face feel good and healthy after a shave.

Movies

Just for fun, look for the shaving scene in the next movie you watch. I bet 90% of movies have a shaving scene. The hero looks at himself in the mirror and shaves. Or he'll frighteningly shave someone else, as did Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning. In the psychological thriller Se7en, Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt amusingly shave their chests in preparation to wear a wire. Check out W.C. Fields attempting to shave with a straight razor while his daughter's in the bathroom, a hilarious scene from It's a Gift. 

Ready for a Better Shave?

I hope you’ll give “shave in the shower” a try. You’ll find it less messy, more comfortable. You may even look forward to your next shave. Let us know how it goes!