Shaving has always fascinated me. In ancient times, men would shave using sharpened stones... or pluck the hairs out using a clamshell, according to WebMD. That sounds quite painful to me.
As the WebMD piece also notes, "The average man has more than 25,000 hairs as hard as copper wire coming out of his face and spends 3,000 hours in his lifetime shaving them off."
With so much time and effort put into shaving, it's no wonder that shaving is one of those topics men can come together to discuss and swap tips on—even if our politics or religious beliefs differ wildly, the battle against hair is a constant one and advice from fellow warriors is usually welcome.
In the video below, presented by blade subscription service ShaveBoss, I show my YouTube fans how to shave the "modern" way.
As noted in the video, a couple of things will aid you in getting the closest shave possible, without any cuts or mishaps:
1. A triple-blade disposable. Based on my own extensive, if unscientific, research this is the Goldilocks zone where ideal hair removal takes place. Anything less, such as a cheap-o fixed head disposable with only one or two shallow blades (the kind hotels give out for free at the front desk), is likely to "stick" against your face and cause little cuts. And anything more than three or four blades, such as those 6-blade marketing monstrosities, can cause too much skin irritation and lead to redness or bumps.
2. Good shaving cream. You don't want sticky, gel-like cream. Something standard that comes out of a can is usually your best bet. Many people also like the traditional shaving soaps out there. If you want to learn how to shave closer than you have in the past, your problem might be entirely fixed with better cream.
3. Not too much of it, either. You want the shaving cream to create nice glide for the blades, rather than a mountain of "stuff" to remove from your face.
4. Hot water. A hot towel pre-soak is a major part of any professional shave at a barber shop, for good reason. It opens the pores and softens the hair, making it easier to shave off in a few motions. If a hot towel doesn't do the trick, take a shower before shaving and focus the warm water on your face for a few minutes.
5. Don't get too complicated. In all my experiments with different shaving products and methods, I've found that getting into "connoisseur" territory can produce diminishing returns. Mass market shaving creams are popular for a reason: they work. Some of the $16 boutique shaving gels are marketing nonsense, and a waste of your cash. Similarly, a straight-edge razor shave might give you a marginally closer shave if you are an expert, but a newcomer will cry out in pain from all the fresh little cuts. It's almost 2013; this isn't 1852 California gold rush town, and you don't need to master archaic shaving techniques to impress your girlfriend, wife, or business partner.
How to shave properly (3 minutes, 36 seconds):
Disclosures: David received no compensation for this video, but ShaveBoss is a family business, in which he has a financial stake at time of publication.
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