How I Shave

Updated: 2008.04.08

This is all about my preparation and technique. I consider this more important for great shaves and I should be able to apply these techniques regardless of whatever product or equipment I am using. A great product or piece of equipment just makes it a little easier or pleasurable.

Beard Preparation:
Since I do most of my shaving at work, I do not have the luxury of using my own shower and sink. The water temperature never gets really hot and the locker room is kept cool or down right frigid. Nice huh? Not conducive to a great shave. Hot towel treatments are out too since I have no place to store them or dry them out. So, here we go. Long hot shower. OK, I can get the shower hot enough and never run out of hot water. That's a plus. I wash my face with a good facial wash at the very beginning of the shower. At the very end of the shower, I up the temperature to as much as I can stand and soak my beard for 45-60 seconds. The hot water opens up the pores and softens the beard. Once out of the shower, I have to collect my gear and lay it out. I can't have it ready to go because this is not my bathroom. I'll soak a brush while getting everything else ready. OK, my pores have started to or already closed due to the cold locker room. Oh well, tt doesn't matter. Now, the real work.

I wet my beard again with hot water for about 30 seconds and then build my lather directly on my face. I then shave with razor of choice. (Usually a Feather ACD-N or straight razor for the first pass)

Note: I keep the angle of the razor consistent to the plane of my face. Usually about 30 degrees. I use the least amount of pressure I can. It's whisker reduction not whisker weed whacking. If my lather is drying out, I stop, rinse my face with warm water and re-apply some lather. I don't just put on more lather. I want to keep my face hydrated and not just have a slightly wetter lather. If I find this happens a lot with certain soaps that like to fade, then I lather and shave my face in stages like waxing a car. One section at a time. I take my time. It's not a race. I don't try and do a BBS shave in 2 passes. It's asking for trouble. Again, a shave is to be enjoyed and not a race.

5) Rinse face with warm water.
6) Apply 2nd pass lather with brush.
7) Shave with DE razor of choice.
8) Rinse face with warm water.
9) Apply 3rd pass lather.
10) Shave with DE razor of choice.
11) Rinse face with warm water.
12) OK, it's cleanup time. Feel for whiskers. Wet the spot. Apply a little lather. Shave it. Repeat as needed. I'll use either a DE or the Feather/str8 depending on how close I want to get and where the final patches are. I want lots of glide for this step. My fingers feeling for whiskers while smoothing the lather will tell me where I need to work on.
13) Final rinse face with warm water.
14) Time to start closing the pores. Rinse face with cold water.
15) Pat dry. No rubbing and watch out for any bleeding. I don't like to get blood on my towel.
16) Apply styptic if needed. I will say the My Nik is Sealed works the best for me.
17) Apply Aftershave Balm (Optional)
18) Apply Aftershave
19) Apply Talc (Optional. Good for hiding rough spots.)
20) Apply Cologne (Optional)

Good to go.

Here are notes on my beard pattern and passes. Know your beard. It will save you a lot of time and irritation.


Beard Pattern/Pass Notes:

My beard pattern is all over the place. I mapped it out one time and went "Damn, that sucks." No full section of my face has the same pattern so I have to use a generic shave technique to cover all the spots to best advantage. Directional references are from the perspective of looking in the mirror.

Pass 1
Everything North to South

Pass 2
Cheeks - Ear to Mouth
Upper Lip - East to West
Lower Lip - East to West
Chin - East to West
Jawline - Chin to Ear
Neck - NW to SE on right, NE to SW on left

Pass 3
Cheeks - Mouth to Ear
Upper Lip - West to East
Lower Lip - West to East
Chin - West to East
Jawline - Ear to Chin
Neck - NE to SW on right, NW to SE on left

Pass 4 - Cleanup
This is the critical part. The one where I can make or break a shave. After 3 passes, there is still going to be noticeable stubble in several places and slight stubble in others. Under the chin, hollows of my neck and jawline are noticeable.

Under Chin - Around the world blade buffing
Left Hollow of Neck & Jawline - West to East followed by ATG Blade Buff
Right Hollow of Neck & Jawline - East to West followed by ATG Blade Buff
Everything - ATG blade buff any stubble left. Usually almost none at this point.

Further Technique Notes:
Unless I'm blade buffing, I use the sharpest blade I can with a particular razor and use short glide strokes on the first pass (Feather ACD-N or Straight) and long glide strokes on passes 2 and 3 except for the upper & lower lip and chin. This means I have to let the razor/blade do the work and just provide guidance. Pressure is the enemy.

If I've done this right, I'll have either near BBS with zero or almost zero irritation or BBS with some irritation. My skin turns red just from water or even light rubbing or a scritchy brush so, I can't judge irritation by color. The alum block or aftershave tells me how much I irritated my skin. A DE razor gives me one weeper a month. Maybe. A weeper tells me I got sloppy. The ACD-N or a straight are far less forgiving. It's my technique. Not the razor. I'm still learning.