How To Get The Best Shave

1.  Make Sure Your Beard is Thoroughly Wet

One of the keys to a great close shave without irritation or razor burn is to make sure your beard is thoroughly wet. Facial hair will absorb moisture up to 30% of its volume. Hair swollen with water becomes quite weak and therefore easier to cut. Showering before shaving is the ideal way to ensure you beard is properly moistened. If a shower is not possible, rinse your face and then apply a warm moistened towel to your face for at least a couple of minutes. This is the technique that barbers use. Never shave cold or apply shaving products to a dry face - this is one of the leading causes of razor burn and shaving rash.

2. Use a Quality Shaving Cream 

Use a shaving cream that has a high concentration of lubricants (eg silicones) and moisturizers. The best shaving creams create a rich creamy lather and do not foam up like the cheaper drug store brands. The less "foaming" in the shave cream the better, as it is what is in contact with the skin and beard that matters - all else is wasted. Less resistance, less irritation and less nicks also mean a longer lasting blade! While the primary function of the shaving cream is to lubricate your face so that the razor will glide smoothly and effortlessly across the surface, it also serves to lock the moisture into the whiskers, keeping them soft and upright, primed for the cut. The ideal scenario is to leave the shaving cream on your face for at least a minute before you begin cutting, so that the beard is as soft and wet as possible.

3. A Shaving Brush is One of the Best Tools

One of the best tools you can use to achieve the optimum shave is a shaving brush (as top barbers do). A shaving brush does a couple of things. First, it helps raise the hair so that a closer cut is possible. Second, it helps create a rich creamy lather with the shaving cream that stays close to the skin. And, finally, it helps remove dead skin cells (exfoliation) which reduces the chance of blemishes, razor bumps and also helps the skin look and feel smooth and healthy. Always look for a shaving brush with bristles that have the right balance between softness (to create a rich creamy lather that stays close to the skin) and resistance to raise the beard (making a closer cut easier!)

4. Use a Quality Razor and Change the Blades

Always use a good quality sharp razor blade. Be sure the blade is sharp. You're not just cutting off hair, you're also scraping off up to two layers of surface skin when you shave. A dull blade is more traumatic to the skin, making your face feel scratchy and look blotchy - a dull razor is one of the contributing factors to razor burn and shaving rash. Depending on the toughness of your beard, change the blade somewhere between every three and every ten shaves, if you shave every day. Two weeks is too long to go without changing blades. Regardless of the number of shaves, if the blade becomes dull, ditch it.

As to which brand of razor to use - we think you can't go wrong with any of the Gillette Mach series. Of course there are very high quality and expensive razors available at specialty retailers that you may want to try.

Rinse your blade under hot water before you begin to shave and after every few swipes. This removes the accumulated shaving cream, whiskers, and skin gunk. The use of hot water here is to help lubricate, has nothing to do with "killing bacteria."

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