Gentlemen's Grooming - Wet-shaving, Facial Hair, and Beyond

[Correction]

Do not buy 100 of a single brand of razor before trying them out to see if you think they're comfortable on your skin. Most blades will only give you 2-4 3-pass shaves and no two blades are quite the same. Buy a sampler pack and see what you like (warning, feathers have a reputation for cutting through things like they're not even there), then make your first 100-blade purchase once you're both comfortable with your new routine and understand what your skin reacts to.

Would it even be worth wet shaving for me? I get a small patch on my cheek, which I can usually get all of with an electric razor, then use the eletric razor on my tiny ass mustache (rly tiny) and then finish it off with a standard razor. My goatie, I just trim, never remove

Probably not. Wet shaving's benefits are largely in the cost vs shaving daily with disposables, plus you've gone from a 30 second shave to likely a 10 minute one. I do like the way my skin feels after a wet shave much more than after a normal convenience shave.

[Kalmado]

Do not buy 100 of a single brand of razor before trying them out to see if you think they're comfortable on your skin. Most blades will only give you 2-4 3-pass shaves and no two blades are quite the same. Buy a sampler pack and see what you like (warning, feathers have a reputation for cutting through things like they're not even there), then make your first 100-blade purchase once you're both comfortable with your new routine and understand what your skin reacts to.

Yeah I was thinking of doing that before my next purchase just to make sure the Feathers aren't too sharp for my skin. I got my Derby 100c from amazon on sale for $6. Any lesser count was only a difference of a dollar or two.

[Nephlite]

We have some pretty strict grooming standards here so unless you have a shaving waiver, you're pretty much fucked if you grow facial hair quickly. The most common waiver is for folliculitis which can be caused by frequent shaving. I had it really bad in the Army and one of the doctors told me to start practicing good grooming habits like making sure I wash my face before and after shaving and use a good alcohol based aftershave to kill any bacteria that may gather in the skin. After about a month or so the bumps stopped appearing and my skin cleared up pretty quickly.

Nowadays I use a Fusion pro-glide like Bane. I tried straight razors but it just took too much time in the mornings (or nights now) before I went to work. I used to get it professionally done with a straight razor at my barber but that was a pain in the ass going there every day (and expensive). For some reason when I switched to an electric razor, my 5-o'clock would come in MUCH faster than usual and the hair was very very coarse so as a result I started to get really bad irritation and peeling. Now instead of a 5-o'clock halfway through shift, it comes in around an hour before check-off. They usually give us about a weeks notice before we hit the street doing operations and whatnot so in that weeks time I can go clean shaven to full grizzly. I would like to eventually get a shaving waiver and just keep it neatly trimmed (grizzled detective look, anyone?) but that requires seeing a dermatologist and giving up my good habits to intentionally fuck my face up.

[Correction]

Straight Razors are antique novelties and I can't honestly recommend them to anybody. Safety razors bring you at least into the 20th century but yeah they're slower than electric/multi-blade deals.

[hey]

What's with all you fuckers only having to shave once a week. Fuck you.

It takes a full day or so before i can even feel any hair on my chin. 2 days to see it in the mirror, if i really look, and 3-4 for it to be noticeable. I get no hair anywhere on my face/neck other than my chin and lip. I can also use cheap disposable razors a million times and not give a fuck.

Of course then i also haven't gotten a haircut in like 2 years, and it's only grown like 3 inches since then, so it's not all great

[Abandon]

We have some pretty strict grooming standards here so unless you have a shaving waiver, you're pretty much fucked if you grow facial hair quickly. The most common waiver is for folliculitis which can be caused by frequent shaving. I had it really bad in the Army and one of the doctors told me to start practicing good grooming habits like making sure I wash my face before and after shaving and use a good alcohol based aftershave to kill any bacteria that may gather in the skin. After about a month or so the bumps stopped appearing and my skin cleared up pretty quickly.

Nowadays I use a Fusion pro-glide like Bane. I tried straight razors but it just took too much time in the mornings (or nights now) before I went to work. I used to get it professionally done with a straight razor at my barber but that was a pain in the ass going there every day (and expensive). For some reason when I switched to an electric razor, my 5-o'clock would come in MUCH faster than usual and the hair was very very coarse so as a result I started to get really bad irritation and peeling. Now instead of a 5-o'clock halfway through shift, it comes in around an hour before check-off. They usually give us about a weeks notice before we hit the street doing operations and whatnot so in that weeks time I can go clean shaven to full grizzly. I would like to eventually get a shaving waiver and just keep it neatly trimmed (grizzled detective look, anyone?) but that requires seeing a dermatologist and giving up my good habits to intentionally fuck my face up.

I have a waiver, but if there's a way to make it so I can go back to being clean-shaven, I'll try it.

[Julian]

Fuck all you people who shave once every x days. I have to shave every day, and if I'm going out or something at night and I want to look nice I shave again before going out.

I just use a fusion pro glide or w/e, and I shave while in the shower. Shaving the normal way irritated the fuck out of my skin, face always red for like an hour+, in the shower my face is sometimes red for like 20 min max.

[Nephlite]

I've been told it's harder for black people. Almost all of the black guys in my department have a waiver. Just something about the skin isn't meant to be shaved frequently. My Sergeant shaves with a straight razor and it takes him at least 15-20 minutes to get it right (black guy). Does a pre-shave wash with some Nuvia face scrub, does a pre-shave gel to raise the hairs, shaves very very carefully with scalding hot water with a freshly sterilized blade he boiled before the shave in his little tin cup, and uses pure alcohol and special shaving balm after to reduce irritation/kill the bacteria. It can be done but you have to be 100% dedicated and can't slack on it or it'll get bad again.

[Rhyis.]

Fuck all you people who shave once every x days. I have to shave every day, and if I'm going out or something at night and I want to look nice I shave again before going out.

I know that feel bro.

[Boyiee]

Thats is fine, but we all know this thread will derail into chest shaving or what so ever, so i'm just the inb4

Trimmed my chest last week, shit was itchy and was catching my undershirts after. Probably should have went down the the skin instead of just trimming.

[Rhyis.]

Hahgay

[Niiro]

I have an electric that doesn't work. It doesn't irritate my face, cut me, whatever, but it takes half an hour of making out with the piece of crap for it to look like I've shaved, and then the shave sucks and I have to do it again the next day.

If I shave using a single-blade razor, I have to shave once every 4-5 days instead.

This was the same issue I had with electric razors, especially around the jawline and upper lip, they just didn't get close.

I only shave every ~4-5 days as well but mostly because I simply can't shave any more often even if I want to. My facial hair grows at an extremely low angle, unless it's at least a certain length the razor can't catch the hair without catching the skin too.

Also echoing how having really dark hair and pale skin is a lame combo, there's never a time when you look truly clean shaven -_-

[Maksudyst]

I recently (last few months) started wet shaving, and I love it. I use a straight razor with disposable blades. It's a cheap entry into this way of shaving, and so far, seems better than using my old Gillette Fusion razor. Nice close shave. I get to relax for a bit while shaving (so I don't go fast and cut myself lol).

Blade: Cheap starter - Parker SR1 Stainless Straight Edge Razor: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Brush: Tweezerman Shaving Brush: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Shave Soap: Col. Conk Bay Rum Shave Soap: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Blade: Shark Super Stainless: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I shave twice a week, and change the blade every time because I have so damn many. One day when I'm out of blade, I might upgrade and buy a real straight blade.

[Boyiee]

I have to shave every 2 days due to fire department policy, can't have more than a day 1/2 of stubble. I use both an electric and mach3 depending on how long the hair is. Sometimes I use the electric and clean up with the mach3. The razor cuts your skin and causes swelling, so it really doesn't give you a closer shave it just feels like it at first. I can go longer without shaving if I use the electric, but it took my face some getting used to.

[Mazmaz]

Fuck all you people who shave once every x days. I have to shave every day, and if I'm going out or something at night and I want to look nice I shave again before going out.

Are people aware that the stubble look is in? I mean, I'd probably also have to shave every day if I had to have a smooth-as-baby's-ass face every day.

[Gwynplaine]

I started using a safety razor last year. My face and skin have never done well with the gel multi-razor shit it would slice me up or give me razor burn. But I love using a safety razor now. I have a Lord razor and bought a pack of the same razor blades they use to shave medical patients for surgery. I was worried with 1 sharp blade I would get a lot of cuts before I got used to using it but it has not been any issue. The same package of razors has lasted me all year. I bought it through Lee's.
http://www.leesrazors.com/

[Rhyis.]

Are people aware that the stubble look is in? I mean, I'd probably also have to shave every day if I had to have a smooth-as-baby's-ass face every day.

Night meetings and such. Sometimes you gotta impress and the world doesn't always come to a halt at 5pm.

[Howie Roary]

I work in the financial district of downtown Toronto and if you haven't seen a "real shave" it's something pretty impressive in all honesty

I was floored to find out you can easily pay $80+ on a good shave from a barber, and what I mean by a good shave is it looks like you don't even grow facial hair. I find that even after I have just shaved, I can still see the dark points of my hair follicles and it only feels smooth when I run my hand down my face, not up

I get the idea that a good shave will make your face feel smooth in every direction

[Penthesilea]

So, this is more in regards to post shave bumps/irritation but I've found that using a benzoyl peroxide foaming soap (panoxyl) prevents ingrown hairs, bumps, general irritation. Give that a shot

[Kalmado]

So, this is more in regards to post shave bumps/irritation but I've found that using a benzoyl peroxide foaming soap (panoxyl) prevents ingrown hairs, bumps, general irritation. Give that a shot

Thanks for the tip! I'll look into it.