After waking at 7am I do Christmas morning and presents with my two children then cook an English breakfast for my soon to be visiting parents at 9am.
The day was busy and fun but I had an hour free at 2pm - 3pm to do a Christmas shave before visiting my girlfriends parents with the children for Christmas dinner and then an evening party and a sleep over.
I usually shave each day at 8am so the extra 4 hours had left me with a real rough wiry growth to get through.
But I had a full hour to myself, and this was a special day so I stropped my freshly stoned Friodur razor (3rd shave off my jnat), took a hot steaming shower and got started.
I like to use a preshave when I have the time and today I used Trumpers Sandalwood Skinfood.
What a great scent.
Next I took a generous fingertip full of Trumpers Sandalwood shave cream which has a great understated soapy woody scent and face lathered with a 24mm Yaqi Silvertip brush.
The hot water, the steam, the sandalwood scents, the soft, warm, springy badger, the freshly stoned straight razor with a laser bright edge; this had ‘great shave’ written all over it.
I always do a four pass shave.
Pass one is downward, north to south, the razor whispering throug the soap and preshave, both working beautifully together to soften and hydrate the bristles.
I re-lather with the soft badger full of warm, great smelling suds and go across the grain from ear to nose.
I pick up an inch long vertical scratch on my right cheek bone which becomes a talking point over dinner.
Pass 3 is against the grain shaving upwards from south to north, high risk high reward. Things are getting seriously close now and shave angle, skin stretching and a killer edge are key. If the blade stutters on this pass it cuts.
Pass 4.
I rinse and squeeze the remaining lather from the brush by hand and apply it to my face.
I inhale deeply, what a scent.
My fourth pass is different to my first three and is bespoke to my face, targeting all the areas and beard directions which the three conventional passes somehow fail to hit.
This is the last pass and is the difference between a good shave and a great one.
Completed, I rinse my face with hot water then with icy cold water and I smile at the amazing sensations of the most simple things in life.
A sharp blade and a cold rinse.
With very slightly damp palms I splash what looks like my penultimate glug of DR Harris Sandalwood aftershave into my palms, rub, then slap the burning, sweet, Christmas scented firewater onto my face.
It burns like fire and I smile.
The Christmas shave is done and I know I’ve done a brilliant shave, a pole position lap, a hole in one.
I swear shaving properly takes 10 years off my face.
Before the party I have two spritzes of my newly gifted bottle of Penhaligon’s ‘Tragedy of Lord George’ Eau De Parfum which bring many compliments.
At midnight that evening, my face still feels crazy next level smooth, my girlfriend gives me a Christmas kiss on my cheek and gives me a smile.
The day was busy and fun but I had an hour free at 2pm - 3pm to do a Christmas shave before visiting my girlfriends parents with the children for Christmas dinner and then an evening party and a sleep over.
I usually shave each day at 8am so the extra 4 hours had left me with a real rough wiry growth to get through.
But I had a full hour to myself, and this was a special day so I stropped my freshly stoned Friodur razor (3rd shave off my jnat), took a hot steaming shower and got started.
I like to use a preshave when I have the time and today I used Trumpers Sandalwood Skinfood.
What a great scent.
Next I took a generous fingertip full of Trumpers Sandalwood shave cream which has a great understated soapy woody scent and face lathered with a 24mm Yaqi Silvertip brush.
The hot water, the steam, the sandalwood scents, the soft, warm, springy badger, the freshly stoned straight razor with a laser bright edge; this had ‘great shave’ written all over it.
I always do a four pass shave.
Pass one is downward, north to south, the razor whispering throug the soap and preshave, both working beautifully together to soften and hydrate the bristles.
I re-lather with the soft badger full of warm, great smelling suds and go across the grain from ear to nose.
I pick up an inch long vertical scratch on my right cheek bone which becomes a talking point over dinner.
Pass 3 is against the grain shaving upwards from south to north, high risk high reward. Things are getting seriously close now and shave angle, skin stretching and a killer edge are key. If the blade stutters on this pass it cuts.
Pass 4.
I rinse and squeeze the remaining lather from the brush by hand and apply it to my face.
I inhale deeply, what a scent.
My fourth pass is different to my first three and is bespoke to my face, targeting all the areas and beard directions which the three conventional passes somehow fail to hit.
This is the last pass and is the difference between a good shave and a great one.
Completed, I rinse my face with hot water then with icy cold water and I smile at the amazing sensations of the most simple things in life.
A sharp blade and a cold rinse.
With very slightly damp palms I splash what looks like my penultimate glug of DR Harris Sandalwood aftershave into my palms, rub, then slap the burning, sweet, Christmas scented firewater onto my face.
It burns like fire and I smile.
The Christmas shave is done and I know I’ve done a brilliant shave, a pole position lap, a hole in one.
I swear shaving properly takes 10 years off my face.
Before the party I have two spritzes of my newly gifted bottle of Penhaligon’s ‘Tragedy of Lord George’ Eau De Parfum which bring many compliments.
At midnight that evening, my face still feels crazy next level smooth, my girlfriend gives me a Christmas kiss on my cheek and gives me a smile.
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