I began my wet shaving journey in June 2021. From the very outset, I knew there was something a bit different about me compared to your average guy. So many of the techniques suggested on forums, Youtube videos etc etc just never really seemed to work. My shaves were patchy, burned, felt very uncomfortable. I could shave every 2 or 3 days with reasonable success, but every day? just no way.
Over the past year and 3 months, I have spent hundreds, thousands of pounds on brushes, creams, soaps, gels, razors, blades, balms and other such wonderments. I recognise I'm lucky enough to do that and I don't want others to have to do the same in my position.
This post is an attempt to give you the secret of what I've learned about shaving with a very tough beard and a reliable but surprising technique that I've found. It's going to be a very long post so apologies, but I hope it will help people like me.
I soon realised I had a few things going against me when I began shaving:
1. I have no eyesight, I am totally blind. This matters a great deal because to me, there is no substitute to a BBS and believe me, my fingers are sensitive enough that I'll pick up any stray hair. If I can't run my fingers ATG and feel nothing, the shave has been a waste as far as I'm concerned. I must also apologise if the formatting in this post is a little wonky, my speech software isn’t great at letting me know if something looks ok when written down
2. I have a stupidly incredibly tough beard. I am half Iranian and that beard is like sandpaper on day 1 of growth. It hugs the face and I have never ever found a blade which allows me more than 1 shave before I have to throw it away. Most razors just bounce over the hairs and leave bits behind and the beard is back in a few hours.
3. No matter how many lathers or pre-shaves I tried, I was still ending up with an unreliable shave and if I wanted to shave every day, something was clearly going to have to change.
So, let's break it down, what did I do?
The razor:
The one thing I realised about 4 months in after a lot of blood sweat and tears, is that only one type of razor works for me. I need a slant, nothing else will do. Sure others can cut the hair, but never very close to the skin and they'd require so much buffing that my face was sore and full of ingrowing hairs.
I also realised that I do not like blade exposure. Again, it comes down to buffing. I have to buff my face a fair bit even with my dream razor and my theory is that blade exposure really irritates my skin because of the amount I have to go over the same area again and again. This is why single edges, Shavettes etc don't work for me. Being blind there is no way I'm going to try a straight but even if I did, I think it would just make me sore.
I tried so many slant razors. Parker, Murcurs, Italian open combs, above the tie, Wunderbar etc etc. In the end, there is only one clear winner for me, the Rex Konsul:
Konsul Slant Adjustable Stainless Steel DE Safety Razor — Rex Supply - https://www.rexsupplyco.com/shop-online/p/rex-supply-co-konsul-slant-adjustable-stainless-steel-de-razor
Yes, it's expensive but you know what? it gets the job done. Superbly close to the skin, no irritation, lets me shave around the neck with no irritation and it goes through my hair like... like a normal razor with a fairly average beard should do
The blade:
feathers do not work, let me say that from the outset. I tried them for months and... ouch! Yes they're sharp, but they're not so sharp that they get all that hair off without buffing and again, we're back to going over the same area many times and hurting my face. my experience is that whilst some blades feel ok at the time, give it a few hours and your face feels like it's been run over by a racoon riding a 4 wheel drive car with snow chains.
I won't break down all the hours of blades I went through, but I can tell you that Astra SPs are what I eventually stuck with.
100 Astra Superior Platinum Double Edge Safety Razor Blades and Arko Shaving Cream Soap Stick, Green : Amazon.co.uk: Health & Personal Care - https://www.amazon.co.uk/100-Astra-Superior-Platinum-Shaving/dp/B00CK7NQ8Y
They are very sharp, they are very smooth, they don't irritate my skin and they are incredibly cheap and use no plastic in their packaging. Win win as far as I'm concerned.
The pre-shave and lather:
So, now we come to it. Up until now, none of what I've said is too controversial. Most people would if not agree, then at least understand what I've said above but now, we're going to go way off base.
As I continued buying more and more creams, then soaps, then different types of brushes, oils, gels, lotions, potions, sacrificing a virgin at the appearance of each full moon, something began to get clearer and clearer in my head.
I needed the thinnest, slickest lather possible. I know that sounds obvious, but when I hear people talk about lather, consistency of yoghurt, cushioning etc, no, that's not what I needed. I needed something that was basically invisible against the face. Something that was basically like shaving with water.
my theory is that the more lather, the more of my hair remained behind and after a few hours, the dreaded sandpaper beard is back again.
As I said, I tried everything. What did I stick with? 2 products, although you can decide what works best for you.
My favourite, is trumpers skin food, which can be used for the actual shave and after the shave.
Eucris Skin Food | Luxury Mens Shaving Products | Mens Grooming | Geo. F. Trumper - https://www.trumpers.com/product/eucris-skin-food/
Another good one is executive shaving pre-shave oil, which is basically a liquid soap.
Fuar Ach Snog Minty Water Soluble Pre Shave Oil 150ml - https://www.executive-shaving.co.uk/fuar-ach-snog-minty-pre-shave-oil-water-soluble-150ml
IN both cases, wet the face, apply a little of 1 of the above products and shave normally, no need for lathers, creams, soaps etc etc.
The 1st time I did this I was very scared. Would this protect me as much as it needed to? The answer was a complete and satisfied yes.
Gone was so much of the buffing that I'd been used to. You have to be careful, but that hair came off and stayed off for 12 hours and no need to create lathers, use brushes, scuttles etc etc.
Finally I could get right up against the skin and I felt like someone with an average or dare I say normal beard having a shave.
The aftershave balm:
Even with my new technique, I need to moisturise after a shave. I guess most people do but for me personally, I don't like the way my skin feels dry after a good thrashing with the razor. I use 1 of 2 products which again, after many tries I found worked best for me.
Good old Trumpers skin food, which has just become my 1 product when shaving
Or Executive shaving intensive moisturising balm which smells amazing and stays on the face for a few minutes before soaking in, which leaves my skin totally soothed.
Intensive Moisturising Balm Paraben Free 200ml - https://www.executive-shaving.co.uk/intensive-moisturising-balm-200ml
My technique:
So, here's what I do for a daily shave using all the above products.
1. Before a shower (I have found absolutely no use taking a shower it does not soften my beard), fill the sink with really hot water.
2. Plop the Konsul loaded with an Astra blade into the sink and rub my face gently with my fingers to soften the hair.
3. Massage some Trumpers skin food or executive shaving pre-shave oil into the stubble. wet hands are a must for this, you want a slippery texture all over your face.
4. One pass, at maximum exposure setting on the Konsul about 6.5 if memory serves, WTG. I don't get a very smooth shave from this but I do get a lot of what I call the top coat of the beard off. You will need to keep dipping the razor in the sink in order to clean it but also to keep the blade wet. This in turn keeps your face and the product on your face wet, to give it the glide you need.
5. Wet and massage the face again and reapply some Skin Food or Pre-shave oil. Probably less than before since that top coat is now gone.
6. 1 pass, maximum setting on the Konsul, against the grain. Likely to need going over the same areas with a few strokes each time and in some places, I advise moving the razor slowly over the face rather than short sharp strokes, as it tends to pick up and cut all the hairs without leaving them behind if you do this. Again, keep dipping that razor, sometimes I stand on a towel to make sure I keep the floor dry. Keep that blade and your face wet but not so wet that you melt all the product off.
7. For any patchy areas that need cleaning up, you should be able to dip your razor and gently shave without adding more product. This is especially true around the chin, often by this point I'm left with the smallest amount of product and mostly shave just using water. If you're gentle, the hair will come right off.
8. Wet the face again and reapply more product, but this time specifically around the moustache and mouth.
9. Shave across then ATG around the above areas. I find it is always best to shave across the grain 1st, to get those annoying hairs on the edge of the lip off. With short sharp strokes, shave against the grain working your way from the edge of the lip upward toward the nose. Do not press too hard here, the trick is to let the razor skim gently over the surface using the product as a glide.
10. Rince the face in water, check if you need to clean up any areas and if you do, just use the water as lubrication.
11. Take a shower and rub the face gently with warm water to clean all the product and hairs off.
12. Apply some balm. I tend to find if you apply straight out of the shower, you may want to put a little bit more on after getting dressed, the skin always feels nicer this way.
I really hope that's been of some help and apologies it was so long.
Thanks.
Ed.
Over the past year and 3 months, I have spent hundreds, thousands of pounds on brushes, creams, soaps, gels, razors, blades, balms and other such wonderments. I recognise I'm lucky enough to do that and I don't want others to have to do the same in my position.
This post is an attempt to give you the secret of what I've learned about shaving with a very tough beard and a reliable but surprising technique that I've found. It's going to be a very long post so apologies, but I hope it will help people like me.
I soon realised I had a few things going against me when I began shaving:
1. I have no eyesight, I am totally blind. This matters a great deal because to me, there is no substitute to a BBS and believe me, my fingers are sensitive enough that I'll pick up any stray hair. If I can't run my fingers ATG and feel nothing, the shave has been a waste as far as I'm concerned. I must also apologise if the formatting in this post is a little wonky, my speech software isn’t great at letting me know if something looks ok when written down
2. I have a stupidly incredibly tough beard. I am half Iranian and that beard is like sandpaper on day 1 of growth. It hugs the face and I have never ever found a blade which allows me more than 1 shave before I have to throw it away. Most razors just bounce over the hairs and leave bits behind and the beard is back in a few hours.
3. No matter how many lathers or pre-shaves I tried, I was still ending up with an unreliable shave and if I wanted to shave every day, something was clearly going to have to change.
So, let's break it down, what did I do?
The razor:
The one thing I realised about 4 months in after a lot of blood sweat and tears, is that only one type of razor works for me. I need a slant, nothing else will do. Sure others can cut the hair, but never very close to the skin and they'd require so much buffing that my face was sore and full of ingrowing hairs.
I also realised that I do not like blade exposure. Again, it comes down to buffing. I have to buff my face a fair bit even with my dream razor and my theory is that blade exposure really irritates my skin because of the amount I have to go over the same area again and again. This is why single edges, Shavettes etc don't work for me. Being blind there is no way I'm going to try a straight but even if I did, I think it would just make me sore.
I tried so many slant razors. Parker, Murcurs, Italian open combs, above the tie, Wunderbar etc etc. In the end, there is only one clear winner for me, the Rex Konsul:
Konsul Slant Adjustable Stainless Steel DE Safety Razor — Rex Supply - https://www.rexsupplyco.com/shop-online/p/rex-supply-co-konsul-slant-adjustable-stainless-steel-de-razor
Yes, it's expensive but you know what? it gets the job done. Superbly close to the skin, no irritation, lets me shave around the neck with no irritation and it goes through my hair like... like a normal razor with a fairly average beard should do
The blade:
feathers do not work, let me say that from the outset. I tried them for months and... ouch! Yes they're sharp, but they're not so sharp that they get all that hair off without buffing and again, we're back to going over the same area many times and hurting my face. my experience is that whilst some blades feel ok at the time, give it a few hours and your face feels like it's been run over by a racoon riding a 4 wheel drive car with snow chains.
I won't break down all the hours of blades I went through, but I can tell you that Astra SPs are what I eventually stuck with.
100 Astra Superior Platinum Double Edge Safety Razor Blades and Arko Shaving Cream Soap Stick, Green : Amazon.co.uk: Health & Personal Care - https://www.amazon.co.uk/100-Astra-Superior-Platinum-Shaving/dp/B00CK7NQ8Y
They are very sharp, they are very smooth, they don't irritate my skin and they are incredibly cheap and use no plastic in their packaging. Win win as far as I'm concerned.
The pre-shave and lather:
So, now we come to it. Up until now, none of what I've said is too controversial. Most people would if not agree, then at least understand what I've said above but now, we're going to go way off base.
As I continued buying more and more creams, then soaps, then different types of brushes, oils, gels, lotions, potions, sacrificing a virgin at the appearance of each full moon, something began to get clearer and clearer in my head.
I needed the thinnest, slickest lather possible. I know that sounds obvious, but when I hear people talk about lather, consistency of yoghurt, cushioning etc, no, that's not what I needed. I needed something that was basically invisible against the face. Something that was basically like shaving with water.
my theory is that the more lather, the more of my hair remained behind and after a few hours, the dreaded sandpaper beard is back again.
As I said, I tried everything. What did I stick with? 2 products, although you can decide what works best for you.
My favourite, is trumpers skin food, which can be used for the actual shave and after the shave.
Eucris Skin Food | Luxury Mens Shaving Products | Mens Grooming | Geo. F. Trumper - https://www.trumpers.com/product/eucris-skin-food/
Another good one is executive shaving pre-shave oil, which is basically a liquid soap.
Fuar Ach Snog Minty Water Soluble Pre Shave Oil 150ml - https://www.executive-shaving.co.uk/fuar-ach-snog-minty-pre-shave-oil-water-soluble-150ml
IN both cases, wet the face, apply a little of 1 of the above products and shave normally, no need for lathers, creams, soaps etc etc.
The 1st time I did this I was very scared. Would this protect me as much as it needed to? The answer was a complete and satisfied yes.
Gone was so much of the buffing that I'd been used to. You have to be careful, but that hair came off and stayed off for 12 hours and no need to create lathers, use brushes, scuttles etc etc.
Finally I could get right up against the skin and I felt like someone with an average or dare I say normal beard having a shave.
The aftershave balm:
Even with my new technique, I need to moisturise after a shave. I guess most people do but for me personally, I don't like the way my skin feels dry after a good thrashing with the razor. I use 1 of 2 products which again, after many tries I found worked best for me.
Good old Trumpers skin food, which has just become my 1 product when shaving
Or Executive shaving intensive moisturising balm which smells amazing and stays on the face for a few minutes before soaking in, which leaves my skin totally soothed.
Intensive Moisturising Balm Paraben Free 200ml - https://www.executive-shaving.co.uk/intensive-moisturising-balm-200ml
My technique:
So, here's what I do for a daily shave using all the above products.
1. Before a shower (I have found absolutely no use taking a shower it does not soften my beard), fill the sink with really hot water.
2. Plop the Konsul loaded with an Astra blade into the sink and rub my face gently with my fingers to soften the hair.
3. Massage some Trumpers skin food or executive shaving pre-shave oil into the stubble. wet hands are a must for this, you want a slippery texture all over your face.
4. One pass, at maximum exposure setting on the Konsul about 6.5 if memory serves, WTG. I don't get a very smooth shave from this but I do get a lot of what I call the top coat of the beard off. You will need to keep dipping the razor in the sink in order to clean it but also to keep the blade wet. This in turn keeps your face and the product on your face wet, to give it the glide you need.
5. Wet and massage the face again and reapply some Skin Food or Pre-shave oil. Probably less than before since that top coat is now gone.
6. 1 pass, maximum setting on the Konsul, against the grain. Likely to need going over the same areas with a few strokes each time and in some places, I advise moving the razor slowly over the face rather than short sharp strokes, as it tends to pick up and cut all the hairs without leaving them behind if you do this. Again, keep dipping that razor, sometimes I stand on a towel to make sure I keep the floor dry. Keep that blade and your face wet but not so wet that you melt all the product off.
7. For any patchy areas that need cleaning up, you should be able to dip your razor and gently shave without adding more product. This is especially true around the chin, often by this point I'm left with the smallest amount of product and mostly shave just using water. If you're gentle, the hair will come right off.
8. Wet the face again and reapply more product, but this time specifically around the moustache and mouth.
9. Shave across then ATG around the above areas. I find it is always best to shave across the grain 1st, to get those annoying hairs on the edge of the lip off. With short sharp strokes, shave against the grain working your way from the edge of the lip upward toward the nose. Do not press too hard here, the trick is to let the razor skim gently over the surface using the product as a glide.
10. Rince the face in water, check if you need to clean up any areas and if you do, just use the water as lubrication.
11. Take a shower and rub the face gently with warm water to clean all the product and hairs off.
12. Apply some balm. I tend to find if you apply straight out of the shower, you may want to put a little bit more on after getting dressed, the skin always feels nicer this way.
I really hope that's been of some help and apologies it was so long.
Thanks.
Ed.
