If you are one of those of you who are lucky enough to have normal skin, this post is not really for you. But read on, anyway. If, however, you're like me and cursed with dry skin - or worse, combination skin - then this post and the technique described is for you. I have discovered, through trial and error, what I believe to be a simple, and foolproof, shaving ritual.
I have been envious of those darned normal-skinned folks for the past two years, reading posts about perfect shaves, smooth as a baby's bottom and all that. I have suffered through cuts, abrasions, and bad shaves, ending up every morning feeling as if I had just emerged, worse for wear, from a duel with a master swordsman. I read the posts - "it will take you two weeks and then you'll have it down pat", or "four weeks to a perfect technique". Well, it didn't work. I tried different blades - Derbys, Feathers, Crystals, etc. Turkey, Israel, Germany, you name it. And soaps. I tried Truefitt and Hill, Colonel Conk, Taylor, Pro-Raso, etc. I've tried them all. And still I bled like a stuck pig. I tried shaving in the shower. I tried the hot towel treatment. I tried the "super lather". I tried a shaving scuttle. I tried hair conditioner. None of it worked. I tried a one-pass shave, a two-pass, a three-pass and a four-pass. Only the four-pass gave me a close enough shave, but of course, always blood. What to do ? Maybe I should just give up, and return to the Mach 3 type of razors. That, however, did not appeal, not just because of the cost and aesthetics, but also because I got razor bumps and burns, and ingrown hairs, with the disposables... So I wanted the DE experience, but how to adapt the techniques of Mantic-5 and others to my dry skin ?
Finally, I got it. It's so simple I guarantee it. (Well, not really, but you know what I mean). Rather than belabor the point, and write a 5 page article, I'll do it in steps so you'll see how easy it is.
And by the way, no prep is needed. None worked for me, anyway. I like a hot-towel, but it didn't help me. Here's my technique - and by the way, despite what looks like a long list of steps, it takes only 12 minutes, from grabbing the razor and new blade to putting away the aftershave bottle !
Dubliner's DST (Dry Skin Technique)
======================
1) Have a shower. If you want to, spread a little conditioner on your beard to soften it while showering. It may not help, but it certainly doesn't hurt. (Unless, like me, you find the smell of the conditioner s-t-r-a-n-g-e. Or maybe it's just the brand I use...)
2) Dry yourself off. You can moisten your face with warm water if you like.
3) Spread some oil on your beard (I use a 50:50 castor oil/olive oil combination, but use what you like). You'll need a reasonable amount - maybe one or two tablespoons - since some will get stuck in your beard. Wash your hands in soap and warm water to remove the oil - you don't want to let the razor slip !
4) Wet your brush, shake off excess moisture and make your lather. I use Tabac shaving soap - about 30 or 40 seconds of whisking the wet (but not dripping) brush in the soap followed by whipping in a bowl for about 40 to 50 seconds.
If the lather is too stiff it will be drying on your face, so add a little water.
If you have used too much water then the lather will be no good as a lubricant - in that case, squeeze as much lather as you can off the brush back into the bowl; if it's really runny pour some out into the sink. Return the brush to the shaving soap and brush up some more soap for 20 or 30 seconds before returning the brush to the bowl and whisking up a thicker lather.
Note : I find whisking up the lather directly on my face without using a bowl makes the lather too dry - especially when using a cream rather than a soap.
Remember you want a slightly less than meringue-like consistency. If it's stiff like well-beaten cream it's too thick. Anything that makes a layer an inch thick on your face is too thick; anything that runs and drips off is not thick enough.
5) Now you lather your face, directly on top of the oil. If the lather is goldilocks (just right), it won't be too runny or too stiff and will go on easily.
6) Shave your first pass, gently with the grain. Use short strokes of an inch or so. Every five or so strokes, switch sides of the razor, and once you've used both sides, rinse the razor. When the first pass is done, rinse your face in warm water. Do not do multiple passes on the same spot of your face !
7) Second pass is like the first, but across the grain.
8) After the second pass, rinse with warm water and then oil your face again. This time you will need far less oil - only one or two teaspoons - since there's little hair left to soak it up. Remember to wash your hands with soap and water after oiling up.
9) Third pass, across the grain again. Remember softly, softly. The razor should be gliding on the oil and not-too-stiff lather. Rinse your face with warm water when done.
10) Fourth pass. Softly is the watchword. Don't care about "baby bottom" smooth. Some days you'll do it perfectly, other days a part of your beard will be a little raspy. It doesn't matter, because in a few hours it will grow anyway. Not scraping your face is more important than getting every last micro-millimeter of beard. Remember, NO multiple passes.
11) Rinse with warm water.
12) Splash witch hazel on your face where you just shaved your beard. While it dries, put away your razor and rinse your brush. Use soap and water to wash your hands and use your soapy hands on the brush's handle and bristles as you rinse them in warm water - this will remove any oil from the brush. Shake brush dry and put it away.
13) Rinse your face with cold water to remove the witch hazel. Apply after-shave cream or balm liberally to beard area of your face. At this point I also apply aloe vera gel to my forehead and nose (the darned combination skin areas).
14) Optionally apply your after-shave to your face. Now you're done and, guess what ? No cuts ! Didn't I guarantee it ?
Final notes:
=======
I use a new Derby blade every day. They're cheap enough not to have to reuse them. Your beard may allow repeated uses; mine, however, is too tough to allow me to reuse blades.
I use Tabac shaving soap. I do not soak water in it while showering; I don't want too much soap in the lather. Plus, I find the soap lasts longer - probably six months at least, and maybe a year or so !
I use Real Shave Company lotion for skin care on my beard. You can find it in Rite-Aid drugstores. I like their shaving cream, too, but note that if I lather directly on my face it's too thick and can dry out my face. Plus, a thick lather is likely to clog the blades.
I do not DE shave in the shower as I find the steam tends to make the lather on the brush too watery. Your experience may differ. If in a hurry, I use a Mach 3 in the shower. It works in a pinch, usually with the Real Shave Company shaving cream which I work on my beard by hand. Otherwise in a hurry I will use Billy Jealousy shaving cream (and optionally the BJ hot towel treatment). But the BJ products are expensive !
I use Aqua Velva Musk after-shave most of the time. Some days I will use Antaeus, or something equally decadent.
The oil may make the detritus of your shave clump and stick to your washbasin, or even clog your drain. This is not a big deal. To clear it off, and unblock the drain, use a 50:50 mixture (e.g. 1/2 cup each) of baking soda and vinegar. Leave it a few minutes and then rinse with very hot or boiling water, and use a plunger if necessary. It clears a blocked washbasin drain pronto !
Most important notes - oil at least every two passes, and don't make the lather too thick or dry. But not runny enough that it falls off your face, either. Shave slowly ! Don't use repeatedly shave the same spot, and don't focus on baby bottom smooth. If you follow my suggestions, and are calm and smooth, BBS will happen !
I have been envious of those darned normal-skinned folks for the past two years, reading posts about perfect shaves, smooth as a baby's bottom and all that. I have suffered through cuts, abrasions, and bad shaves, ending up every morning feeling as if I had just emerged, worse for wear, from a duel with a master swordsman. I read the posts - "it will take you two weeks and then you'll have it down pat", or "four weeks to a perfect technique". Well, it didn't work. I tried different blades - Derbys, Feathers, Crystals, etc. Turkey, Israel, Germany, you name it. And soaps. I tried Truefitt and Hill, Colonel Conk, Taylor, Pro-Raso, etc. I've tried them all. And still I bled like a stuck pig. I tried shaving in the shower. I tried the hot towel treatment. I tried the "super lather". I tried a shaving scuttle. I tried hair conditioner. None of it worked. I tried a one-pass shave, a two-pass, a three-pass and a four-pass. Only the four-pass gave me a close enough shave, but of course, always blood. What to do ? Maybe I should just give up, and return to the Mach 3 type of razors. That, however, did not appeal, not just because of the cost and aesthetics, but also because I got razor bumps and burns, and ingrown hairs, with the disposables... So I wanted the DE experience, but how to adapt the techniques of Mantic-5 and others to my dry skin ?
Finally, I got it. It's so simple I guarantee it. (Well, not really, but you know what I mean). Rather than belabor the point, and write a 5 page article, I'll do it in steps so you'll see how easy it is.
And by the way, no prep is needed. None worked for me, anyway. I like a hot-towel, but it didn't help me. Here's my technique - and by the way, despite what looks like a long list of steps, it takes only 12 minutes, from grabbing the razor and new blade to putting away the aftershave bottle !
Dubliner's DST (Dry Skin Technique)
======================
1) Have a shower. If you want to, spread a little conditioner on your beard to soften it while showering. It may not help, but it certainly doesn't hurt. (Unless, like me, you find the smell of the conditioner s-t-r-a-n-g-e. Or maybe it's just the brand I use...)
2) Dry yourself off. You can moisten your face with warm water if you like.
3) Spread some oil on your beard (I use a 50:50 castor oil/olive oil combination, but use what you like). You'll need a reasonable amount - maybe one or two tablespoons - since some will get stuck in your beard. Wash your hands in soap and warm water to remove the oil - you don't want to let the razor slip !
4) Wet your brush, shake off excess moisture and make your lather. I use Tabac shaving soap - about 30 or 40 seconds of whisking the wet (but not dripping) brush in the soap followed by whipping in a bowl for about 40 to 50 seconds.
If the lather is too stiff it will be drying on your face, so add a little water.
If you have used too much water then the lather will be no good as a lubricant - in that case, squeeze as much lather as you can off the brush back into the bowl; if it's really runny pour some out into the sink. Return the brush to the shaving soap and brush up some more soap for 20 or 30 seconds before returning the brush to the bowl and whisking up a thicker lather.
Note : I find whisking up the lather directly on my face without using a bowl makes the lather too dry - especially when using a cream rather than a soap.
Remember you want a slightly less than meringue-like consistency. If it's stiff like well-beaten cream it's too thick. Anything that makes a layer an inch thick on your face is too thick; anything that runs and drips off is not thick enough.
5) Now you lather your face, directly on top of the oil. If the lather is goldilocks (just right), it won't be too runny or too stiff and will go on easily.
6) Shave your first pass, gently with the grain. Use short strokes of an inch or so. Every five or so strokes, switch sides of the razor, and once you've used both sides, rinse the razor. When the first pass is done, rinse your face in warm water. Do not do multiple passes on the same spot of your face !
7) Second pass is like the first, but across the grain.
8) After the second pass, rinse with warm water and then oil your face again. This time you will need far less oil - only one or two teaspoons - since there's little hair left to soak it up. Remember to wash your hands with soap and water after oiling up.
9) Third pass, across the grain again. Remember softly, softly. The razor should be gliding on the oil and not-too-stiff lather. Rinse your face with warm water when done.
10) Fourth pass. Softly is the watchword. Don't care about "baby bottom" smooth. Some days you'll do it perfectly, other days a part of your beard will be a little raspy. It doesn't matter, because in a few hours it will grow anyway. Not scraping your face is more important than getting every last micro-millimeter of beard. Remember, NO multiple passes.
11) Rinse with warm water.
12) Splash witch hazel on your face where you just shaved your beard. While it dries, put away your razor and rinse your brush. Use soap and water to wash your hands and use your soapy hands on the brush's handle and bristles as you rinse them in warm water - this will remove any oil from the brush. Shake brush dry and put it away.
13) Rinse your face with cold water to remove the witch hazel. Apply after-shave cream or balm liberally to beard area of your face. At this point I also apply aloe vera gel to my forehead and nose (the darned combination skin areas).
14) Optionally apply your after-shave to your face. Now you're done and, guess what ? No cuts ! Didn't I guarantee it ?
Final notes:
=======
I use a new Derby blade every day. They're cheap enough not to have to reuse them. Your beard may allow repeated uses; mine, however, is too tough to allow me to reuse blades.
I use Tabac shaving soap. I do not soak water in it while showering; I don't want too much soap in the lather. Plus, I find the soap lasts longer - probably six months at least, and maybe a year or so !
I use Real Shave Company lotion for skin care on my beard. You can find it in Rite-Aid drugstores. I like their shaving cream, too, but note that if I lather directly on my face it's too thick and can dry out my face. Plus, a thick lather is likely to clog the blades.
I do not DE shave in the shower as I find the steam tends to make the lather on the brush too watery. Your experience may differ. If in a hurry, I use a Mach 3 in the shower. It works in a pinch, usually with the Real Shave Company shaving cream which I work on my beard by hand. Otherwise in a hurry I will use Billy Jealousy shaving cream (and optionally the BJ hot towel treatment). But the BJ products are expensive !
I use Aqua Velva Musk after-shave most of the time. Some days I will use Antaeus, or something equally decadent.
The oil may make the detritus of your shave clump and stick to your washbasin, or even clog your drain. This is not a big deal. To clear it off, and unblock the drain, use a 50:50 mixture (e.g. 1/2 cup each) of baking soda and vinegar. Leave it a few minutes and then rinse with very hot or boiling water, and use a plunger if necessary. It clears a blocked washbasin drain pronto !
Most important notes - oil at least every two passes, and don't make the lather too thick or dry. But not runny enough that it falls off your face, either. Shave slowly ! Don't use repeatedly shave the same spot, and don't focus on baby bottom smooth. If you follow my suggestions, and are calm and smooth, BBS will happen !
