When most people think about wet shaving, the think about their grandfather, or their great-grandfather, pulling out the straight razor, giving it a good stropping, mixing up some shaving soap, putting a hot towel on his face for a good three minutes, and all of that. However, that is not exactly what wet shaving is. Although wet shaving has long been associated with the use of a blade (i.e. a straight razor or a safety razor) over a cartridge razor (i.e. Gillette Mach 3, Fusion, Track Two, etc.); what wet shaving really is all about is what medium you put on your face before you shave (I.e. canned "cream" or gel v.s. shaving soap or actual shaving cream).For the purposes of this article, we will consider shaving cream to be that which comes from a tube and must be mixed with water by the use of an appropriate brush to form a lather that is then suitable for shaving with. Anything that comes out of a can will be referred to as shaving foam. Wet shaving, then can be applied with either cartridge shaving or when shaving with a blade.
Why should we wet shave?
I'll assume that you have already been told that aerosols are harmful to the environment and are probably sick of hearing ecologically-responsible things and cut right to the chase; it all comes down to money! When you buy your normal shaving foam, how long does that can last you? If you're like most men I know, the answer is likely a month or two, no more than that. Given the average cost of a can of shaving foam, that is likely to run you almost $100 per year! Would you be surprised if I told you that a regular (i.e. 2.5-4 oz.) bar of shaving soap would last you almost a year (with regular shaving) and only cost you about $4 for a very good brand? Of course you would!
The absolute best shaving soap I've yet tried comes from a small Texas based corporation known as Van Der Hagen Enterprises. They make several products for shaving, but the one I have fallen in love with is the Deluxe Shaving Soap. It is available in numerous National retail stores (i.e. Walgreen's, Wal-Mart, CVS) and comes in a little green box. It lathers up very quickly and it is absolutely a dream to put on your skin! It is so smooth and creamy that I assure you, you will never go back to shaving foam again!
Another important reason that you should adopt the luxurious ritual of wet shaving is that it is simply better for your skin than dry shaving (i.e. using shaving foam). Many shaving foams use ingredients that, at best, are not good for your skin and at worst are downright harmful. Shaving soaps, on the other hand, are always made from the richest, most moisturizing, best-for-your-skin ingredients you can find; this holds true from the lesser quality products (i.e. Col. Conk's) to the higher quality products (Classic Shaving Brand, Truefitt & Hill, Taylor of Old Bond Street, Vulfix). Why? Because wet shaving is all about moisturizing the hair, and, as a side effect, your skin, so that it is easier to shave. When the hairs on your face are properly hydrated (through the hot towel method and proper application of shaving soap lather) it is almost nothing to achieve a very close, smooth, shave. Also, the process of applying shaving soap lather to one's face lifts the hair off of the face and works the moisturizing agents deep into the hair follicle and the skin; so not only will you achieve a closer shave, but you will also have a softer face that the woman in your life will certainly enjoy!
Of Mugs and Brushes
First off, a standard coffee mug should be quite adequate for wet shaving purposes. I see no reason to pay $20 for one that is custom monogrammed or even the ungodly price of $46-$100 for a wooden or pewter shaving dish, be realistic and use a coffee cup! If you must get a custom mug just for shaving, visit Cool Shaving (http://coolshaving.com) and get the mug that says "Real Men Shave With A Blade" for $15, but I believe even that is ridiculous!
Now, to brushes. You don't really believe that I would advise you to shell out $70 for a Super Badger brush, do you? Of course not! I recommend, are you ready for it, women's powder brushes! Ever since I started wet shaving, I have been using a synthetic powder brush that I purchased from my local grocery store for a whopping $7 and it has worked fantastically. As far as boar's hair brushes go, unless you like being poked with a thousand tiny needles while you're applying your shaving lather, I would say avoid them at all costs. I hear that there are some on Amazon for about $15 (badger hair) but when you factor in the shipping, it still doesn't make sense to me to pay twice as much for something that is of equal quality to something I can get for half and no shipping at Wal-Mart!
Razor Selection
I know that some of you will be very wary of shaving with an actual blade (i.e. safety/straight razor), but please allow me to extoll the virtues of doing so. First of all, you may not even realize it, but you are enslaved to the cartridge razor industry! They force you to buy cartridge pack after cartridge pack or razors that go dull within 1-2 uses and you just blindly accept their slavery, thinking that they have your best interests in mind. After all, if shaving with a straight razor were so superior, they wouldn't have created the cartridge razor industry, right? Wrong!
When King Gillete (yes, that's really his name) first came up with the idea for the safety razor blade (what he really invented, b/c models of the safety razor handle existed for about a decade before he introduced his), he wanted a product that could be thrown away after a few uses. The advantage (if it can be called that) over a straight razor, is that it never needed to be sharpened because when it dulled, you just threw it away and put in a new blade. To me (having been shaving with a straight razor for about two years now), I do not really see this as an issue because, with regular stropping (which should be done before and after every shave), a razor will need to be sharpened only every 4-6 months. The cartridge/safety razor industry was therefore created on the illusion of convenience rather than the superior quality of the shave.
Furthermore, the shaving foam industry was created out of the illusion of convenience as well, because it is now possible to squirt "lather" (foam) directly into your hand for application to your beard without having to mix soap and water and work up a lather with a brush. Generally, it takes me less than one minute to work up a suitable lather using my brush, so I ask you, is that really an inconvenience for the superior quality of the shave that you will have because of it? I think not!
Now that we know why the industries of the disposable razor and shaving foam came about, let us now turn our attention to the proper selection of a straight razor, suitable for shaving, and that only needs sharpening every 4-6 months. Straight razors come in all manner of sizes, thicknesses (4/8 to 7/8), and grind. The grind is what determines how much of the thickness of the head & back (that 5/8 or 7/8) is carried forward to the blade. Razors come in full-hollow ground, 1/4 ground, 1/2 ground, and in full wedge configurations. I would recommend that you look for one that is 1/2 to 1/4 ground as this will provide less blade "chatter" as it glides over your skin and is easiest for beginners to handle.
I hope that all of this has inspired you to become a part of the wonderful world of wet shaving and (hopefully) to make the leap and purchase your own straight razor!
Links:
http://www.vdhent.com/, http://mamabearssoaps.com, http://www.classicshaving.com/Home.html, http://www.straightrazordesigns.com/, http://www.theartofshaving.com/
My recommendations for a beginning razor: http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=DV101587, http://www.theartofshaving.com/shop/product/68020/10 <---My Personal Choice
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