Where do I shave? I almost always (95 times out of 100) shave in the shower, since I've found that shaving over the sink is really very messy — I end up splashing water all over the place. I use this mirror.
What do I shave with? I use generic two or three blade razors from Target. My local target no longer seems to carry the two blade variety, so I generally go with the three blade razors. As for shaving cream, I generally go with Barbasol since it has a nice rust-proof aluminum bottom, which matters since I keep the can in the shower where it's constantly wet. I really don't have high standards for any of this stuff though.
Why do I shave? I shave because I can't grow a beard that looks good... I'm a patchy ass mofo. If I let it go for too long (more than a week or so) I start to look unkempt. From here you might ask why is it a bad thing to look unkempt? It's really not a bad question, and a proper explanation requires some effort, so maybe I'll come back to that at some point.
How often do I shave? I usually shave 1-3 times a week, around every other time that I shower. It depends a lot on how busy I am and if there are any occasions that I need to look sharp for. My facial hair doesn't grow that fast, so I could even get away with just a few strategically spaced times a month.
How do I shave? What is the process like?
- First some prerequisites: I store my razor, shaving cream, and the mirror in the shower so it's all ready to go.
- I start the shower and wash my hair first. This gets warm water on my face which helps prepare my face for shaving.
- I run the mirror under the hot water (both sides) so it doesn't fog up.
- I lather up with shaving cream. Some finer points:
- Not too much shaving cream, since I've found that too much just clogs up the razor faster, which requires me to rinse it out more often.
- I make extra sure to cover areas I've overlooked in the past, like a few areas mid-way down my neck, higher up on my cheekbones, and around the back edge of my jaw.
- I take the cap off my razor, run it under the water to make sure it's clean, and start shaving away. Some finer points:
- The path I take is from the outer edges (neck, jaw, sideburns) into the center (doing my mustache area last).
- I typically shave against the grain everywhere except for my mustache area, which is covered below.
- When I shave my cheeks, I puff them out with air which I think helps get a closer shave.
- I go over my chin area in all directions: against the grain, with the grain, left, right, diagonal. Not sure what's with this hair that it can't seem to all grow in one direction, but this step is necessary for me.
- The mustache area is the most difficult area to shave for me, since it isn't flat. I first shave with the grain, then usually shave against the grain afterwards, and then pay special attention to what I just learned is called the philtrum. The philtrum is the center divot between nose and upper lip, and I puff up my upper lip in order to get a close shave on it. If I don't do that then I always end up missing a few long hairs there.
- During all of the above, I typically rinse the razor out fairly often. If I don't do it, then it will get gummed up and simply won't shave very well.
- After I've gone over it all, I rinse off and run my hand all over that area making sure I don't feel any hairs I've missed, and go back over them if necessary.
- Finally, I re-cap my razor, put it back where I store it, and finish my shower routine.