Preparation
Try using your safety razor to shave your dry face without shaving cream. "Yeah, right." Ok, then you understand the importance of preparing your face and hair for shaving. What you may not understand is how best to prepare and what you are actually doing in the preparations.
1. Skin
2. Hairs
3. Follicles & Pores
4. Shaving Cream
1. Skin
A straight-edge razor is wicked. Imagine the violence you would see if you could zoom in on where the blade meets the skin: flakes of dead skin, bumps, scabs, zits... gone - like a nuclear firestorm. Where a safety razor has a "maximum clearance", a straight-edge has an "unlimited ceiling". Imagine a safety razor (especially an electric razor) as a lawn mower: there is a point where things must "bend over" to go under and be cut, or the lawn mower will bump into things and stop. Now, imagine a straight-edge razor as a bulldozer. Anything above ground level (skin level) is going to be scraped off. If you have any large moles or other raised blemishes... get the band-aids ready. And oh yeah, your nose and ears are above skin level, aren't they?
Hmm... reminds me of a scene from Reservoir Dogs.
Before shaving, you need to prepare your skin for the violence. It's not usually stressed because the skin is prepped to a decent extent WHILE prepping the hairs. The goal is to wash away dead skin and clear any blemishes that will cause the razor to "hang up" or "catch". Pop those zits, pick off crusty scabs, and have those moles and warts removed. Otherwise, the bulldozer that is the straight-edge will scrape up those rocks, knock over the trees, and demolish those buildings, as well as take off a layer of top soil.
Furthermore, you are establishing moisture and elasticity. Dry, weather-beaten, or chapped skin doesn't stretch easily - it breaks or rips. Again, imagine the violence at the microscopic level. Now, if the skin was moist and supple, it would flex and stretch around and under the blade as it passes.
So how do you keep your skin from getting dry and rough? Consider the chemicals you use: soap, shaving cream, body wash, zit creams/pads, etc. All of those things have a drying effect on the skin. Some, like canned shave cream and zit cream/pads, have stupid amounts of alcohol in them and alcohol is BAD for your skin. Shaving and alcohol do not mix. Keep alcohol away from your skin for several hours before you shave (also, don't drink and shave, that's no good either, trust me.). Alcohol dries out and dissolves the natural oils that are GOOD for your skin. This lack of oil creates irritation, toughens the skin, and causes wrinkles. Read the ingredients on a can of shave cream: alcohol. Don't use canned shave cream.
The elements dry the skin out also. Use caution when shaving sunburned or wind-burned skin. The skin tends to get leathery, and in the case of sunburn, a straight-edge is likely to dig into or hang up in the layer of dead skin.
Wash your face thoroughly and scrub vigorously WITHOUT SOAP before shaving. "But..." Yes, without soap. Hand soap, body wash, deodorant soap, and anti-bacterial soap will dry your face too much. Besides, you'll be putting on shaving soap later, remember? The vigorous scrubbing removes dead skin cells.
2. Hairs
Shaving is best done after you get out of the shower. When showering, the hairs have a good chance to soak. They absorb water and become softer, weaker, and more flexible. Softer hair is easier to cut. As I just mentioned, scrubbing your face vigorously with a washcloth while in the shower is the best. The scrubbing, even without soap, cleans the hairs and removes any surplus oils and salts that have accumulated on them - allowing the water to contact hairs directly and be absorbed more readily. You know how heat affects oil; the fatty oils on your face are not exempt from those effects. Use hot water! Start in the shower with a light face scrub, that gets the hairs soaking. Then, finish the shower with a vigorous scrub. How vigorous? Be rough - almost harsh. Hot water is key. How hot? Uncomfortably hot. Not so hot that you need to go to the hospital, but don't be a wuss. Feel the burn and suck it up, toughguy. The hot water and scrubbing works to soften the hair but also works to relax the...
3. Follicles & Pores
Follicles are the "pouches" in skin that hairs grow out of. Pores are the openings in the skin that hairs grow through. Sweat and oils are excreted through the pores along and past the hairs. When scaly hairs grow out.ward, pores tend to catch and hang up on the hair's scales. Surrounding skin is then pulled out.ward with the hair. If you saw it up close, it would look something like this:
___/|\___
The skin is pushed upward around a hair in the center. As I mentioned before, anything above skin level is going to get scraped off, so this has to be taken care of. By using hot water and scrubbing vigorously, the skin is softened, the folicles and pores are relaxed, and the hairs are worked free - releasing the caught/hung up skin around the hair, like this:
___|___
The result is a closer shave, less irritation, and less cuts and nicks. The blade travels across the skin smoothly because it hits and cuts the relatively brittle hair instead of sawing and tearing through the elastic skin.
I've read that one shouldn't shave for an hour after exercising. I've never experienced any problems personally, but I decided to honor that rule after some consideration. When you exercise and get hot, the pores open up to sweat and the follicles essentially "pump out" the sweat. Now, I'm no dermatologist, but it stands to reason that, just as the rest of your body gets tired from exercise, sweating exercises the follicles and pores and therefore tires them. If the follicles were so relaxed that they don't hold the hair tight enough, it's feasible that shaving could be traumatic for the hair's roots and follicle. Further, the pores could be so relaxed and open that they are subject to tear since they are already open to the maximum: any further stretching could cause tearing. The trauma and tearing would not only lead to infection, but to bumps, rashes, and "razor burn".
I've arrived at this mainly because of observations I've made in hot climates and made a connection. People are more likely to get "shave bumps" and ingrown hairs in hot weather. These shave bumps are usually caused when the tops of the follicles and pores are cut off or torn. The result is a tiny scab forming over the top. Once the pore is blocked or if the scab is attached to the hair, growing hairs are forced to divert to the sides, buckle, or curl back downward. You see, hair doesn't stop growing - even for several years after you die... look it up - the same is true with fingernails. Rashes, razor burn, neck bumps, and ingrown hairs are all prevented by taking some extra care before shaving.
4. Shave Cream
Now that you're done with the shower, and you've got a tingling face from all the scrubbing, it's time to lather up.
Since we've already determined that canned shave cream is foolishness, you should be staring at them in the trash can. No? Still want to try using canned shave cream with a straight-edge? Ok, before you do, consider also cutting yourself and pouring alcohol on it. How does it feel? Sure, it disinfects, but it also thins the blood - preventing clotting when you get a nick or ding. What's more, the longer the wound is open, the longer it's open to infection. Hmm... stinging and bleeding, or, comfy and dry? To each their own - some people get off on pain. I know I was once conditioned to consider the pain and suffering "envigorating" and "refreshing" like the T.V. commercials wanted me to believe. No, that sh!t hurts, so I stopped using it.
You should be using mug soap. It's cheaper, lasts longer, lubricates the face better, helps stop bleeding, leaves your face smooth and soft, doesn't sting, and has a light scent. The high glycerine content is essential for lubricating the face while using a straight edge.
Before you get in the shower, rinse your brush with COLD water and leave it to soak. Since the brush is made of hair, you'll want those hairs to soften so the hairs are flexible - thus extending the life of your brush. Dry hair is more brittle: your brush's hairs will wear out and snap off quickly without a little care.
To lather up, you need to come up with some lather from a dry cake of soap. Hey! Why not make that HOT lather! Bonus! How you get the hot water and how hot is your business. I've used a thermos, the microwave, or settled for tap water. You aren't making soup, you're making lather, so use too little at first and add more little by little until you get a feel for it. You basically stir the water and brush the soap until you start getting a thick lather. If you mess around too long, put it back in the microwave to warm it back up.
Oops... Now your face is dry and you're hairs are dry too, huh? There is a certain "order of operations" that you'll get used to: out of the shower, dry off, get hot water on the face, start making lather, hot water on the face, lather up, strop the razor, shave. It's not that crucial, but keep your face prepped - don't let it dry out again.
Anyway, you've got the lather, you've got the prepped face, it's time to actually apply the lather. Splash some hot water on your face so your skin is moist and begin. Using the brush, work the lather onto your face in a circular, swirling motion: don't poke or dab. The grabby hairs of the brush will "set up" your hair and help to further "pull" it out from the pores. A good lathering session should take from 30 seconds to two minutes.
A lot of screwing around? Not really. It feels hella-good and this is a cermony and celebration, not a race or chore, so enjoy it instead of loathe it.
