Great thread. A couple of people have written about this in other threads, but it should also be part of this thread...
old-school wet shaving.
I use 3 items in my shaving routine that some guys do not use:
- badger hair shaving brush
- old-school shaving soap
- a heavy safety razor (with appropriate blades)
Steps:
- It really helps to step out of a hot shower. Your pores are open.
- Soak shaving brush in hot water.
- Froth brush in shaving soap. This will help keep your face hot and pores open.
- Apply to face. Your hairs should be a lot softer and easier to shave now.
- Shave down (with the grain) with your safety razor. Be extra careful when using a new blade.
- Rinse with cold water. I don't use aftershave.
This routine has made shaving a totally new experience for me. My father, being cheap as hell, still uses 2-blade disposable razors. After making wet-shaving part of my routine, I have no idea how people were convinced to use that crap.
My facial hair gets a lot of compliments because I let it grow out for just a few days. Shaving down also keeps my facial hair growing in the same direction. Dare I say, my facial hair looks like this gay-ass mofo:
After even a week of growth like the picture above, my routine does the job, without even needing a trimmer.
The key is the opening of the pores and softening of the skin due to the hot water, which makes it easier to remove the hair. I've tried using a disposable razor to do the job after a lot of growth, and the hair-pulling that ensued was just too painful. Not to mention I had to throw away the razor after just one use.
The total investment is rather high when you think about what most people use to shave their face: a good brush can set you back $20, soap is about $10 (although lasts a long-ass time), and a good safety razor (don't skimp on this) can set you back about $30.
However, after this initial investment, 100-razor boxes cost $15 at most, and that's a damn near lifetime supply.
Compare this to $30 refills for 8 Gillette Fusion cartridges, and after a while the investment evens out. Either way, the shave is so much more pleasant and smooth, it's worth the extra cash up front to me.
I have no idea how shaving with disposable razors ever caught on, but I'm never going back.