I decided to write my own piece on the Art of Shave, as I have been shaving with a Double Edge (DE) Razor for a few years now.  There are many articles out there about this style of shaving.  Before I even knew about this option, it was difficult trying to find out what will work for me.  I feel others who have/still are contemplating making the move from those silly disposable razors to good ol’ traditional shaving could find this article useful.

Every guy remembers that period in their life when puberty hits, you start seeing some serious facial hair and then you realize, oh snap, time to learn how to shave.  Most men today would consider only 2 options: (1)An Electric trimmer or (2)The Plastic disposable Razors with multiple blades.  When this period in my life hit, I remember picking up a Gillette Mach 3 and trying to shave.  I was not even able to get half way through, my skin was so irritated that it blistered a little.  I thought to myself, I might not know jack about shaving, but this can’t be right.  I gave my face a week or two to cool down and gave it another try…the exact same thing happened.  My skin was highly irritated, it blistered and my face was in serious pain.  To make matters worse, I put after shave on it and I thought I was going to die…the pain was unbearable.  This was the first time I realized I probably have sensitive skin, but also, this style of shaving just isn’t working out.

I decided to try out option 2, an electric trimmer.  I purchased an Andis T-Outliner II, recommended to me by my barber as it gives a close shave.  I tried the Andis, and it was a good trimmer.  It cleaned my face with no irritation, and was quick to use & easy to clean.  I actually stuck with this way of shaving for 7+ yrs.  During this time though, I felt like something was still missing: (1) The trimmer just did not give a close enough shave, no matter how close it was. (2) The thing gets way too hot. (3) When I use after shave, it stings A LOT, and its use caused my skin to dry up so fast I could see cracks appearing (4) The movement and cut pattern of the electric was just so rough on my skin, you could see like a dark burn shadow sometimes after using it. I thought to myself again, I might not know jack, but this is not right.  If this is really what every guy goes through, this is messed up.  I ventured out to do some research, and this is where my friend Google came into play.

Believe it or not, this research actually took weeks.  I read so many articles, magazines and watched so many videos that a good friend of mine thought I was losing it for a second.  This is how much I wanted a damn answer…there had to be a way to achieve that spotless and smooth shave of perfection.  This is how I came to learn about the “Wet Shave“.

I remember reading this amazing article about the Wet Shave, which was actually the article which sold me on this idea.  Sadly, I have lost the link to this article and it kills me, because it was a well written piece.  The author went into some great details about the Wet Shave, but more importantly about the history behind how the disposable Razor came into the market and then the good ol’ Wet Shave tradition was lost.

Stay tuned Part 2, The Art of Shave continued…

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