Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette! itIn today's video, we discuss nine
biggest shaving mistakes men make and how you can avoid them. With shaving, it's very
easy to fall into your routine of doing what you've always been doing even
though you're not entirely happy with the results, that was certainly true for
me. My dad taught me how to shave with a Gillette Mach 3
and that's what I used for years to come even though I didn't really enjoy it or
liked how my shave felt. It all changed once I realized what a good shave was
but I also realized you don't know what you don't know. Once I realized how many
different shaving options that were out there, I really dug in in a pursuit to
find the perfect shave. We interviewed more than 3000 men about their issues
when shaving, tested over 200 different products that we thought were even worth
testing, we invested thousands of hours for more than a year in the ultimate
pursuit of finding the perfect shave for different men. We learned a ton about
shaving and we put all of our knowledge into the ultimate shaving guide which
you can find on our website here. Now, that is over 250 pages long but if I
condense it all down to the nine essential shaving mistakes men make, this
is what we got! So without further ado, number one, the
biggest mistake is for men not using blades that are sharp enough. I think
it's a number one problem because most men out there today use cartridge razor
systems. Now, there's a lot of marketing hype out there from brands like Dollar
Shave Club or Gillette but if you take a closer look at their marketing, you'll
notice they never actually mention the sharpness of the blade, they talk about the
convenience of the shape, the fancy handle, the lubrication strips, the number
of the blades which reaches all the way up to six or seven blades but they never
mention the sharpness. Of course, if you sell a dull blade, fewer people will cut
themselves, at the same time, the shave won't be great and they have to buy new
cartridges very often which at two dollars to eight dollars a piece, it's
very expensive and it becomes a moneymaker
for razor companies. Even though you're less prone to cut yourself with a
dull blade, it leads to razor bumps and skin irritations more so than with a
sharper blade. Let's say you have very smooth skin and very fine hair and you think
the result you get in cartridges is great, I bet you that with a sharper
blade, it will be even better. Now, if you suffer from irritation and have razor
bumps or you if you have thick hair then a sharp blade is the only way to go. So
once I was done with cartridge razors, the next step for me in the evolution
was to use a double edge razor which is something that your grandpa probably
used. The pros are that you get a really high quality shave, they are extremely low
cost because the blades cost anywhere from three cents through thirty cents
a piece. The problem at double edge shaving is that there are hundreds of different
handles out there and also hundreds of different blades. Now, depending on the
thickness of your hair and your skin, not every combination will work in your
favor; some may be too aggressive. others may be not sharp enough, so testing all
of this out and playing around with the different blades can consume a lot of
time and money. On the pursuit of finding the perfect shave, I tested
hundreds of blades and many many handles just to figure out what works for whom
and why it doesn't. Personally, my favorite combination turned out to be a
feather blade which is quite sharp in combination with a Mercur razor that is
slanted so it's even more aggressive than if it was straight. If you want
to learn about the other blades and the results we got, you can get all the
information in our in-depth shaving guide here. In recent years, I've seen a
number of companies launch a single blade system that also comes with a very
sharp blade, brands are like Bevel, Supply, or One Blade. In my experience, they all
use sharper blades and any cartridge razors and are therefore an improvement.
Also, the handle is designed to work perfectly with a blade.
Sometimes, even use special blades that are much thicker than regular
double-edged blades and because of that, they don't get dull less quickly. Of
course, all those single edged blades are more expensive than the double-edged
blades you can find out there. So while that may cost you more, at the end of the day, it's all up
to us to decide how much we want to spend on a quality shave. However, in
order to get the quality shave, a sharp blade is essential. I always say there
are many ways to Rome and that's also true for shaving. That brings us to
the second mistake which is to focus only on the initial upfront costs and the
convenience but not on the quality and the cost per shave. Most men we
interviewed didn't want to spend a whole lot of money upfront and they wanted a
routine that was easy for them. I hate to break it to you but both these criteria
will not result in a good shave. Why? Well, a low upfront cost is actually
very deceptive and much more expensive down the road. Of course, you may get the
handle for free and the initial set is quite inexpensive but as you shave more,
it gets more expensive. Don't believe me? We did the math. Let's assume you shave
five times per week and you use one blade or one cartridge four times. Now
that's a lot for a cartridge system but let's just assume that. Alternatively, if you
use an electric shaver, we assume that you exchange the head once a year or if
you use a straight razor then you spend about 40 bucks in sharpening per year. So if
you get your razor from something like Dollar Shave Club or Harry's, often, the
handle is free. The blade cost per month, however, is about eight bucks a month so
over the course of a year, it's close to a hundred dollars. Over the course of ten
years, it's close to a thousand dollars. If you look at the latest and greatest few
companies like Gillette, the blade cost around 12 bucks or more, the average
cartridge cost per month is about 17 or 18 dollars which gets you to an average
cost of about 220 bucks per year or $2,200 over the course of a decade. Now
on the flip side, if you invest in a traditional double edge razor system, the
handle may cost you 50 or 60 bucks up front. If you need to take the most
expensive double-edged blades like the Feather, it won't cost you more than a
1.50 per month. Of course, over the course of ten years, this effect is
compounded leaving you with a cost below $200 versus 11 times or more that with a
Gillette. Now, if you want the quickest shave there is, you probably can't look
past an electric shaver or razor. Upfront costs are high, usually about 200
bucks for the better models. You also need a new shaving head about once a
year which breaks it down to about 5 bucks per month
so over the course of a year, it's about 260 bucks or about 800 bucks
over a 10-year span. Obviously, more expensive than a double-edge system, it is
not as good but it is quicker, it's also quicker than a Gillette system or a
Harry's or Dollar Shave Club but it still remains less expensive even though
the upfront cost was very high. Now, last but not the least, let's look at a
straight razor. That's a very traditional way to shave ,it takes a longer time but
if you perfect the technique, the results are second to none. If you get a good
quality straight razor, it'll set you back over $150. The one we chose cost 166
dollars and you can find out which one it was in our in-depth shaving guide here.
Now, it costs about 40 dollars a year to sharpen the blade professionally which
means about 3.33 cents per month. So in year one, a straight
razor costs you effectively 206 dollars but over a decade, it's
566. Now, obviously, that's more expensive than a double edge
razor but if you want the best quality shave and you don't mind taking longer,
then this is the way to go. So in a nutshell, try not to just look at the
upfront cost but the overall quality, value, and cost per shave
you'll get. Also keep in mind that once you've gotten a good shave, a cartridge
razor is literally not gonna cut it any more for you. The third biggest shaving
mistake is not understanding the growth direction of your facial hair. Every man out
there is unique and because of that, the hair grows in unique directions. So
why should that matter to you? Well, let's assume you just shave straight down in
one pass from top to bottom. At the top, your hair may grow down that means you
shave with the grain of the hair. In the middle, it may grow left to right so now
you're shaving across the grain. At the bottom, it may actually grow up which
means you shave against the grain. Now the result would be that the length of
the hair would be different because if you cut it against the grain, it's cut
at a lower skin level and is shorter than if you cut it with the grain. To get
the best quality shave, you have to understand how your hair grows so you
can shave exactly the way you want it for the best results.
So how do you figure out what direction your hair grows into?
Honestly, some men stand in front of the mirror and they just use a drawing
with arrows to show them how their hair grows. Personally, I just spend ten
minutes in front of the mirror, looked at my hair very closely to understand what
it's like and now I know that, for example, the hair down here grows in this
direction versus here, it grows down, here it grows diagonally at an angle and here it
grows down versus here it's left to right. Understanding the growth direction
of my facial hair allows me to shave with a better technique and to minimize
the passes so I get less skin irritation. Which brings us to shaving mistake number
four, not shaving in multiple passes. In an ideal world, we'll just shave our face
with one pass and be done and happy. Unfortunately, that's not how it goes. So
how do you get the closest shave possible? It's by shaving against the
grain of the hair. Why is that? Well, the razor and the blade lift the
hair away from the skin. Therefore, you cut the hair actually below the skin
level. So for example, if we do a wet shave with a sharp blade, after one day
the result is as smooth as if I had just shaved with an electric shaver or a
cartridge razor. So should you always and only shave against the grain? The answer
is no. Why? Well, if especially you have excess hair, shaving against the grain is
more aggressive for your skin, you'll need more passes, and you will suffer
from more irritation. So if that's not the way to go,
what is the way to shave properly? With the traditional double edge razor, the
first pass would be with the grain because it removes all the excess hair and it's
the least aggressive on your skin. In the second step,
you'd go across the grain to get rid of all the hair that didn't make it in the
first pass and then in the third pass, you'd go against the grain to get the
closest possible shave. Now personally for me, that takes too much time so if I
have a longer hair and a sharp blade, I first go with the grain to remove all
the hair and then I go once against the grain. No matter how many directions you
choose or how many passes you make, it is really really
important that you always lubricate your skin. Why? If you don't lubricate your skin,
you're much more likely to cut yourself, you get nicks,
razor bumps, and irritation and it's just bad for your skin. Which leads us to
shaving mistake number five, not properly lubricating your skin before and while
you shave. Frankly, lubrication is the only thing that protects your face from
the sharp blade. You need lubrication so the sharp blade can glide across your
skin, cutting the hair but not your skin. When it comes to shaving, there's no such
thing as over lubricating, more helps more. Unfortunately, most men out there
don't lubricate enough and often, it comes down to a bad product in the first
place. The lubrication in shaving creams comes from fat so the higher the fat
content, the more of a gliding effect you get. When I started out shaving, I used
the cheap canned shaving foam from Nivea that I would have found in a drugstore.
The problem with it was there was a lot of air in it, a lot of chemicals but
not a lot of fat. While it foamed a lot, it actually didn't provide a great barrier
to protect my skin. I mean yes, it protected it a little bit but not as
well as other products could have protected it. In general, all shaving
creams that are aerosols or that come in a
spray foam can or the transparent gels that you can find do not contain enough
fat to properly lubricate your skin when you shave with a sharp blade.
Fortunately, the solution is easy! Just get a product with a high fat content.
Unfortunately, most brands don't advertise the exact fat content their
shaving product has but as a general rule of thumb, you can check for the
water content because the less water a product has, the more likely it is to have
more fat. In our tests, all the shaving creams that came in a tube whether it is metal
or plastic or shaving soaps that were hard had a much higher fat content than
those spray cans. Frankly, it might take you some experimentation time to find
the right product for you or you just check out the in-depth shaving guide where we
did all that hard legwork for you so you can just select between the best of
the best products. No matter what high-fat shaving cream you use, if you're in a
hurry, you can always apply it onto your skin directly with your finger. For even
better results, you should go with a shaving brush. Which
leads us to mistake number six, not using a shaving brush to create your lather. So
why should you use a shaving brush? Well, it creates a nice rich lather and it
also helps to move the hair follicles away from the skin so the shave quality
is going to be better. Let's explain that shaving brushes are made
of boar's hair and it can be quite hard in your skin and uncomfortable because
of that I prefer badger shaving brushes. The best quality is the silver tip which
is finer and again, it can take a little bit of testing with different brushes to
find something that's right for you. The problem is high-end shaving brushes can
cost north of $200. So again, if you want to have all that legwork done for you,
just check out the shaving guide here. Now, if using a shaving brush is too much
for you, I understand. The really important thing that gets to 95% there is to
use a high fat shaving cream. If you want to skip the brush or you're traveling,
don't worry about it, you're doing great! I am sure time is an
important factor in your life which brings us to the next mistake of not
incorporating an electric razor into your shaving routine. Usually, there's
some men who use nothing but an electric razor and others hate them and just do
wet shaves. While some enjoy the hour long ritual of shaving on a Saturday or
Sunday, others just want to get it done as quickly as possible. I'm on the camp of
I want to have the best shave possible in the shortest amount of time. Frankly,
if I lather up my shaving cream, maybe do two passes with a double edge razor,
the whole routine still takes quite a bit of time. So because of that, I
experiment with electric razors. They've been around for a while, you can use them
dry and frankly, the results are not great but it takes you two minutes. So
the next step, I combine it with a high quality shaving cream which took
slightly longer but yielded a noticeably better result. I think most modern
electric razors can be used wet but you should always double check before you
put an electric product into water. I have to say, if speed is the most important
thing in your shaving routine, using an electric razor with a high quality
shaving cream takes you probably three to four minutes and yields the best
value to time ratio. Now, if you want to step up your game and experience the result
of a double edge shave in less time, I suggest you
use the electric razor first with some shaving cream to get rid of all the
excess hair which takes about two to three minutes and then you do one pass
against the grain or against the direction of the hair follicle and
you're done. In my experience, this process takes about eight to ten minutes
which is considerably shorter than doing the full lather up and all double edge
razor shave yet I have that same smooth feeling that lasts for a day.
Obviously, investing in a double edge razor and a handle and an electric razor
is a much higher upfront cost. For me, it makes sense because it cuts down my time
in the morning that I need to get ready. Also keep in mind, you can bring your
electric razors on travels when you just bring a carry-on where you cannot bring
a double edge razor, you could only resort to cartridges but I don't like
that. The eighth biggest straight mistake is not adhering to a proper pre-shave
routine. Why should you have a pre-shave routine? Well, it's better for your skin
and it results in a better shave that is closer to your skin. If you suffer from
little bumps on your skin, known as razor bumps, or if you have any kind of
irritation, or if you're just sensitive, having a pre-shave routine is
essential. Also, if you use very sharp blades or a straight razor, I would
strongly suggest you have a pre-shave routine. So what does it look like? Well
in a nutshell, you start out by splashing your face with hot water or alternatively,
using a hot towel with hot water or you can just heat it up in your microwave.
Keep it on your face until it cools down and then use a pre-shave oil that
obviously is high fat and helps to create a barrier between the blade and
your skin. Now the third step, use a high fat shaving cream, as discussed before,
and you can also lather it out first with a shaving brush. I find that this
routine can add anywhere from two to ten minutes to your shave but especially if
you have sensitive skin, it's totally worth it.
Personally, I start taking a hot shower which is the same effect as using hot
water or a hot towel and it doesn't cost me any extra time then I use the shaving
cream right afterwards and I get that same effect without wasting any more
time in the mornings. Also, once I'm done shaving, I use an aftershave or post
shave product which is like a cream that just soothes my skin,
it calms it down and makes it even smoother. The
ninth biggest shaving mistake I see men making all the time is giving up a new
routine too quickly. When I introduced a good friend to shaving with a double edge
razor, he was really excited at first because he saw the results on my skin. I
taught him how to do it but his technique wasn't quite as refined so
when he tried it, he cut himself and he just wasn't happy with it and went back to
his old system. I get it, learning technique is not easy but deep
down it's very simple and just like with anything in life, it takes time to master
something and that's also true for shaving technique. So my advice is if you
try something new, especially with a sharper blade, do your prep work and
don't just give up. Try it at least ten times and by then you probably have figured
out what the right angle is and if you want to learn the theory again check out
our shaving guide here. Frankly, it will save you tons of time and money and we
have different shaving models depending on if you want the best quality shave or
the quickest shave or the best of both worlds. On top of that, it covers special
topics like dealing with ingrown hairs skin irritation or shaving for men of
color. In today's video, I am little more casually dressed because I'm shaving. I am wearing
a white dress shirt with a cutaway collar with a nice herringbone fabric that is
quite thick I am wearing it with cufflinks from Fort Belvedere which are green and
very contrasting and I also have a matching sterling silver and malachite
pinky ring my slacks are pleaded because I've big thighs and the pattern
is a nice wool houndstooth fabric in black and white my socks are shadow
striped in charcoal and light gray and they work really well with the pants as
well as the shirt and they contrast the solid olive green shoes of course the socks are over the
calf and you can find them in our shop here