Little Things that Improve a Shave

I thought I'd start a thread where people can post and read about some of the little things we've all discovered along the way in our shaving practice.  Sometimes things we do are so intuitive or obvious that we don't even notice them but not everybody does them or is aware.  So share it here.  No tip too obvious or seemingly inconsequential.  

One of the things I do that is totally auto-pilot is shaking dripping water off of anything that drips water.  I think its one of the earliest thing guys learn    The upshot is that when I rinse my razor under the hot water I automatically give it a shake before I drag it over my face.  It occurred to me that a little hydration never hurt a pass so I tried not shaking the razor after rinsing it so that it had a little excess water on it and I found that it made the passes a little bit slicker.  The trouble is I have to consciously concentrate on not shaking the water off the razor after rinsing because its such an ingrained habit so I do it about 75% of the time.  

Its a little thing but little things add up.

This reminds me of a somewhat interesting story. I had gotten a friend into wet shaving less then a month ago and although he loves it he admits that he nicks himself A LOT. I decided to come over and see what he was doing and was interesting to see how small practices can make a large difference. I gave him an aluminum Lupo and as all know aluminum is a good conductor of heat; meaning it gains and loses heat at a rapid rate.

Long story shorter he was buffing with a cold razor as in he did not pause every once in a while to run it under hot water. I am not exactly sure why this makes such a large difference. Originally I had associated it to the fact the blade cannot flex due to being more rigid from being colder and couldn't contour to the face as well. However, blade rigidity is often a factor that is highly sort after and normally attributed to a good DE shaver. Suffice it to say once he started rinsing more often and keeping the razor and blade hot/warm his shave became significantly better.

Great idea for a thread. One recommendation I would have is a cold water shave. Great for helping against ingrown hairs and irritation. Rinse face and lather with cold water and enjoy!

I find my best shaves come right after a hot shower.

(1). Take your razor apart after each shave, wipe the pieces, and then lay them out on a towel to dry thoroughly. Blades will rust and stain a razor if they're left inside it. Soap scum builds up, too. A daily cleaning keeps the rust and stains at bay and makes the razor all the more inviting when it comes time to shave again.

(2). Brushes are made to hold a lot of water. Drying them can take a long time, especially in a humid climate. I use a housepainter's trick to dry my brushes. I take a string and tie a slip knot around the base of the brush and then dangle it upside down in a breezy window for a day. The next morning it's dry and smells of nothing more than yesterday's lather.

Select a scientifically good pre-shave facial wash to use in the shower (preferably). It's amazing what a good cleanser/exfoliant can do for the successive shave.

I thought I'd start a thread where people can post and read about some of the little things we've all discovered along the way in our shaving practice.  Sometimes things we do are so intuitive or obvious that we don't even notice them but not everybody does them or is aware.  So share it here.  No tip too obvious or seemingly inconsequential.  

One of the things I do that is totally auto-pilot is shaking dripping water off of anything that drips water.  I think its one of the earliest thing guys learn    The upshot is that when I rinse my razor under the hot water I automatically give it a shake before I drag it over my face.  It occurred to me that a little hydration never hurt a pass so I tried not shaking the razor after rinsing it so that it had a little excess water on it and I found that it made the passes a little bit slicker.  The trouble is I have to consciously concentrate on not shaking the water off the razor after rinsing because its such an ingrained habit so I do it about 75% of the time.  

Its a little thing but little things add up.

I found out the same thing when I rinse. The extra little bit of water helps a lot.

Don't know how little a thing this would be but when I started I tried to skimp on soap to make it last longer. Rediculousness is the result. Most issues are solved by loading more soap.

This is all great stuff. Keep it coming.

I thought I'd start a thread where people can post and read about some of the little things we've all discovered along the way in our shaving practice.  Sometimes things we do are so intuitive or obvious that we don't even notice them but not everybody does them or is aware.  So share it here.  No tip too obvious or seemingly inconsequential.  

One of the things I do that is totally auto-pilot is shaking dripping water off of anything that drips water.  I think its one of the earliest thing guys learn    The upshot is that when I rinse my razor under the hot water I automatically give it a shake before I drag it over my face.  It occurred to me that a little hydration never hurt a pass so I tried not shaking the razor after rinsing it so that it had a little excess water on it and I found that it made the passes a little bit slicker.  The trouble is I have to consciously concentrate on not shaking the water off the razor after rinsing because its such an ingrained habit so I do it about 75% of the time.  

Its a little thing but little things add up.

I found out the same thing when I rinse. The extra little bit of water helps a lot.

I’ll add that after rinsing and doing a DE pass I don’t flip the razor to use the other side as the extra water has dripped by then. I rinse, do a pass, rinse, flip the razor over. Still getting equal blade usage between sides but with the benefit of that extra few drops of water always being there.