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How to shave properly
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By Ben Stephens.
This is one for the gents. Lads, I’m talking to you, specifically the dudes that rock a clean shaven face to take on the world. I salute you. Daily or maybe every other day, you spend that little extra time to shear all those sharp little picks of hair off your face. It’s an odd concept when you break it down, but for some of us it has to be done, sure a little five o’clock shadow looks great, but come any later than that and it needs to go, before you begin to look like a right mess.
A gentleman by the name of Kris Jones performs a number of shaves every day at QT Sydney’s Barber Shop and as you can probably image is somewhat a wizard with a straight razor in hand. I caught up with him to chat about the do’s and don’ts of the shaving world and what he’s recommending at the moment.
Shaving Rash
Back when I shaved daily, before I just left the hair to do it’s own thing, I used to get some gnarly shaving rash. It’s that red, lumpy and super uncomfortable looking skin that appears after applying waaaay to much pressure. Kris endorses the use of a razor that is sharp and of top quality, something like the German made Merkur Razor, with a solid weighted handle, you won’t need to apply any more pressure, which should reduce any rash.
Shaving Creams
Kris yelled at me when I told him I used canned shaving creams and gels to lather my face up… these are apparently filled with chemicals that can be a little nasty and will absorb straight into the freshly shaved face skin. The hot tip here is to use a glycerine-based cream, like the Geo F Trumper, they come in a range of fragrances, though the sandalwood is personal favourite. Also, to really lift your game, Kris would urge you to apply any cream to your face with a shaving brush, it gets the cream under the hair and will make shaving a whole lot easier.
Blind Shave vs Mirror Shave
I used to enjoy a blind shave, it was like a game to see how much I missed out. Mr Jones yearns for the day where no self respecting male blinds shaves and takes the time to use the mirror when shaving. He says that not only will you not miss a spot but you can check out which way the hair is growing, allowing you to shave with the growth pattern, which will cut down on the pain of going against it.
If you find yourself needing to pick up some cream, a new razor or a badger shaving brush be sure to stop by the Barber Shop at QT Sydney. If you have any questions, be sure to throw them at Kris, he is a fountain of knowledge in most facets of life.
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