Additional Tips - Traditional shaving with safety razor

                  In my last post , 18 months back i explained basics of traditional shaving with safety razor for someone who started newly. When i wrote that post, my own limited experience with traditional shaving was like 12 months and now many months after that , i have learned few additional things which definitely has improved quality of my shaves. Here, i have listed those in no particular order hoping it helps readers who finds this page. Do read my last post before this one, if you have not already done so. 

1) Open comb razors are not just for experienced :  Unlike closed comb razors, open comb does not remove cream before blade touches the skin and leaves a small layer if you want to go over the same area again. Closed comb razor though offers more safety, wiping out cream before blade touches the skin does not make sense. The other advantage i found is , it is much easier to find the right angle with open combs since blade contact on skin is felt so clearly without any bar also touching the skin at the same time. Despite these advantages, open comb is often not recommended to beginners, because it is typically aggressive. I found it is not always true. There are open comb razors which are milder (e.g, Merkur open combs) or with same aggressiveness (e.g. Parker Open comb 24c/26c) compared to common closed combs (e.g., Edwin Jagger DE89). If you hone your techniques fine, the aggressive open combs (e.g Cadet, Matador or Symmetry and other re-brands of Pearl, Fatip Piccolo etc) can in fact provide efficiency (needing lesser strokes to get the same results) that closed combs simply cannot provide due to its intrinsic design. This efficiency really help as our hairs gets coarser as we age. Here's good online resource where aggressiveness of different razors are tabulated based on opinion polls. The bottom line is , give open combs a try and don't shy away from it like i did in the past. Here's what i use nowadays. 

2) Sharper blades causes less weepers: Intuitively, we think sharper blades (e.g., feathers) are prone to cut us. But, i found that it may be true only if your technique is still not honed, but once you do, it is the duller blades that cuts due to pulling and tugging. No amount of expertize in technique is going to avoid weepers if blade stops & jumps on skin simply because it is too dull to cut the hair cleanly. Hence nowadays , i don't use my blades for more shaves than i used to. I used to use my Astra green blades for 3 shaves now i use it for only 2 shaves, i used to use my Personna lab blues for 4 shaves now it use it for only 3 shaves and so on. By doing this , i notice better quality shaves and besides, DE blades are any way cheap to begin with.

3) Shaving soaps provides a different experience worth trying: I always used to use creams (not ready-made foam in the can) because it is just easier to load and quicker to produce lather. Recently , I have been using some artisan shaving soaps (Phoenix, Razorock , Catie bubbles etc) which gives me more slickness , better hair softening,  more hydration and good after shave face feel compared to commercial available creams without any disadvantages we typically associate with classic shaving soaps. Even with classic shaving soaps (e.g., Tabac, Argo) which are much harder in consistency, it is just matter of learning lathering technique to use it effectively. 

4) Face lathering is better than bowl lathering: After seeing many youtubers doing face lathering, i questioned myself, what is point of bowl lathering in the first place?. I did some research online and found that , only advantage of bowl lathering is , you can keep lather warm provided you are using shaving scuttle. But i find the argument for face lathering more convincing which is, amount of time spent on producing lather is best invested on face rather than on bowl. Besides, there is no need of bowl or its cleaning afterwards. Though face lathering was little messy at first, nowadays i rarely use shaving bowl to make my lather.

5) Pre-shave oil or cream are not really needed: I always knew these are optional but still i used to use them initially as extra protection for my lack in good technique. With use of quality soaps/creams, pre wash , face lathering and more importantly, honed technique, i don't see any need for pre-shave oil or cream as prep. In fact, having too much of pre-shave oil or cream affects my lather and gunk up the razor making it hard to clean. I find having lather on my face for 2-3 mins itself is a good enough prep. 

6) You can make quality aftershave at home, DIY style : Having oily skin, i avoid moisturizer as after shave and instead always used splashes. Lately, i found out that, after shave splashes can be made DIY style and it can be of better quality(and cheaper) compared to what we found in store aisles. Here's one simple DIY recipe i like. Take 40 ml of any grain alcohol as disinfectant, dissolve a spoon of crushed menthol crystals in it for cooling effect, add 35 ml witch hazel or any other astringent for toning, mix 15 ml glycerin as humectant to retain skin moisture, and finally add your favorite essential oil to your desired strength for fragrance. I use lavender oil since i shave in the night and i heard, it helps to get better sleep (not 100% sure about it). If alcohol burn is too much, you can dilute your mixture with rose or plain distilled water. There are many different variations of it online including some totally different(and fancy) ones like bay rum after shave.

I hope this helps. If you have any specific questions or like to share your own findings that may help me or others, please leave the comments.