The Whys and Hows of the Wet Shave

Most of the products I will be reviewing on this blog will be classic shaving products.  I use a single-blade safety razor, which is refereed to online as either “DE shaving” (for double edge), “Wet Shaving,” “Traditional Shaving,” etc.  It essentially means ‘shaving without a cartridge razor.’  Because I’ll be reviewing these products, I thought it would be helpful to start with a post on why you should switch to traditional wet shaving.  More importantly, perhaps, I thought I’d provide a “how-to” wet shave.  Now, there are plenty of places on line for a how-to, but I found when I switched, it was hard to get all sorts of tips in one place.  This will be a place where I can offer some tips, but by now means is it exhaustive.

I’ll also talk about a Merkur razor I use, so there’s some sort of review here.

Why wet shave?  I think this is a good place to start, as some people may not be convinced right off the bat.  There are, as far as I can tell, three big reasons – they are at least my reasons.

First, it’s cheaper.  A single razor blade, which will last upwards of a month, if not beyond, costs a few cents.  Depending on how often you change your blade, and what blades you use, you’ll spend between $7 and $10 per year on razor blades.  Much better than the cost of a pack of cartridges.  Shaving cream is also, ounce for ounce (or ml for ml) cheaper than shaving foam in a can, and will last a longer time.  I guess reason one-and-a-half is that shaving cream has a lot less ingredients than shaving foam, and they tend to be natural, non-chemical ingredients.  So that’s probably good.

I want to add a caveat to the ‘it’s cheaper.’  You’ll have to lay out some money at the start in order to get set up.  A razor will cost you money.  A shaving brush will cost you money.  In some cases, a significant amount of money.  But, the will last way, way longer than a shitty plastic razor.  You may have to spend money on a shaving mug as well.  In the long run, though, you’ll shave money with the wet shave.

Second, it provides a much closer shave.  These commercials that say “three blades for a closer shave!” “five blades for a closer shave!” are lying to you.  They just are.  If you learn how to wet shave, and get the technique down, you will have a ‘baby bottom smooth’ shave every single time you shave.  It’s the closest shave I’ve ever had, and is quite lovely.

Third, it doesn’t irritate the skin as much.  When you’re shaving with a cartridge razor, you’re dragging, what, two? three? five? strips of sharpened metal across your skin?  That’s not going to be good for your skin.  This is why men hate shaving – the cartridge razors tug and pull at your beard, multiple blades irritate your skin.  Ugh.  It’s awful.  Switching to wet shaving is much better for anybody who wants to have a nicer feeling shave; its especially better for those with sensitive skin.

Okay.  Part two.  How to Wet Shave.

Step One.  Have a shower or wash your face.  This ensures that your beard is soft and warm, which also assists in opening the pores in your face – this dramatically reduces the chance of razor burn.

Step Two.  Use a pre-shave oil or gel.  It makes the shave easier, adds some lubricant to the face to help the razor glide across the skin, and protects the skin from nicks.

Step Three.  Apply shaving cream or soap with a brush.  Using a brush lifts the whiskers off the face, which makes for a closer shave and reduces razor burn.  It also exfoliates the skin, which is nice.  When you use the brush, you want to swirl it on, moving the brush in circles.  Make sure you get a nice lather – you don’t want to be able to see skin through your cream.

Step Four, the shave.  Always, always, always shave with the grain of your beard.  This ensures a close shave, and it also prevents nicks and razor burn.  You want to go for beard reduction, not beard elimination.  Shave in slow passes, trying to shave across an inch of face with each pass.

A few things to note.  The weight of the razor alone will be enough to shave with.  When you first move from a cartridge razor, this is really hard to get used to.  With a cartridge razor, you have to apply pressure to pull the plastic razor across your face.  If you do this with your new metal razor, you’re going to cut your face to shreds.  I found the best tip to help with this is to simply hold the razor with the thumb and index finger.  This will help you from adding additional pressure.  You’ll also want all the movement to come from your shoulder, not from your wrist.

Finding the right shaving angle is also key.  Too shallow of an angle and you’re not going to cut any of your whiskers.  To deep and you’ll cut into your face, or give yourself razor burn.  Hold the razor so the head of the razor (ie no blade) is touching your cheek.  The handle should be parallel to the floor.  Slowly lower the handle towards your cheek until you first feel the razor against your skin.  The handle of the razor should be at around a 30 degree angle to your cheek.  This is the ideal shaving angle.  Now, with a cartridge, the razor will automatically adjust to your face, meaning you don’t need to keep the angle.  With your new razor, yeah, you’ll need to keep that angle up.  Go slow.  You can keep the angle and get a nice shave.

Step Four Point Five.  Re-lather your face and repeat step four.  Because you’re reducing your beard, and not eliminating it, it takes a few passes to completely shave.  I tend to shave my cheeks twice and my neck three times.  Most online advice says shave three times.  If you do this, you’ll have an incredibly close and nice shave.  It feels great.

Step Five.  Rinse your face with very cold water.  Man does this wake you up and feel refreshing.  Splash cold water on your face.  This helps close your pores.

Step Six.  Deal with your nicks.  You’re probably going to have a few nicks in your face.  Even the most accomplished wet shaver will occasionally cut himself.  Keep a styptic pencil or some alum on hand to quickly close those cuts.

Step Seven.  Use an aftershave.  Aftershaves sooth the skin, help close the pores, and help keep your skin clean.

Okay.  That may seem overwhelming, but trust me, it’s going to be worth it.  You’ll feel great, you’ll save money, and your face will be really, really smooth.

Let’s review something!

I really like Merkur razors, as do a few of my pals, but there are plenty of options.  I’m currently using a Merkur 15C.

 

Merkur 15C

It is solidly constructed, that’s for sure.  Very nice German steel, so it will last for years – if not decades.  It’s very easy to change the blade – the handle unscrews from the top of the blade very easily.  The screwing mechanism stays in place, so it doesn’t ever feel like the razor will fall apart on you.   The razor is really good for sensitive skin.  The comb means you’re protected from slashing at your face and giving yourself razor burn, and you can feel the blade nicely on your skin.

Not a lot more to say about this product, actually.  It’s a very good razor to start with, and excellent if you have sensitive skin.  $40.00 is a great price for it, especially because Merkur is tried and true – it can be a life-long razor.

Merkur 15C: 5/5, my daily go-to razor.

A real product review Tuesday – I promise!

“The Captain” belt by The Vegan Collection

When I discussed starting this blog with a few of my pals, somebody said they’d like to learn more about vegan belts.  So, I’ll pander to my base, in the hopes that this will get more regular readers!

So, you’re looking for vegan belts, eh?  That’s good, because leather is cruel, and should be avoided.  To start, it is actually fairly easy to find vegan belts if you do a little leg work.  You can spend a few hours in a mall and find many pleather, canvas, and hemp belts.  But, of course, none of these belts will give you the professional, well-dressed look.  For that, we turn to “The Captain” by The Vegan Collection.  When I first went veg, I picked up both a brown and black Captain, as that should cover my bases for casual and formal dress.

 

The Captain

The Captain is actually pitched as a staple unisex belt – it can be worn with business or casual wear.  This, I find, is true: the belt works equally as well with my suits, my pants-and-sports-coat ensemble, and jeans and a tshirt.  The belt has a really nice leathery look to it: that sort of off-shine look that comes with leather.  It can’t really be picked out as pleather from a distance, which is really nice.  The buckle is a nice brushed metal, and it isn’t too heavy at all.  The belt has a really nice look to it, that’s for sure.

Functionally, yep, it keeps my pants up, no problem.  It isn’t too heavy. There’s really fine stiching on the belt, and it’s quite well done.  I’ve actually gone through two sets of The Captain – I bought the black and brown ones when I initially went vegan, but as will happen when one goes vegan, I dropped like ten pounds, so I needed new belts, and I got The Captain in the smaller size.  That should be an endorsement, if nothing else.

But, I’d like to get to the drawback.  If you get this belt, be prepared for wear-and-tear to show.  My black Captain, which I wore more frequently, had the loop snap off after about fourteen months (which isn’t that bad, I suppose).  I was able to get it repaired, so no real issue, all things considered.  My real issue is that whatever the belt is made of chafes against the metal of the buckle, and pulls apart.  As you can see below, the belt took some damage – but to be sure, this is after about eighteen months of wearing the belt daily.

Regular wear and tear makes it a bit unsightly

This said, the belt retails for $26 USD, so getting 18 months or so out of the belt really isn’t that bad at that price.  The belt is still functional but I’d be hesitant to wear it with a suit to a real formal event at this point.   I still use either my brown or black Captain daily – for work, or just to hold up my jeans as I schlep around the house.

Verdict: 4.5 / 5, excellent daily belt.

tl;dr: fantastic every day vegan belt that can be worn formally or casually, watch out for regular wear and tear after 18 months.

Until next time, be kind to animals.

Urban Beard’s Beard Butter

This actually arrived in the mail the day I decided to take the leap and start this blog, so I figure why not make it my first product review.

I have a beard, and I keep it fairly well trimmed and groomed.  Beards take a lot of abuse – if you don’t have one, you might not know this.  I scratch, tug, and pull at my beard when I’m anxious, frustrated, annoyed, or bored.  When the Blue Jays start playing baseball badly (which, thankfully they’re doing less of), I rest my face in my hands, which pushes my beard into my face.  All of this can really irritate my face, and isn’t probably all that good for a beard.

I saw an add for Urban Beard pop into one of my social media feeds a while back.  They’re a Canadian based company, and all of their products are vegan.  I decided to try a few of them out (more reviews forthcoming!).  First, they get points for being all vegan.  If you purchase any of their products, you know they’re cruelty free, and that’s good.

Given the abuse my beard takes, I ordered  their beard butter (pictured below).

When I first opened the tin, I thought, “hmm, this looks a lot like a cream or body butter, I’m not sure how this will work on a beard.” I grabbed a finger-full and slapped it on my beard, and was initially concerned that I was going to have to walk around all day with giant white gobs of cream in my beard.  But no, it actually massages into your beard quite nicely and quickly – that was a pleasant surprise.  It is also non-greasy and non-oily.  It’s very light and pleasant, which gets it points as well.

Did the product deliver?  Well, my beard did feel softer after use, which was really nice.  It also made my beard quite manageable – I combed it into place with the beard butter in there and it stayed rather well kempt. (is kempt the opposite of  unkempt?  It has to be, right?)  Throughout the day, my beard felt softer to the touch.  Also good.

I have one complaint though, and, for me, its a big-ish one.  The product description says it has a “refreshing minty scent” to it.  Uh, not quite.  There is some mint in the scent, but it really, really reminds me of citronella candles.  Like, a lot.  A few hours into my day, and it was all about the citronella smell – I felt like I was walking around with a citronella candle strapped to my chin.  That was really quite bothersome to me.

A tin costs $30 CAD, and for the amount of beard butter you get, that’s not unreasonable.  It comes in an aluminum tin, because apparently aluminum is easier to recycle.  As far as value for money goes, not terrible, but not the most amazing price-point either.  For me, I’ll keep the tin that I have around.  I’ll probably use it only on days after I trim my beard to sooth my face.  Other than that, I’m not sure it’ll end up in my daily rotation.

3.5 / 5, but if you aren’t as sensitive to scents as I am, it’s probably a 4 or 4.5 out of 5.

tl;dr: a good way to moisturize, repair, and shape your beard at a descent price, but if strong scents aren’t your thing, avoid.

 

Until next time, be kind to animals.

Welcome To The Vegan Dandy

I’ve decided to start this blog on a whim.  Hopefully it sticks.  I’m a vegan – at some point I’ll do a “why vegan?” post, but for the time being I’ll assume you don’t need to know “why vegan.”  When I first went vegan, about three-ish years ago, I decided to slowly remove all animal products not only from my diet, but from all aspects of my life.  Out went my leather clothing and accessories, out when my toiletries that had animal products or were tested on animals.

When I set out to do this, I found it really hard some time.  I have dry skin, so I went looking for a vegan moisturizer.  This raised many questions – where does one find a vegan moisturizer?  Would I have to look in specialty health stores?  Were any of the moisturizers in my drug store vegan? Were they any good – were they too greasy or did they have an annoying scent?  Help!  Repeat this for virtually every product in my daily ablutions.   After getting wet shaving this became even more complex.  I began to think to myself ‘if only there was a good site that reviewed vegan products….’ and then after mulling this over for a month or so, I decided to do it.

About me and what I’ll be reviewing.  I try to dress and groom professionally, as I have a job where I am encouraged to look not-like-a-slob.  So, part of my initial switching to vegan clothing involved finding vegan belts (fairly easy), vegan shoes (easy-ish), and semi-professional wear (something of a challenge when it comes to sports coats and suits).  I think I’ll lay off reviewing these for some time, but there are some things I’ll talk about.

I’d describe myself as having dry and sensitive skin.  This means if you’re looking for reviews of products for oily skin, uh, go somewhere else.  You won’t find those here.  It also means strong scents really annoy me.  So, uh, again, if strong scents are your thing, go elsewhere.  As I mentioned above, I wet shave, which I strongly, strongly, encourage.  It saves money and provides for a much closer shave.  Expect reviews of plenty of shaving products.  I have a beard, which I keep relatively short, trimmed, and neat, so I’ll be looking at beard care from time to time.

A few final caveats.  This is the first time I’ve blogged since I had a livejournal many moons ago.  So, I can’t promise it’s going to look spectacular at first.  Second, like most vegans, I double and triple check to make sure that everything I buy contains no animal products and isn’t tested on animals.  That said, like many vegans, I’ve sometimes purchased something, gotten home, taken a closer look, and realized “damnit.  There’s animal in this.”  If that happens on this blog, I apologize in advance.  I’m not perfect.