Having a wet shave by a professional barber is an experience that every man should have at least once in their lifetime. It is an extremely relaxing way to sharpen up your facial hair, a job which, at home, can be a chore that most men go through their lives having to carry out — many on a daily basis.
But shaving at home needn’t be a chore. Armed with some decent professional beard and shaving products, a good razor (of which there are many types) — can make all the difference. Knowing how to properly use a razor and getting to grips with some simple techniques is also well worthwhile.
We’ve rounded up some tips from our professional barbers that win help ensure you have a relaxing, smooth shave at home.
Tools to invest in for a smooth shave
Firstly, you need to make sure that you have a good shaving bowl and brush to hand. This can make all the difference when you lather up your face in prep for a wet shave, an essential part of the process and, more so, the experience.
There are three main types of razor: the traditional cut-throat razor; the safety razor.
Prepping your face for a shave
Beard hairs are notoriously tough and often tightly curled, and when they grow long they can cause issues with ingrown hairs. Dry skin underneath a beard or stubble is also a common problem.
Both of these issues can be helped with a good scrub with a bagel hair shaving brush and a good shaving gel, oil or cream.
How to use a shaving brush
Once your shaving product has been lathed up in a shaving bowl, apply the product to your face and neck area by vigorously rubbing the brush in a circular motion around the areas that you’ll shave.
This will loosen up and potential ingrown hairs, moisturise your skin and create a nice base from which you can begin your wet shave.
Shaving the correct way
While shaving isn’t exactly rocket science, a few tips on how to shave correctly are well worth heeding.
An important part is to always shave with the grain and never against the grain. The former will lead to a smooth shave while the latter generally causes irritation of the skin.
Use your base of shaving cream, shaving oil, or shaving gel as a guide as to where you are at with your shave. This can stop you from shaving over the same section too many times, again causing potential irritation.
The post-shave moisturise
When you finish your at-home shave, it’s crucial to use a decent moisturiser to rehydrate your skin and to leave you feeling fresh.
We stock an array of professional shaving products, which you can find here. For shaving cream, we love Reuzel. It is highly moisturising and will help you get a close, smooth shave. It also smells great, which is never a bad thing. Buy Reuzel shaving cream here.
Nothing beats a professional wet shave
Shaving vouchers for men: While learning to shave proficiently at home is a great thing to do, experiencing a traditional wet shave from one of our barbers is a highly relaxing experience.
You can buy Everyman Barbers shaving gift vouchers for your loved one here.