Guys, love it or hate it, shaving is a right of passage for us. Growing up watching big brother or dad smearing shaving foam all over their face before systematically clearing it away with a sharp blade, revealing a smooth chin save for a few red bloody patches adorned with little pieces of toilet paper to stem the flow. It looked so cool (well to me anyway...).
It’s not until you start hitting your mid thirties (or as I like to call it: very, very, VERY early middle age) that you realise that shaving has long since ceased to be a cathartic pleasure but a necessary part of the morning routine for those of us who either are (or at least perceive that they are) obliged to appear to the world with a smooth face when they arrive at the office. Often a time consuming drag and sometimes a rather painful experience, throwing up rashes, painful lumps (ingrowing hairs) and the nagging feeling that beards are starting to become cool again and maybe you shouldn’t be doing this at all...
I’d like to bring you a little joy back to your shaving experience with a few tips that I’ve found work for me (and all those I’ve recommended them to). Over the next few weeks and months I’m going to fire out a bit of advice to get your shaving back on a more pleasurable track:
Shaving Tip #1 Exfoliate. Just, exfoliate...
Saving the best ‘till first, this is the single most effective strategy I employ for a comfortable shave with very little chance of a hapless and bloody encounter. It seems to reduce shaving rashes, speeds up the shave (yes, even though you’re adding a step...) and just makes everything smoother.
Exfoliating (and this being a Vitru blog I would be remiss if I didn’t shamelessly plug the product I use for this: http://www.monushop.co.uk/products/vitru/pre-shave/Vitru-New-Skin-Scrub.html) is simply using a ‘scrub’ to clean away the dead skin cells on your face. You may have seen products like these on the shelves of your better halves and you may have even used them yourself as part of your skin care routines but using it ‘pre-shave’ is about as good as it gets.
The act of shaving (dragging a razor across your face) does a pretty good job of this in itself, so why exfoliate first? Because exfoliating wipes away all the dead skin cells first, applied with a circular motion it will also help to get your stubble nice and erect, ready to be taken out. This double whammy effect (clear skin, erect stubble) leaves your razor with a very smooth ride.
What are you waiting for? Need a shave? Go exfoliate, you won't look back...