Making the switch from a cartridge/electric razor to a safety razor can be pretty intimidating. I think a lot of men get interested in wet shaving because they have probably heard it provides a closer shave, is much more affordable and it just has a cool old-school masculine look to it.
But unfortunately, I hear from guys all the time that say they just haven't made the switch to a safety razor because it looks too intimidating. So today I want to focus on why guys actually struggle with a safety razor and hopefully make wet shaving a little less intimidating and help you get that perfect shave.
Wet shaving certainly takes a little patience and practice, but it's not rocket science. A successful wet shave has a pretty structured process and most of the mistakes men make while using a safety razor can easily be avoided with just a little knowledge. Because even though each man has a different face shape and hair texture, there are just some fundamental rules you need to follow.
Let's do this.
Mistake #1 - Insufficient Pre-Shave Preparation
Inadequate pre-shave preparation is easily one of the most common mistakes men make when they begin using a safety razor. Why? Because most men have been using a cartridge razor for years and shaving has always been more about speed and convenience than quality.
I want to make something clear though: it doesn’t matter if you are using a safety razor, cartridge razor or an electric razor -- prepping your face before a shave is essential. Don’t skip this step.
So what exactly is the point of a pre-shave prep? It should accomplish 3 things:
- soften the hair follicles
- hydrate the face
- clean the face
It may take you some trial and error to figure out the exact pre-shave routine that works best for you. My pre-shave routine might seem basic, but it works perfectly for me.
First thing I do is take a nice hot shower. If I don’t have enough time for a shower though, I wash my face with warm water (no soap) for a minimum of 30 seconds.
Second step is I wash my face at the sink with warm water AND soap. Two important things to note about this step.
- Use a soap that is made specifically for the face. Hand soap or generic body soap will dry out your skin and is much more likely to irritate your face. Facial soap is much softer on your skin. Your goal is to clean your face without stripping away your natural oils and drying out your face.
- Also, make sure not to scrub too hard whether your are using your hands or a washcloth. Vigorously scrubbing will only irritate your skin. Yes, barbers use hot washcloths to prep your face for a shave, but that is just to soften the beard. They aren’t vigorously scrubbing your face trying to get it clean.
Lastly, I put on a thin layer of a pre-shave oil. Pre-shave oils will help give your face just one more layer of protection for your skin while also helping moisturize it. Lots of men don't do this step, but I have found it is a very important step in helping prevent irritation and razor burn.
Follow this pre-shave prep routine next time you shave and you just might be shocked at how much these simple steps can improve your shave.
Mistake #2 - Using a Poor Quality Lube or Lather
You can buy the best safety razor and blades for your face, but you will still get a substandard shave if you use a low quality lather with questionable ingredients. Using a poor quality lather will always have a negative impact on your wet shave no matter how good of a razor and blade you use.
First of all, just stay away from propellants, aka anything that comes in a pressurized can. They have terrible ingredients and will dry your skin out. Aerosol shaving creams and gels may be cheap and convenient to buy, but they will leave your face dry and deliver shoddy performance. Pick-up a propellant lather next time you’re at the drug store and read the ingredients. It will shock you what you’ve been putting on your face...
Don’t worry though, there are plenty excellent quality, affordable lathers available. It used to be difficult to find a quality shave soap, cream or oil. But this little store called Amazon, and other online shaving boutique stores, have made it extremely simple for men to buy excellent products to use. There's really no excuse to settle for the products sold at drug stores or grocery stores anymore.
Do keep in mind that not all soaps, creams and oils are created equally though. While we do recommend some products over others, it’s not as simple as us recommending 1 product for every man to use.
It takes some research to figure out whether you should use a soap, cream or oil and also what brand works best for YOUR face. But just be patient, do some research, pick a product with great ingredients, test it out and that’s all you can do.
Mistake #3 - Shaving Against the Grain
Most men have heard they shouldn’t shave against the grain, but many still accidentally make the mistake. Why? Because very few men really get a good lesson on how to determine grain direction.
Knowing how to shave with the grain on the face is pretty intuitive because the grain direction on your cheeks, jaw and above the lip typically faces downward. The neck is an entirely different story though.
Lots of guys get razor burn on the neck because the hair actually grows in an upward direction on a majority of the neck but they still shave in a downward direction. So when they make a pass downward on their neck with the razor, they are actually shaving against the grain. This is a big no no and causes major irritation, cuts and razor burn.
Still confused about what against the grain or with the grain means? Check out this cool informational video from Gillette on how to identify the grain of your beard.
Mistake #4 - Shaving Over Skin Without Lubricant
We are going to make this one quick: do not ever shave over skin that does not have some type of lube on it. Lube/lather is the only barrier that protects your skin from the razor blade. Without lube or later, the blade is essentially taking a very thin layer of skin off your face. Ouch!
Mistake #5 - Repeating Strokes
Remember how we just talked about not shaving over skin that doesn’t have lube over it? Well guess what? If you are making multiple passes over an area that was just shaved, it’s not going to have lube on it!
Lots of men form the bad habit of making multiple passes over the same area. It’s almost like you are double-checking to make sure you got all the hair in that area.
Stop shaving over the same area over and over without reapplying lube! Repeating strokes might be a speedy way to get a slightly smoother shave, but it will also will lead to razor burn 9 times out of 10.
If your face isn’t as smooth as you’d like after one pass, reapply some lather and shave again. It may add a few minutes to your routine but at least your face won’t feel like it’s on fire afterwards!
Mistake #6 - Excessive Lube
Most guys struggle with shaving over un-lubricated areas, but on the other end of the spectrum some men make the mistake of applying too much lube. The reason you don’t want to have excessive lube on your face is because it can either clog the razor and/or prevent the razor from effectively cutting the hair follicle.
This is probably one of the least common mistakes guys make, but it is worth noting. We typically only see this problem when guys use a cheap propellant shaving cream that is really thick. But you shouldn’t be using those cheap aerosol cans anyway so this shouldn’t be a tough mistake to avoid!
Mistake #7 - Applying Pressure
Some of the mistakes we have already discussed like poor pre-shave prep and shaving against the grain really apply to all forms of shaving. The mistake of applying pressure with the razor is really just unique to wet shaving though. You can get away with applying pressure when using a cartridge razor, but not with a safety razor.
Applying pressure is easily one of the most common mistakes men make when they switch to a safety razor. It’s also one of the toughest bad habits to break. Why? Because it’s really hard to change your technique and form when you’ve been doing it a particular way for years, if not decades. After that many repetitions, it just feels natural to apply pressure.
Make no mistake, there is no benefit for. Pressing down with your razor. It does not give you a closer shave. It only irritates the skin. Applying pressure essentially removes the top layer of skin aka razor burn.
Unlike cartridge razors which are made with cheap, light plastic, a good safety razor should not require any additional pressure because the weight of the razor should be doing the work. The razor should have enough weight on its own to exert the necessary pressure.
It's going to take a lot of practice and focus, but you really have to work on correcting this mistake if you ever want to get good at wet shaving. Once you figure out how to allow the blade to glide across your without applying pressure though, it is smooth sailing.
Mistake #8 - Not Using the Optimal Blade Angle
Another important but difficult lesson wet shavers must learn is what angle they should hold the razor/blade. We can blame cartridge razors for this bad habit too because they allow you to hold the razor at just about any angle while shaving. How is this possible?
Well the head in a cartridge razor swivels and contours to the shape of your face, Safety razors don’t. It is up to the safety razor user to determine the optimal angle and apply it.
Instead of us trying to describe to you what angle (30 degrees) you should use, we figured it would be easier just to show you a video. Luckily, Razor Emporium made a really good instructional video about what angle to hold your safety razor.
Mistake #9 - Using the Wrong Blades
If you bought a sports car and wanted to take it to the racetrack, what kind of tires would you put on it? Some racing slicks made for optimal speed and performance or some tires made for safety that you might see on a minivan?
You should have the same approach when looking for blades to buy for your safety razor. You could buy the perfect safety razor, soap and brush for your face, but if you use low-quality blades that are not right for your face, all those other fancy tools won't make much of an impact.
By the way, we are definitely not saying go out there and buy the most expensive or sharpest blades you can find. That’s not it at all. You need to find the RIGHT blades for your face.
Definitely read up some reviews and what blades are best for certain face and hair types, but you're still probably going to have to do some experimentation to find your optimal blades.
Some guys really enjoy very sharp and fine blades while other guys will prefer a slightly more dull and thicker blade. The most expensive blades are rarely the best for your face.
There are numerous high-quality razor blades options available on the market. And they are extremely affordable. So test a few different brands out and find out what type is best for your face.
Mistake #10 - Not Changing Blades
Buying the right blades for your face and safety razor is important, but it is also very important that you change them out when necessary. Don’t try to get 1 more shave out of a blade when you can clearly tell it’s starting to dull or deliver an inadequate shave.
Why risk getting cut or bad razor burn because you are too cheap to change the blade? We find that most blades we use can last about 1 week with a daily shave. The cost per blade in most 100 packs is usually between $0.10 to $0.25 per blade. Is it really worth saving a dime or quarter and stretching a blade another week?
Don't be stupid and/or cheap, change your blades out when necessary.
Stay in Control of Your Wet Shaving Experience
The cool thing about wet shaving is that you have so much control over your end result. With cartridge razors, there's not a lot of areas where you can improve on the end result.With safety razors though, you are in control and can really improve the quality of your shaves by eliminating some silly beginner safety razor mistakes.
So if you've recently switched to safety razors but aren't quite getting the shaves you'd like, make sure you aren't making any of the mistakes we just covered. Once you've mastered these fundamentals, we are confident your safety razor will blow your old cartridge razor out of the water.
