A Good Shave

We, as men, have lost the ability to enjoy a good shave.

The art of the shave is something that I am only coming to appreciate now. Like much of what else we do in life, it is something that (for most of us men) must be done, and must be done every day; it's how we do it that makes the difference.

For years (20+) I have used a shaving brush and soap. I initially did it to be contrary; I now do it because I enjoy it. There's a process, of course: unlike cream that comes from a can reliably and in the same viscosity and mass every morning, shaving soap and later can be affected by a number of qualities: heat of the water, time spent making the lather, effort spent making the lather.

Shaving (for me) is always after showering, to capture the residual softening effect the water will have on my beard. I run the water hot (and thank goodness it comes hot on cold mornings!) and run the boar bristle brush under the water (this is one of those things that, in my opinion does make a difference: synthetic bristles are not the same) until it is saturated.

Then to lather. My soap is in a wooden dish purchased back in the mists of time from Crabtree and Eveleyn (whom, as it turns out, I have gotten most of my soap from). Taking the brush, I whisk the soap (always in a clockwise manner -don't ask me why) until a thick layer of lather has appeared. This is crucial: thin lather on the soap gives you thin lather on your face, which means a bad shave.

I then take the lathered brush and apply it to my face. It feels relatively warm still, which is a good thing. Again, coverage is a good thing: if I am rushing, I only tend to put only pass of lather on and regret it. Two is always better.

Then to the razor. Currently I use a standard two trac razor but am thinking of going to a straight razor for the experience (and the shave, which I hear is wonderful). The important thing with a trac razor is to heat it under the water: a cold razor gives a lousy shave.

As to the shave itself, it has to be slow. I don't always start in any one place, and I don't follow any one pattern (although looking things up last night on the Internet, who knew there was so many different names for which direction you go). The key is slow and sure - and rinsing off the old soap and hairs frequently. Rushing only leads to a less than optimal shave and cuts (yes, even with a safety razor it happens).

My shaving routine takes a little more time now that I have facial hair. The goatee is not so bad: the neck is always shaved anyway, and by this time the edges of goatee are well established so as long as I don't get too creative, it's not an issue.

The moustache is harder, not that it itself is hard to miss (it's above my lip, for goodness sake) but that there are a number of hairs just on the side and underside that need to be shaved if one wants a respectable handlebar. This (not surprisingly) is also something you can't rush: a false move and 2 months work is undone.

The process is then undone: the razor washed and wiped down, the brush rinsed and shaken out, the lid placed back over the soap.

The fact that I am growing a moustache has added another step to my shaving process: applying moustache wax.

The wax, from Firehouse Moustache Wax, is the finest I've every used (it was an extravagant splurge): dark brown, sticky, smelling of beeswax - the way a wax should smell. The trick is too remove a little, rub it between your thumb and forefinger, and then apply it. Not warm, it will clump in your moustache and leave uneven bumps.

I tend to work from my nostrils out to the end, both because the moustache is fuller at the nose (and therefore needs the fullest amount) and that too much wax at the ends gives one a funny curl that you can't eliminate during the day. Using my thumb and forefinger, I roll the wax and hair upward to work the wax in and get the hair off my lip. Sometimes, if it is a great deal of wax, I comb it; other times I go directly to the last step, which is the careful smoothing of the hair and the curling of the ends.

I have come to love this last step. I love the smell of the beeswax in the product (I love bees!), I love the way the hair looks fuller because of the wax. I love process of the vanity, I suppose, of a well groomed moustache.

The can lid is resealed, one last look at myself, and I'm off to the next task.

The process I've just described is one which, you'll notice, requires one thing: time.

We rush. Simple matters of personal care have become simply one more thing we have to do in order to go do something else "more important". Society has attempted to intervened, of course, giving us 3 trac razors, foamless shaving cream, and electric razors (Buzz Buzz Buzz and off I go).

But the reality is, shaving can't really be rushed. You can tell if someone had a bad shave: the hair on the face is uneven, there are missing spots.

It's also rushed in the sense that it is a pleasure we deny ourselves. To shave well is to stop the world and its press of affairs and demands and focus on one thing: having a good shave. It's ironic because we say in society that we want to "focus" on what we're doing, yet we regularly deny this focus in the seemingly smallest of matters to save two minutes.

For men, how we shave says how we feel about and treat ourselves and our time.

How was your shave this morning?