Text
the fuss about wetshaving
I’ve made a fuss about discovering the lost (but becoming found) art of wetshaving recently. Some of you have written it off, some of you have been mildly curious, and some of you have taken up the mantle. For those of the middle group, this is the blog post I’ve been meaning to write for a while to help you out…mostly because random tweets here or there aren’t sufficient, and why e-mail the same thing to half a dozen people when they (and more) can read it all here? So here goes.
Here’s the place to start: If you shave frequently (i.e., you don’t allow your neck and face to be completely covered by hair, and you maintain that forbiddance more than once a week), are you happy? I mean, completely happy? If your answer is yes, then you can stop reading. You have my blessing to continue whatever it is you do, whether that be an electric, a single-blade disposable, a rusty machete, or a 13-bladed hellspawn of a razor.
What if you don’t know if you’re dissatisfied? Let me help you.
- Do you get frequent razor burn?
- Are your shaves less-than-close?
- Are you concerned about the goop you’re probably putting on your face?
- If you use a cartridge razor, are you sick of shelling out primo dinero for razor blades?
- Do you get acne in your beard area [in]frequently?
- Do you just plain hate to shave?
If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, are you interested in becoming a man again, grasping heavy metal and a razor blade that can spill your lifeblood with one wrong move? Do you enjoy thrill, danger, great smelling soaps and creams, and badgers?
Ok, maybe that wasn’t the right introduction….
I hated to shave. In fact, the periods in my life when I’ve had a beard reflect that hatred. Shaving takes time, takes money…it was just plain irritating. Wetshaving, on the hand, has turned shaving into an enjoyable experience, and indeed a hobby. I like the fact that the good of my shave, for the most part, depends on my skill with a razor and a blade - not with holding a gaping maw of blades against my face and praying that King Gillette doesn’t want my soul. I like the fact that I make my own lather; I can use a brush made out of badger hair and a fine, triple-milled soap, or a cream fit for an old-school barbershop, and whip up lather better than any canned goop made out of cancerous, space-age plastics. I like the fact that though it takes time to perfect my method, my skin, overall, fares better because hair is being cut, not the top layers of skin. Like most guys…I like the different gear I get to acquire and use. Finally, I like the cost. I can get 100 razor blades for $10. Try getting 100 Mach 3 blades for $10, I dare you.
The downsides, of course, are directly related to the upsides.
- It takes a lot of time to get good at this. Most of my shaves average 30 minutes. Fortunately, I’m mostly unemployed, so I have some time…but even on days when I don’t, I actually don’t mind taking the time to shave in the evening, or wake up half an hour earlier to shave. It’s relaxing and therapeutic in many ways, even if some shaves are less than stellar.
- The front-end costs are higher. But if you play your cards right, you can shave well for fairly cheaply. You can snag a $20ish razor off Amazon or many other retailers; you can snag a $20ish brush off Amazon; you can snag a $10-30 sample pack of blades from West Coast Shaving. You can get a really good shave cream from Bath & Body Works; or you can get a $3-5 puck of soap off Amazon. There are great aftershaves at any drug store or Wal-Mart.
- Of course, for many of us, the sheer variety of products is intoxicating…there’s a $75 brush I want…there’s a $35 bowl of soap I want…etc. Acquisition Disorder can bite you hard. I try to keep my out-of-pocket spending very low; if you think about the amount you would normally spend on shaving gear, you can easily spend less than that over time. Most of my shaving gear comes from Amazon, thanks to Swagbucks - just by searching Google I get between $10-$25 every month. Seriously.
- If you really, REALLY want to go hardcore, and have the cash to play with, you could go for a straight razor. Things can get pretty expensive if you want to get a high-end razor, a strop, etc., but they don’t have to be.
If you’re genuinely interested, drop me a line. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
