What man hasn't watched an old western and wondered what it would be like to go to a barber and get a luxurious straight razor shave complete with hot towels and after shave? We all have, but unfortunately you will have to search to find a barber that still offers shaves and it will probably cost you a pretty penny at some fancy beauty parlor masquerading as a barber shop.
Wet shaving has gained much in popularity in recent years for many reasons. And there are lots of benefits to shaving the way dad and grandpa used to. One of the most important reasons, especially today, is that Double Edge razor blades are much, much cheaper than the almost criminal price of cartridge blades. In some cases you can get 50-100 double edge blades for between 10-15 dollars. And because you can use both sides of the blade you get double the service. A good double edge blade will last twice as long as a single cartridge blade, and give a better shave to boot.
One of the top sources on the internet for all things wet shaving is Shave My Face, they have everything you need to get started wet shaving and a large, thriving forum community.
The Manly Art of Wet Shaving
The perfect shave has three ingredients: a good razor, a good badger bristle brush, and glycerin-based shaving cream. But the biggest difference between wet shaving and the way most guys shave today is the use of a shaving brush. A good badger-hair shaving brush is the single most important ingredient in getting the perfect shave -- if you change no part of your shaving routine except to add a good shaving brush to the mix, you’ll be astounded at how much better and more enjoyable your shaves become.
Take it from me using a fine badger hair brush to brush high-end English shaving cream that smells like fresh-cut violets onto your face and neck isn’t just about treating yourself nicely after years of the ol’ slice’n’dice. It’s also the best possible way to prepare your skin and whiskers for the closest, most comfortable shave.
A shaving brush isn’t just a paint brush for your face. A good brush – and the best brushes are made of badger hair and start at $25 – absorbs hot water and then, after you dip the tip of the brush into your tub (yes, not a can, but a tub – I’ll explain later) the brush releases and mixes the hot water with the shaving cream as you skim the brush back and forth across your face and neck in and up-down motion. The combination of hot water mixing with the cream and getting beaten by the brush all over your face delivers a thicker, richer, more emollient lather that’s impossible to get with your fingers alone. A shaving brush also gently exfoliates, or removes the dead skin, from your face before shaving, which gets rid of anything coming between the blade and your whiskers. Finally, the up-down brushing lifts your whiskers and suspends them standing upright in the thick lather, which exposes the maximum whisker length to your blade as it skims
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