Nick picking

Men have been at it forever. But many have still not got the hang of shaving. Till recently Shiva Kumar Thekkepat was one of them. But a recent educative experience changed everything for him

It used to be a ritual in our house. First, the barber, a wizened old man wearing a white cloth fashioned as a turban that sat rather jauntily on his head, bare-bodied except for a long white piece of cloth known as the mundu in Kerala, with a small piece of metal hanging from his right hand, would sidle in from the backyard and wait for my father to turn up from the innards of the house.

His thick white moustache, that contrasted rather dramatically with his dark skin, was an endless source of fascination for me. Even more interesting were the implements he brandished before me before my father made his appearance in the courtyard. He would take out a huge steel blade razor, that would immediately catch the sun and shoot a glint into my eyes making me scrunch them for a second. Ouch! I would then open them hoping the barber had turned the angle of the blade only to see him hooking a large brown leather strap onto a window grill and proceed to strop the razor, pausing occasionally to test its sharpness.

By now my father would have seated himself comfortably in an upright wooden chair preferably placed in a shaded spot, waiting for the Sunday ritual to begin. The barber would then produce a small brown-haired brush from his box, dip it in a large basin of hot water (placed next to my father's chair by one of the househelp), shake off the excess water and swirl it over a diminishing cake of shaving soap. He would then tilt my father's head back and proceed to lather his cheeks and neck till they were covered in snowy foam. Keeping the brush down, he would pick up the razor, give it a final swipe on his own forearm (as though giving it a silent command) and the slow meticulous process of shaving would begin.

It was a performance that never ceased to fascinate me, and I couldn't wait to grow up and be seated in that chair. The urge became particularly strong each time my father walked away post-ritual with a super smooth skin, his face glowing and smelling faintly of lavender and menthol.

Sadly, I never got around to sitting in that chair, and the barber did not live on to see me shave (even if it was in front of the bathroom mirror).

Times had changed.

But the chore of shaving is a man's lot even today though someone smart one day decided to add an element of style to it. Since then, it has come to be known as the art of shaving.

Not surprisingly, shaving has been a part of male grooming ever since prehistoric man first scraped a seashell across his cheek to make himself more presentable. Of course we men have come a long way since then but even with today's high-tech razors, men still end up with nicks, cuts and razor burn.

The perfect shave is what all men strive for every morning when they bring their razor up to their chin – and hope for an effortless shave that leads to baby smooth skin, no skin irritation, redness and that awful burning sensation.

But it's easier said than done. Why do so many men find it hard to achieve a perfect shave? Because proper shaving is a lost art. Somewhere down the line, when shaving came to depend on inexpensive, disposable razors than a good, precision-made metal tool, it became a mindless routine to be performed in a rush in the morning.

I am a case in point. I inherited my father's old Gillette razor and used it till I came across the twin-blade razors. The G razor had since been gathering dust at the back in some drawer till I started researching for this article when I realised that a dull disposable razor dragged across a layer of foam or gel on your cheeks is a step backwards, not a leap into the future. Now that men of all ages are paying more attention to their appearance, it's no wonder the hottest trend now in male grooming is a return to the traditional wet shave – the best quality shave you can get.

What is wet shaving?

It is just what the term implies – keeping your face wet with plenty of hot water before, and during, the entire shave. In the process of researching for this article, I learnt that you should always shave after a hot shower, not before, as a layer of hot water between your skin and the lather allows the blade to glide instead of drag on the skin. The latter is the main cause of irritation, redness and "shave bumps". However, if you have to shave without taking a shower, soften your facial skin with hot water for a few minutes and then pick up the razor.

"Wet shaving gives you more effective shaves and better-looking skin," says Eric Malka, co-founder of the American chain of shaving accessories stores, Art of Shaving. "The hot water opens the pores of your skin, relaxes your facial muscles and softens your stubble for more effective cutting."

Believe it or not, your stubble is tougher than the edge of a razor blade, and shaving "dry", or mostly dry as it happens with the help of the vast majority of shaving creams, foams, and gels on the market, means you're literally tugging on each and every hair on your face instead of neatly slicing it at the skin's surface and moving on without irritating your skin.

The basic tools

According to experts, the perfect shave has three ingredients: a good razor, a good brush and a glycerine-based shaving cream. The biggest difference between wet shaving and the way most men shave today is the lack of a shaving brush. A good badger-hair shaving brush is the single most important tool for a perfect shave – if you change no part of your shaving routine except to add a good shaving brush to the usual suspects, you'll be astounded at how much better and more enjoyable your shaves turns out, says Malka. "It's also the best possible way to prepare your skin and whiskers for the closest, most comfortable shave."

According to him, a shaving brush isn't just a paintbrush 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 brush into the shaving cream (or pour the cream over the brush, it depends) the bristles release the hot water which mixes with the shaving cream to create a silky lather that can be worked over your face as you move the brush back and forth and and up-down over your visage and neck. The combination of hot water and cream that takes an emulsified beating by the brush all over your face delivers a thicker, richer, more emollient lather that's impossible to attain minus a brush. (Most men simply squeeze some shaving cream all over their face, work it into the skin with their fingers and drag the razor all over the skin).

A brush with smoothness

A shaving brush also helps to gently exfoliate skin before the razor begins to do its job, which is to remove all the needless stuff between your face and itself. Finally, the up-down brushing movements lift your moustache and suspend it upright in the thick lather, which exposes the maximum whisker length to your blade as it skims along your face.

Genuine badger hair shaving brushes come in all sizes and hair types, costing anywhere from $25 for a basic pure-grade badger model to $550 for a monster-sized, high-end English hand-made product containing only the hair from the badger's neck, which some say is the finest and most rarefied version of water-holding bristles known.

Do you need a $550 shaving brush? Unless you're Mr Pitt, first name Brad, the answer is no.

"I've gone through a lot of shaving brushes over the years, and as long as you stick with a genuine badger hair brush (cheaper brushes are usually much stiffer and pricklier than badger, and not nearly as comfortable on your face), the only things that matter are size and price," says Malka. Bigger brushes hold more water and tend to whip up more lather faster, but really, the difference in lathering between a small $25 badger brush and a $550 giant is negligible as long as you know what you're doing.

Experts recommend the English-made Vulfix brushes, which are much more reasonably priced than a lot of high-end shaving brushes which don't reach anywhere close.

The next tool you need for wet shaving is a razor. And by razor, what experts mean is whatever high-quality, non-disposable razor you feel most comfortable with. Sure, disposable razors are modcons because that's what hotels keep handy for you in sealed plastic but they're extremely hard on your skin because the quality of the blades isn't as good as a cartridge razor, or better yet, the kind of razor that serious wet shavers use: the classic double-edged safety razor.

A double-edged (DE) razor consists of a single, disposable razor blade, and it's the same type of razor your father, your grandfather, and all those edgy masculine Hollywood stars, used. In the opinion of many shave-o-philes, the classic DE can give any modern razor a run for its money.

I concur – ever since I switched to using my old discarded DE razor.

Now I get much closer and more comfortable shaves, my face doesn't burn anymore, and the red irritated spots on my neck bid me farewell for good. But I also sneakily subverted the ritual by shaving the second round with my new 5-blade Gillette Fusion. The combination seems to work best for me.

Double-edged razors are also the best choice for African-American men, many of whom suffer from "shave bumps", which occur when their tougher hair are cut too aggressively by modern multi-blade razors, causing them to grow back underneath the skin. They are called ingrown hairs, says Malka. Switching to a DE and using a shaving brush to exfoliate the skin and prep the whiskers is good for men of all races, but African-American men, in particular, find that shaving with a safety razor clears up their skin and makes shaving a pleasure again.

According to Malka, the boom in men's grooming products has created a huge resurgence of interest in DE razors, and guys are snapping up vintage models on eBay for ten and twenty times what these razors sold for back in the 50s and 60s! But if you don't want to shave with a razor that's clocked up half a century, new safety razors are available that bring back the spirit of the classic Gillette adjustable DE razors, which many shaving connoisseurs consider the finest double-edged razor ever made.

The works

Okay, now for the perfect shave.

Place your shaving brush, razor and some quality shaving cream on the sink counter.

Get under the shower. After a nice, hot shower, fill the sink with hot water and let your shaving brush soak in the water as it fills the sink. Splash some hot water on your face to keep it maximally wet. The key to wet shaving is to keep your face as hydrated with hot water at all times as possible.

Remove the brush from the water, hold it upside down until water stops dripping. You are ready for the next step, an important one. If you've got a tub of shaving cream, swirl the wet tips of your brush around in a circular motion on the surface of the cream cake until you get a small amount of visible white lather. You don't need a lot of cream, but not too little either. After the first few shaves, you'll begin to get a feel for how much shaving cream is right.

Now 'paint' your face and neck up and down, over all areas you'll be shaving. Keep at it for a minute or so until you've got a thick layer of rich lather covering the shaving area. Then set your brush handle down on the counter and pick up your razor.

You should shave downward on your face and neck, along the direction of the hair growth. This will get rid you of most of the stubble without irritating your skin. If you want a closer shave, wet your face again, lather up again, and shave very lightly upward, against the grain. Most men's skin is too sensitive to stand up to an against-the-grain shave without leading to redness, razor burn, and even ingrown hairs, but if you can deal with it, go at it gently.

Once you're done shaving, rinse your face with cold water to close the pores, thoroughly rinse your shaving brush of lather, shake it dry and store it in a dry place on its handle, not lying down. This will let the bristles air dry without damaging them so your brush will last you 20 years or more. Do not place the brush in a closed environment as the damp may lead to mould growth.

Pat, not rub, your face dry with a clean towel, and finish with a good non-alcohol-based after-shave or moisturiser – any good moisturiser will be better than that stinging stuff.

Malka cautions: If you've been shaving with a disposable razor or one of the modern multi-blade cartridge systems, be aware that switching to a single-blade DE will require that you un-learn all the bad habits. Good shaving habits mean slower, more careful strokes, and guiding the razor's head over your face without pressing down on the skin. Repeat, without pressing down at all.

Once you slow down and stop pressing the blade against your face so hard, you'll find that you will get a closer, smoother shave. Paradoxically, using a lighter touch doesn't work nearly as well with modern multi-blade razors because they were designed to allow for the typical shaver who believes the harder he rakes the razor across his cheeks the closer his shave will be.

But with a DE, a lighter touch actually does result in a skin-friendly shave.

Does the whole idea of using an old-school safety razor give you reason to pause? Don't worry – if you want to stick with your Fusion, or Mach3 or other cartridge razor, that's okay. Just add a shaving brush and a quality shaving cream to the set.

With the DE, "If you end up with a few nicks after the first few shaves, don't worry, it happens to all of us. It's your face's way of telling you to stop being a knucklehead," says Malka.

"After a few shaves, you'll figure it all out, and then you'll wonder why you haven't been shaving like this your whole life. This is one of the guy secrets that separates men from boys."