How to Shave With a Safety Razor

Men's shaving has changed a great deal in the last 100 years. With plastic disposable razors emerging as the norm for most men, the lost art and close shave of a safety razor has been lost on an entire generation. But the old-fashioned kind of shaving can be done the way your grandfather used to shave by mastering a few techniques.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Safety razor
• Shaving lather

1. Prep your beard. Shaving with a softened and moistened face is best for the skin. This can be accomplished by shaving right after a shower, or by holding a wet towel over your face for a minute or two.

2. Lather your beard. If you are using methods common to the safety razor, take a small amount of shave lather in a cup and dab it with a shaving brush. Use the brush to lather your entire beard evenly with a thick layer of shaving cream.

3. Angle the razor at a 30 to 45-degree angle to your face.

4. Shave with the grain of the hair shaft, angling the safety razor as far away from you as you can while still getting a shave.

5. Go back over the areas of your beard with the razor after you re-lather your face. Unlike a plastic disposable blade, the safety razor is meant for beard reduction, not a clean shave. Going over your face multiple times will gradually allow for a closer shave than one pass with a modern blade will afford.

6. Rinse your face with cold water once you have finished shaving. Dab your clean face with aftershave.

Tips & Warnings

• Because of the weight of the safety razor, very little pressure is required to obtain a smooth shave.
• An experienced shaver may be able to shave against the grain, but you risk cutting your face and forcing ingrown hairs.