Today’s gratitude isn’t for something grand or deep or insightful. Today’s gratitude is for the fact that there is still limited access to a lost art of masculinity from a bygone era.
Today, I’m grateful for the shave.
Now, if you believe what you see on TV or in magazines, all modern men shave in their stainless steel bathrooms with their pristine drugstore shaving products lined up on the counter. Their quadruple bladed razor always gleems like new, and every shave results in revealing the facial skin of a 19 year-old fashion model. The reality of the daily shave is actually far less glamourous.
While shaving products – especially razors – have gotten far better over the years, and therefore safer, the ceremony of the shave has all but faded. So, my first acknowledgement of gratitude today is for a better shave at home. To accomplish this, take a little time – and just a little bit more money – and find a great badger-hair shaving brush. This brush should come with a stand that holds the brush up off the counter so that it can properly dry between uses. Badger hair has great properties of being both soft to the touch, but strong enough not to wilt under the weight of a heavy lather and a heavy beard. Lathering your face with a brush serves two purposes – it helps to lift and stand-up your whiskers so that when you start to shave, you can get a cleaner, closer cut; secondly, it feels great. The second thing you will need is a shaving mug to hold your lather, and a shaving soap or cream that you mix with warm water in the mug to make your lather. Proper shaving soap or cream will both lubircate your face for a smoother shave, but it will also help condition your skin too. Part of the fun is experimenting with what shaving products work best for you. And while there’s nothing inherently wrong with drugstore shaving gels and foams, they serve a good “everyday” purpose because they’re quick, easy, and serviceable. A shave with a brush and lather that requires mixing in a shave mug takes a bit more time, but the experience is more than just a bit better.
The question of the razor is somewhat trickier. Let’s be honest: most guys aren’t necessarily trained in the handling of a stone-sharpened straight razor. We’re 3 generations deep into take-home safety razors encased in grippy, rubberized handles that are everything from battery-powered to self-lubricating. These razors are fine – some are more than fine. But like most things – from cars to cooking – manual is better. For the best do-it-yourself shave, learning how to sharpen and use a straight razor has no equal. It’s elegant and precise…and the tiny possibility of cutting the hell out of your face makes it more than just a little bit exciting.
This brings me to the NON do-it-your-self shave. There was a time when getting a haircut meant getting a shave too. I have asked some of my friends and acquaintences if they have ever had a shave from someone else before, and a striking majority said that they hadn’t.
That’s gotta be a crime.
Getting a shave is a beautiful slice of civilization. It is refined and relaxing, beneficial and an art. It is sublime. And let me say that if you have never gotten a shave, do something for yourself and give it a shot.
Here’s what to expect, and why it is enjoying a resurgence.
First, you’ll be reclined in the chair. Depending on the quality of the establishment and experience of the one shaving you, the back of your head/neck will be cushined while you are lying back. Next, your face will be wiped with a cool, damp towell as a means of clearing any dirt or debris from your beardy visage. Once cleaned, a hot, wet towell will be wrapped around your face covering your neck, chin, cheeks, mouth, eyes and forehead. Your nose will remain uncovered so that you can still breathe. The purpose of the towell is to open your pores and soften the beard. Also, it feels great. After a few minutes, the towell will be removed and your face may or may not be wiped cool again. Next, warm shaving lather will be dispensed from a specially designed dispenser, and applied to your face. This will likely be done by hand so that your attendant can learn the shape of your face and the direction your beard grows. Once lathered, the shave will begin. First at the neck, up to the jaw-line. Then the cheeks and sideburns. Third will be the upper lip, and finally the chin. Next, your attendant will manually feel for rough spots on your beard that he might have missed, and shave those too. Once completed, another hot towell will cover your face. You may not be awake anymore. After a few minutes, the hot towell is replaced by a cold towel. This helps to reclose your pores and invigorate you. With this towell, your face will be cleaned of any leftover shaving lather. A splash of aftershave will tighten and cool your skin yet again, and a light dusting of talc puts the final, calming touch on the shave. Your attendant should take their time. Just keep your eyes closed and relax. You don’t need to help them, and they’ll tell you if you do. The sensation for the first-timer will be weird. Since you’ve not been shaved by a single blade before, it might feel uncomfortable initially. But this will change within a few shaves, if not within a few minutes. Also, different practitioners are better than others. I would encourage you to try a few until you find one who best suits your tastes.
His hands are a blur!
My favorite place to get a shave is in New York at the Art of Shaving on Madison Ave. There are several of these shops all around the country, but the Russian man running that one is an artist. It’s like I was being shaved by Edward Scissorhands.
A great shave is more than grooming. It’s as much a sensory experience as the coffee I’ve written about before. It’s about the arc of the straight razor and sound of it being honed on a leather strop (strap). It’s the warm lather and long, satisfying drag of the blade across the beard. It’s the hot, languid towell juxtaposed with the sharp, cool sting of the aftershave. It’s 20 minutes of grown-up time out. For me, it is the occasional activity that helps remind me how much better it is to be older; that the angst and restlessness and hesitancy and hypothesising of being young has given way to a knowing acceptance and an earned sense of peace.
From Left to Write 