Paying Attention To The Details
Men’s Sunglasses & Face Shapes Guide
Men’s Guide To Business-Casual – The Summer Edition
Introduction
It’s estimated that during a lifetime we spend over 35 days shaving, so it’s fair to say that for most guys a large part of a grooming routine will centre around this most manly of morning rituals. Nothing starts the day quite like a close shave and that fresh faced feeling, but there’s still some debate as to the best way to achieve the perfect finish and the right tools for the job.
Some prefer a manual approach with warm water, a razor and a shaving product, others choose to let an electric razor go to work on that pesky stubble. But which is the best? I put both methods under the microscope to see if I could find the answer.
Wet Shaving
The method that combines traditional practices with modern formulations in order to get closer to your skin and deliver a smooth result.
The Pros
A ‘closer’ shave
The main argument you will hear in favour of the more traditional wet shave method is that it gives a closer shave. While electric technology has drastically improved over the last few years, I’d say that wet shaving still offers a smoother post shave feel. The reason? It’s all in the tools. With many brands now adopting 5 individual blades on their razors, you have the ability to shave closer than ever, for a smoother shave than ever before. Despite that sounding like advertising jargon, it’s true!
Barber shop luxury
Filling your sink with piping hot water, lathering shave cream over your face and going to work with your specially crafted razor – there can be a real luxury feel associated with a wet shave. And you don’t necessarily have to go to a barber shop, or spend a fortune to get it. With the amount of luxury products available online nowadays for less £20 you can get the tools you need to achieve the perfect wet shave from the comfort of your own bathroom.
Exfoliation a woman can only dream of
The fresh-faced feeling you get after shaving isn’t simply your imagination, when you shave the razor doesn’t just remove the stubble from your cheeks, it also removes the top layer of skin to provide exfoliation that’s just as effective as many scrubs on the market. Opt for a manual wet shave over an electric and your skin will thank you for it.
Cons
Replacement blade expense
While a £10 razor and four blades may seem a better deal than a £200 electric shaver, the long term costs can begin to mount up. Razor manufacturers get you hooked in with a promo pack, but then it can cost upwards of £15 for 8 replacement blades. The likes of King of Shaves are doing their best to try and replacement blade prices down, but if you’re a fan of Gillette or Wilkinson Sword (the two main high street names) then you’ll be looking at a continuous investment to maintain performance.
Nicks & Cuts
Taking 5 razor sharp blades to your skin before you’ve woken up properly is risky business, and there aren’t many guys who haven’t nicked their chin or cut their neck at one time or another. An unfortunate downside to wet shaving – even if you take the utmost care – is that you’ll more than likely take a nice chunk out of your face once in a while, especially if you’re a shaving novice.
Razor Burn & Irritation
Shaving in any format can cause skin irritation, and it tends to be wet shaving that gives guys the most grief. Whether it’s shaving cream ingredients, poor technique, a blunt razor or a combination of the above, you have to be wary if you have sensitive skin. There definitely ways you can avoid dreaded razor burn – like sensitive skin products and routine changes – but approach with caution if you have previous with irritation.
Recommended Wet Shaving Products
- Men-u Shave Creme 100ml
- Eshave Shave Brush – Black
- Kent Opaque Shaving Brush Set
- Merkur Chrome Barber Pole Razor – Stainless Steel
- The Bluebeards Revenge Luxury Shaving Cream Tub 100ml
- Anthony Logistics For Men Shave Cream 170g
Electric Shaving
Developed by technology giants like of Braun and Philips, Electric Razors use as much technology as flat screen TV’s to tackle even the toughest beards.
Pros
Quicker & more convenient
I mentioned previously that there’s an enjoyment factor in a long, luxurious wet shave – but when the alarm clock buzzes and you’ve got 30 minutes to shave, shower, eat and get out the door there isn’t always time.
Enter the electric razor. With our time more precious than ever, any technological advances that ‘shave’ a few minutes are more than welcome. That’s exactly what the electric shaving option offers – performance in half the time and in almost any location too.
An electric shave can be a wet shave
Just because they’re packed with the latest microchips and pressure sensors, it doesn’t mean an electric shave has to be a dry shave. Many of the high end models like the Braun Series 3 can also be used in the shower, or with water in the sink to combine the wet shaving principles with your new electrical gadget. The warm water softens your hair, while the technology goes to work on that stubble.
Great for controlling beard length
One of the advantages of a wet shave is that close, fresh faced feeling – but you might not want that. Some guys prefer to fluctuate between a clean shave and a short beard, and the electric option can help. Tools like the BaByliss For Men iStubble can get close enough to provide a clean shave feel, but also perfect the designer stubble look.
Cons
Immediate investment
Yes razor blades can be expensive, but a good electric shaver is going to require an initial investment of anything between £40 and £250. So if you’re looking for a budget option then it may be worth considering a wet shave.
However, do bear in mind that if you opt for a quality electric razor they will last for many months (even years) so you aren’t likely to have to fork out again any time soon.
Missing out on the shaving ritual
I have a massive vinyl collection, and while I do own an iPod and buy CD’s there’s nothing better than taking a new record out its sleeve hearing that crackle and fuzz as the music kicks in. And that nostalgic principle can also be applied to shaving methods.
Yes an electric shave is quicker, yes you can do it anywhere, and yes the top electric razors offer superb performance. Whether it’s the tradition, the routine, or that ‘smooth shave feeling’, sometimes an electric shave is missing that little something.
No room for error
I’ve tried shave creams, not been overwhelmed with the performance and thrown them away. A waste of money that may have been, but nothing compared to buying a new electric razor and not enjoying the electric shaving experience. If you’re going to ‘go electric’, make sure you do plenty of research and read plenty of reviews to ensure you’re getting a product that you’ll be happy with.
The Best Electric Razors & Trimmers
- Braun Male Shaver Series 7-790cc-3
- Babyliss For Men I-stubble 7890u
- Remington Dualfoil Flex & Pivot Shaver
- Philips Sensotouch 2d Electric Shaver With Clean And Charge System Rq1180/22
- Braun Wet And Dry Shaver Series 3-380
- Philips Vacuum Stubble Trimmer Pro Qt4075 / 90
The Final Word
Having tried both the electric and wet shave options many times, with many different products, I’ll be the first to admit that there’s probably no generic ‘right choice’ shaving method. It’s all down to preference. But what I’ve hopefully done with this article is help you decide whether you’re chosen shaving method is the right one for you, your skin, your budget and your time frame.
Oh and just in case you’re wondering, I prefer the occasional wet shave for its luxurious feel and skin care benefits, followed by stubble maintenance with the BaByliss For Men iStubble in between. Sitting on the fence or what!
Let me know whether you’re a wet shave or an electric man by leaving your comments below.
Men’s Grooming: Scouting For Girls (Products) – Part 2
The Ultimate Streamlined Grooming Routine
How To Tell If You’re A Men’s Grooming Addict
Men’s Grooming: The Benefits Of Using A Face Scrub
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I used to have a lot of issues shaving when I was a teenager. Razor burn, stinging pain, the lot!
I fixed it by wet shaving with a single blade instead of multiple blade razor (double edge classic style), by getting a badger hair brush and by keeping those important rituals like putting a hot towel over my face for a few minutes beforehand and keeping the razor clean and hot.
I had an iStubble for a while and it’s a good piece of kit, but it doesn’t get as close as I like so really its good if you’re too lazy to shave on a daily or every other day basis, cos once you get a bit of a beard shaving becomes much more painful and difficult.
Nice article! It’s good to see some good info about how a grown up man should shave. I bought my razors and Geo F. Trumper lather soap for a good few years now and it’s made such a huge difference. There’s also some great Proraso and D.R.Harris products that are very good for your skin (Proraso Skin Food has basically been a godsend for my shaving experience).
So yeah, my advice would be ditch the bottled shaving foam by Gillette and get a shaving brush and some good quality shaving soap and you’ll be set!
Couldn’t agree more. I quit using seven-blade-gyrating-vibrating-30euros a spare blade-wünder-razors years ago and my skin has never been happier.
I now only use cheap disposable single blade razors with lots of water. No soap, or only when the blade is losing its sharpness. Sounds a bit brutal but it actually isn’t. Train your skin for a couple of months and you’ll realise that it’s perfectly able to sustain this treatment.
It’s cheaper, better for your skin (no chemicals involved) and the shaving is really close : I shave before going to bed and still look fresh until mid-afternoon. The advantage is that my skin has the time to rest during the night : no red marks, irritation or skin burn.
And when I have the time I use my old straight edge razor with a shaving brush and Proraso soap. Once you get the hang of it it’s amazing how close this technique allows you to shave.
2 Pro-tips :
1) if you cut yourself use Alum stone. It’s cheap, lasts for ages, hurts a bit but helps to stop the bleeding. It also works *great* as a deodorant and is completelly natural.
2) to prevent skin burns : moisturise right after shaving . Shea butter is perfect. Again, cheap and natural stuff. Good for you and your wallet. One small Con concenrning shea butter : it makes your skin really shiny. But after a quic face wash you’re good to go.
Had to reply to say, absolutely!
I frankly stopped shaving throughout my 20′s as I would have terrible rashes on my neck, and the experience was frankly uncomfortable.
I’m 30 now and have started using a Double Edge Safety razor, taking time to prepare my face before shaving and using a brush to apply my shaving soap.
the experience is completely different, yes it takes more time, but I genuinely look forward to my shaving now.
multi-blade cartridge razors are a joke, learning to shave with a single blade razor was the best thing I ever did, the next step is a cut-throat!
it took me over 20 years to work out that when wet shaving, if you take the plug out of the sink before you start rinsing the razor, you won’t get told off so much by the wife for leaving lots of little bits of hair in the sink…
I’ve had permanent facial hair for over a year and opted for the Babyliss istubble to maintain the look at a reasonable length and keep it nice and trimmed. This week I had a little accident with the istubble and ended up having to shave the whole lot off!! Needless to say I now feel naked with the lower regions of my face having not seen the light of day for over a year now. I now await the regrowth of my manliness and remember why I always hated having a wet shave.
yeah i’d echo what cal mozzie says about double egdged (DE) razors. main pros are:
– very close shave
– more natural ingredients than your standard gillette chemical in a can
– less waste products so better for the environment
– cheap after the initial outlay – i just calculated that per shave my feather blades are sixteen times (!!!) cheaper than my previous sensor excel blades
There’s something about running a very sharp blade around my neck that’s always made me uneasy. I’ve gone with facial hair since I hit the point in life when it stopped looking comical (around 17 for me IIRC).
Been tempted to upgrade my current electric razor to the iStubble. I keep hearing good things.
Whatever razor I use with any number of blades, a wet shave almost always gives me tiny cuts on my neck (they don’t even bleed, they just look like the blood has been pulled to the surface), and putting anything on this area for a few hours after is practically impossible without it stinging heavily.
As such I use an electric razor almost all the time. It’s cheap and not as effective as I’d like, but on a budget it’s still quicker than wet shaving, and I only incur minor burn on my neck every so often (usually when I haven’t shaved recently enough, as the hairs pull more). I quite like the slightly stubbly look it gives me anyway.
I suffer the same issue – no cuts as such; just several small specks of blood always around the mid-neck region and sometimes on the chin, where the hair is most dense. I wonder whether this occurs due to a fundamental flaw in my routine?
Regardless, again like Paul, I prefer to have a few milimetres of stubble – I’ve got quite a young looking face so the “baby’s-arse” look doesn’t work so well for me. I’m a satisfied customer of the Babyliss iStubble.
I’ve had the BaBylis for about 6 months now and it’s one of the best gadgets I’ve ever bought. Definitely worth investing in quality though, I had a cheaper model before and it was dreadful.
I used the Babylis I-Stubble to shave my stubble nice and close. It’s a great piece of kit and the adjustable head allows me to go for a closer or thicker finish as and when required. BUT… I also use a wet shaver afterwards to give my philthrum and surround top lip area a clean finish and a blended look around my cheekbones. Dont like the edged-off look. I use a shaving oil for this and then after shaving, wash my face thoroughly with warm water and a good face wash, then rinse cold and then apply a shaving balm and a good moisturiser!
I only wet-shave. I used to get irritated skin because I would always forget to buy new blades when the others dulled and the red blotches were infuriating.
However, a nice way to sharpen your blades in a pinch before you can get some new ones is to run them up and down a pair of jeans, the tight fabric sharpens the blades and gives you some more time to buy new blades.
I know some people use this technique indefinitely saving them huge amount of money, but if you aren’t too keen on doing it all the time, then it is a nice saviour on possibly an important day when looking your absolute best is a must.
I use electric shave, because my skin is very sensitive, I generally cut my entire face with the razor lol… Philips saved my skin lol
straight razor, badger brush, poraso cream best thing to beat shaving rash!
I recently invested in an electric razor, after a rather nasty incident with a wet shave razor that resulted in me passing out. As such I carried out a lot of research prior to buying and decided to go for the Philips Aquatouch range. And I must say they are pretty amazing, obviously not as close as a wet shave, which is an unanimous concept, but certainly better in general for me. I suffer the very rare rash that some people have mentioned, especially around my Adam’s apple, but other than that I can’t complain. It hasn’t drawn any blood, so this is a massive positive step in the right direction for me,