Curmudgeonly Skepticism of Accepted Wisdom
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 2:33 pm
Skewering a Few Sacred Cows
I’ve been thinking lately that many of my own personal shaving experiences don’t comport at all with “accepted wisdom,” or what I’ll call “AW.” Not only SMF’s AW, but general wet-shaver wisdom. Here’s a few examples.
1. Multiple Pass shaving. A good number of men at SMF and elsewhere assert, to the point where I think it could be called “AW,” that a 3 or 4 pass shave, with re-lathering in between is the gold standard way to achieve the “best” shave. Yet this methodology doesn’t work well for me at all. I find that my fussy skin kicks up if I try to re-lather in between passes and then scrape a blade over and over my face. I do a lot better with excellent preparation (more on this below) followed by one-lather, one-pass, and some touch up on a still-wet but not re-lathered face. The allegedly “holy grail” 4-pass method, for me personally, simply leads to a red and angry result (albeit a very close shave).
2. Blade vs. Electric. Clearly the AW is that blade shaving is, simply stated, closer and all-around better than shaving with an electric. I frankly don’t find this to be true. I find them to be simply two different means (slicing vs. shearing) to the same end (a close, comfortable shave). For me, the key question is not blade vs. electric, but rather thorough vs. inadequate beard preparation. Regardless of your weapon of choice (blade or electric), I find that a close and comfortable shave can only be achieved after thorough beard-softening. Consequently, if my beard has been cleansed, hydrated, and lathered, a wet-shave with a late-model Braun gives me a shave that is fully comparable to a blade shave. Once again, my personal experience quite simply doesn’t align with the AW.
3. Electric “Break-In” Period and/or Switching Back and Forth Between Blade and Electric. Another AW that I’ve never understood is this supposed 2-3 week “break-in” period with an electric shaver. Tosh. I’ve gone long periods of time exclusively with a blade, then picked up a Braun and gotten the same shave as my last electric shave months/years prior. Likewise, I’ve gone through extended periods of switching off randomly between blade and electric, on a day-to-day basis, which seems to work just as well as “fidelity.” From this, I conclude that the whole alleged “break-in period” is just pure marketing. IMO, electric shaver companies cooked this nonsense up and sold it as AW, as a means of persuading men to stick it out until they’d MENTALLY adjusted to using an electric shaver (most of which were received as a gift, by the way.) I simply don’t believe that any actual changes to the beard or skin arise from switching to an electric shaver.
4. Meringue-like lather vs. Beard Softening. I have found over the years at SMF there’s been huge emphasis on building fabulous lather as the hallmark of good beard preparation. The theory seems to be that if you whip the lather to a meringue-like consistency, and apply it carefully, then you’ve done good prep. Well. I think the creation and application of meringue-y lathers is a distraction and a side-show; the real emphasis should be on cleaning and hydrating the beard, not fetishizing the creation of monster lather. Some shaving sources (for example, the accompanying brochure to the Wilkinson Sword“Sticky” DE) recommend the exact opposite approach – i.e., using the thinnest of lathers. Further, in my view, as long as you have SOAKED your beard (shower, hot towel, etc.) for a few minutes with warm/hot water to the point where the beard is SOFT, then lather is altogether secondary (though still useful). I’m such an apostate that I’m firmly convinced you could do just as well with Edge or Barbasol as with a brush, provided you softened the beard prior to lathering.
5. Shaving Brush as Beard-Softening Device. I’m skeptical. I’ve never been able to go from dry face to softened beard just based on lathering with a brush. A brush will clearly add wet lather, which helps soften the beard to a degree. But, IMO, you’ll get a much softer beard and better shave if you cleanse, hydrate, THEN lather. The lather is probably no more important that the palm of your hand, a sponge applicator, or any other means of delivering lather to the face.
6. Shaving Brush as “Beard Lifter” and/or Exfoliator. Many brush advocates proclaim that vigorous lathering with a good brush will “lift” beard hair and exfoliate the skin. The exfoliation claim MIGHT have a grain of truth (but, given that you then drag a sharp steel blade across your face, I suspect that the brush is a bit player in terms of removing dead skin cells). However, I am beyond doubtful that the beard will be “lifted” by the brush any more than it would be by spreading lather up into the grain with your hand. And how, I wonder, might one measure such a thing?! No, this little bit of AW is wholly unpersuasive to me.
7. Opening Pores. This is another AW (like the electric “break-in” period and “beard lifting” brushes) that seems to me to be without any basis whatever in fact. Again, the key to good preparation is beard-softening through hydration. A wet, softened beard cuts more easily. Period. How does “opening pores” contribute to a softer beard or a better shave? Of course pores open as a natural consequence of applying the same hot water that softened the beard. But open pores per se seem to me to have nothing to do with achieving a good shave. Unless somebody with a dermatology background shows me that I’m missing something critical, I would tend to strike off this particular bit of AW as being utter nonsense.
8. Cartridges vs DE. The AW here at SMF is simple on this point: DE is better than cartridges. Period. Without taking anything away from DE, the fact is that the only objective ground on which DE’s are “better” is price. (And, OK, maybe environmental issues associated with the plastic carts.) It’s true that some of us have had razor burn and/or ingrowns from cartridge razors. It’s also true that millions of men shave happily with cartridge razors without any problems; furthermore, the current generation of cartridge razors (notably the Mach 3 Sensitive and the Schick Hydro) have made significant strides toward mitigating/eliminating the problems some of us have experienced. At the end of the day, other than price and the land-fill, the supposed DE superiority is purely personal preference masquerading as AW.
Overall, Then, What Have I Learned? How can I sum all this up? I’ve learned that I need assiduous beard-softening as a prerequisite to a good shave from any type of shaver. I’ve learned that, with such prep, I can achieve a good, comfortable shave with a DE, a cartridge razor, or an electric razor (used wet with lather). I’ve learned that I have learned that a lot of AW seems to get copied-and-pasted into the collective consciousness, without much scrutiny as to factual basis, or independent consideration of how well it works for each individual. At the end of the day, about the only AWs that I’d say are of much universal applicability or accuracy would be: (1) softened beards cut more easily and are therefore likely to cooperate better in providing a close and comfortable shave regardless of shaving implement, and (2) whatever shaving device you deploy, it should be clean, sharp, and in good working order. Beyond that, I suspect we each just have to find our own way in this business!
I’ve been thinking lately that many of my own personal shaving experiences don’t comport at all with “accepted wisdom,” or what I’ll call “AW.” Not only SMF’s AW, but general wet-shaver wisdom. Here’s a few examples.
1. Multiple Pass shaving. A good number of men at SMF and elsewhere assert, to the point where I think it could be called “AW,” that a 3 or 4 pass shave, with re-lathering in between is the gold standard way to achieve the “best” shave. Yet this methodology doesn’t work well for me at all. I find that my fussy skin kicks up if I try to re-lather in between passes and then scrape a blade over and over my face. I do a lot better with excellent preparation (more on this below) followed by one-lather, one-pass, and some touch up on a still-wet but not re-lathered face. The allegedly “holy grail” 4-pass method, for me personally, simply leads to a red and angry result (albeit a very close shave).
2. Blade vs. Electric. Clearly the AW is that blade shaving is, simply stated, closer and all-around better than shaving with an electric. I frankly don’t find this to be true. I find them to be simply two different means (slicing vs. shearing) to the same end (a close, comfortable shave). For me, the key question is not blade vs. electric, but rather thorough vs. inadequate beard preparation. Regardless of your weapon of choice (blade or electric), I find that a close and comfortable shave can only be achieved after thorough beard-softening. Consequently, if my beard has been cleansed, hydrated, and lathered, a wet-shave with a late-model Braun gives me a shave that is fully comparable to a blade shave. Once again, my personal experience quite simply doesn’t align with the AW.
3. Electric “Break-In” Period and/or Switching Back and Forth Between Blade and Electric. Another AW that I’ve never understood is this supposed 2-3 week “break-in” period with an electric shaver. Tosh. I’ve gone long periods of time exclusively with a blade, then picked up a Braun and gotten the same shave as my last electric shave months/years prior. Likewise, I’ve gone through extended periods of switching off randomly between blade and electric, on a day-to-day basis, which seems to work just as well as “fidelity.” From this, I conclude that the whole alleged “break-in period” is just pure marketing. IMO, electric shaver companies cooked this nonsense up and sold it as AW, as a means of persuading men to stick it out until they’d MENTALLY adjusted to using an electric shaver (most of which were received as a gift, by the way.) I simply don’t believe that any actual changes to the beard or skin arise from switching to an electric shaver.
4. Meringue-like lather vs. Beard Softening. I have found over the years at SMF there’s been huge emphasis on building fabulous lather as the hallmark of good beard preparation. The theory seems to be that if you whip the lather to a meringue-like consistency, and apply it carefully, then you’ve done good prep. Well. I think the creation and application of meringue-y lathers is a distraction and a side-show; the real emphasis should be on cleaning and hydrating the beard, not fetishizing the creation of monster lather. Some shaving sources (for example, the accompanying brochure to the Wilkinson Sword“Sticky” DE) recommend the exact opposite approach – i.e., using the thinnest of lathers. Further, in my view, as long as you have SOAKED your beard (shower, hot towel, etc.) for a few minutes with warm/hot water to the point where the beard is SOFT, then lather is altogether secondary (though still useful). I’m such an apostate that I’m firmly convinced you could do just as well with Edge or Barbasol as with a brush, provided you softened the beard prior to lathering.
5. Shaving Brush as Beard-Softening Device. I’m skeptical. I’ve never been able to go from dry face to softened beard just based on lathering with a brush. A brush will clearly add wet lather, which helps soften the beard to a degree. But, IMO, you’ll get a much softer beard and better shave if you cleanse, hydrate, THEN lather. The lather is probably no more important that the palm of your hand, a sponge applicator, or any other means of delivering lather to the face.
6. Shaving Brush as “Beard Lifter” and/or Exfoliator. Many brush advocates proclaim that vigorous lathering with a good brush will “lift” beard hair and exfoliate the skin. The exfoliation claim MIGHT have a grain of truth (but, given that you then drag a sharp steel blade across your face, I suspect that the brush is a bit player in terms of removing dead skin cells). However, I am beyond doubtful that the beard will be “lifted” by the brush any more than it would be by spreading lather up into the grain with your hand. And how, I wonder, might one measure such a thing?! No, this little bit of AW is wholly unpersuasive to me.
7. Opening Pores. This is another AW (like the electric “break-in” period and “beard lifting” brushes) that seems to me to be without any basis whatever in fact. Again, the key to good preparation is beard-softening through hydration. A wet, softened beard cuts more easily. Period. How does “opening pores” contribute to a softer beard or a better shave? Of course pores open as a natural consequence of applying the same hot water that softened the beard. But open pores per se seem to me to have nothing to do with achieving a good shave. Unless somebody with a dermatology background shows me that I’m missing something critical, I would tend to strike off this particular bit of AW as being utter nonsense.
8. Cartridges vs DE. The AW here at SMF is simple on this point: DE is better than cartridges. Period. Without taking anything away from DE, the fact is that the only objective ground on which DE’s are “better” is price. (And, OK, maybe environmental issues associated with the plastic carts.) It’s true that some of us have had razor burn and/or ingrowns from cartridge razors. It’s also true that millions of men shave happily with cartridge razors without any problems; furthermore, the current generation of cartridge razors (notably the Mach 3 Sensitive and the Schick Hydro) have made significant strides toward mitigating/eliminating the problems some of us have experienced. At the end of the day, other than price and the land-fill, the supposed DE superiority is purely personal preference masquerading as AW.
Overall, Then, What Have I Learned? How can I sum all this up? I’ve learned that I need assiduous beard-softening as a prerequisite to a good shave from any type of shaver. I’ve learned that, with such prep, I can achieve a good, comfortable shave with a DE, a cartridge razor, or an electric razor (used wet with lather). I’ve learned that I have learned that a lot of AW seems to get copied-and-pasted into the collective consciousness, without much scrutiny as to factual basis, or independent consideration of how well it works for each individual. At the end of the day, about the only AWs that I’d say are of much universal applicability or accuracy would be: (1) softened beards cut more easily and are therefore likely to cooperate better in providing a close and comfortable shave regardless of shaving implement, and (2) whatever shaving device you deploy, it should be clean, sharp, and in good working order. Beyond that, I suspect we each just have to find our own way in this business!