The Shaving Brush
A great wet shave has three key components: a good brush, a good razor, and quality shaving cream and/or soap. A good badger-hair shaving brush is probably the single most important factor in getting the impeccable shave - if you change no part of your shaving routine except to add a good shaving brush to the mix, you’ll be astonished at how much better and more enjoyable your shaves become. A decent brush - the best are made of badger hair - absorbs hot water and then, after you dip the tip of the brush into your tub (yes, not a can, but a tub – I’ll explain later) the brush releases and mixes the hot water with the shaving cream as you glide the brush back and forth across your face and neck in an up-down motion. The combination of hot water mixing with the cream and getting beaten by the brush all over your face delivers a thick, rich, balmy lather that’s impossible to get otherwise. A shaving brush also gently exfoliates the dead skin from your face before shaving, which gets rid of anything coming between the blade and the facial hair. Finally, the up-down brushing lifts the hairs and suspends them standing upright in the thick lather, which exposes the maximum hair length to the blade as it skims along your face.
The finest genuine badger hair shaving brushes come in all sizes and hair types. We carry a variety of these brushes in different qualities and price points. The lesser quality brushes often use boar’s hair, which is much stiffer and pricklier than badger, and not nearly as comfortable on the face. The bigger the brush and the higher density badger hair means it will make better lather faster and more easily. The process of lathering is very simple: soak a brush in a sink full of hot water for a second or two, dab some shaving cream on the tips, and then swipe it up and down on your face and neck till you work up a thick, dense layer of lather. Now you are ready for the razor.
The Razor
When we talk of the razor, we are not speaking of the disposable type. We are talking about the old school double-edged classic safety razors and straight razors. We have a variety of both types in the store and will be able to help you choose one that is right for you. A double-edged razor is the kind that takes a single, disposable razor blade, and it’s the same type of razor that your father or your grandfather may have used in their days. A double-edged razor will give you a closer and much more comfortable shave. Your face will not burn and there will be no red irritation anywhere. We carry a good range of extremely high quality precision-made safety razors and platinum coated blades from the German company Merkur. There are the classic safety razors as well as the deluxe “Vision” – a very futuristic model for our times.
Shaving Cream or Shaving Soap
Shaving cream is a substance that is applied to the face or wherever else hair grows, to provide lubrication and avoid razor burn during shaving. Shaving cream is often bought in tubs or tubes. Creams that are in tubes or tubs are commonly used with a shaving brush to produce a rich lather for a wet shave. The typical cream itself commonly consists of a mixture of oils, soaps, wetting and foaming agents, and water or alcohol; manufactured under carefully controlled conditions to ensure proper pH and consistency. A hard shaving soap is used with a shaving brush to create lather for shaving. For soap in the form of a puck or bar, the brush is first soaked in water and then swirled vigorously over the surface of the soap, causing moist soap to coat the brush's bristles. The brush is then transferred either to a separate bowl or to the shaver's face to be lathered. Shaving sticks are typically used by rubbing the exposed end of the stick across the shaver's face, coating the face with soap. The soap is then lathered with a moistened brush. Owing to their compact form and ease of use, shaving sticks are popular for use while traveling.