Thread: Has your attitude to shaving changed?

I used to view shaving as a necessary evil, just a job that needed doing as fast as possible with canned foam and a cartridge razor.
However now that I am using a straight razor, I really enjoy the whole shaving ritual.
Hot towels, pre shave oil, making a good lather, stropping the SR and lathering up my face, shaving then alum block and aftershave balm. Sublime experience, and great Zen time for me.

Have any of you guys felt the same?

Yes. Definitely my meditation time.

I haven't stopped faceterbateing for the past 30 years [emoji4]

I enjoyed it before, with my disposable Bic twin blade and can of Gillette gel, and I enjoy it now. Like Outback, the only difference now is I faceturbate. And truth be told, probably more than 60 times a day.

I'm just disappointed that I only discovered the joys of wetshaving after 35 years spent with a cartridge.

I now look forward to shaving.

Shaving the way most of us do is purely for pleasure.

There are other ways to remove hair without all the fuss and bother.

We do this because we like the ritual and the results.

The results should always be the goal. The objectives of stropping, lathering, honing, etc. are what get us there.

I have always hated shaving. In high-school I would occasionally get in trouble for having too much facial hair because I never really bothered doing it more than once a week or so. The conservative Christian school had rules about such things. In college I stopped using aftershave and shaving cream. I never got much benefit from them and aftershave aggravated my sinuses. I disturbed some girls in the lounge area once by shaving using a razor and a paper towel. I got a pretty decent shave from it. At the time I wasn't landing at home for very long usually just long enough to sleep and up and gone for early classes then work then out so shaving had to be done when and where ever. Eventually that lead to various degrees of not shaving. Goatees happened but were usually short lived, and almost inevitably I would end up growing the full beard with sparse cheeks and random hairs up to my eyelids.

I had a barber that used a straight razor on me and when after he was done he used beard oil. The beard oil was a revelation. No more tangles and it smelled like heaven. So since my wife was into oils I did minimal research and started making my own. I figured if I am going to go to the lengths of oiling it I should probably shape it up. I now have a goatee again and instead of hating to shave it is something I look forward to and enjoy. I haven't gotten to super smooth, and definitely not super smooth without cuts yet but still I enjoy the process. I may even add to the process just for the ritual/pampering of it. My wife has never seen me clean shaven. Who knows I may up and surprise her one of these days. It will throw a lot of people off if I do that. I don't particularly like the way my face looks that way but it might be good to hit the restart button on my facial hair again soon.

Before the straight, shaving was just another chore that I did.
Now, I look forward to shaving and often plan out the shave during the day.
It's a bit of a psychotic obsession...

That is the other thing. It is shaving, for crying out loud it isn't a hobby, it isn't a fascination, it is scraping whiskers off your face. Yet, I joined a forum, spent a fair amount of money for me at the time, continue on despite cuts and pretty bad razor burn a few times, I try new things, buy new things, and honestly look to improve the way I do things. I went from hating it and cutting it to the least possible effort to really a complicated and involved process that I kind of look forward to.

I tend to oscillate between two outlooks:

1. Pragmatic: I want to shave and be done. I don't have time every other day to spend 30 minutes basking in the zen of the straight shave. When I'm feeling pragmatic, I strop my razor, quickly lather, shave, and get on with my day. I think shaving with a straight and lathering with a brush can be very pragmatic. Much of the pageantry we like to do is not necessary.

2. Shaving Zen: I want to enjoy the shave. I use a hot towel, maybe some pre-shave oil, and spend some time enjoying the experience of stropping and then shaving. I'll usually do multiple passes. Put on some music.

I tend to be pragmatic during the week. I usually enjoy the experience more on weekends.