HELP!! Giving a presentation and sweating.
The purpose of this presentation is to show how the straight razor shaving skills that I have attained over the years can be used to teach the students at North West College.
I have been wet shaving with single edge, wedge, or straight razors for more than three years now. In that time I have learned to take this challenging and lost art to an area of personal satisfaction. I have taken the following from the Straight Razor Place beginners WIKI because I believe that it encapsulates what I am trying to achieve here; “Shaving with a straight razor is an art that needs to be learned. It has a steep, and long, learning curve. Chances are that your first weeks or even months will yield results that are, at best, on par with those of a cartridge or even a safety razor. Before you dive into the experience of shaving with a straight razor, you should spend some time to familiarize yourself with the basic concept of straight shaving... Learning to shave with a straight razor will not yield quick results. If your goal is to get a good shave quickly, you might be better off beginning with a safety razor. That said, straight razor shaving can be a deeply satisfying experience, and once you have mastered the basic skills, you will most likely find its results superior to any other shaving method.”
That being said let me explain why straight razor shaving is better than using a cartridge razor. A cartridge razor, which is a multiple bladed razor, work on the principle that the blade in front of the other blades lightly pulls the hair up allowing the preceding blade to slice the hair and so on until all blades have been exhausted. What this practice does is contribute to ingrown facial hairs, general razor burn, and nicks/cuts. An even pressure is needed throughout the shaving process and with cartridges and that pressure can vary because there is no feedback in the razor. Too much pressure and you end up with nicks, cuts, razor burn, and ingrown hairs. Too little and you feel that you did not get an adequate shave and five o’clock shadow shows up at 2 p.m. On the other hand a straight razor can only be used when little to no pressure is used as too much pressure can lead to the same maladies as above not to mention severe cuts. When a straight razor is used correctly the result is a silky smooth face, a five o’clock shadow that may not appear until the next day as well as decreased to no razor bumps. The same cannot be said for cartridge razors.
In the traditional barber shops the barber was responsible for maintaining his razors with strops and hones. In today’s barber shops most barbers will use either a shavette, that is a small straight razor with an injector type blade or the new Feather brand razors which differ from shavettes in that they use an injector that is twice as long allowing the barber to use the entire length of the razor to manipulate and flow over the contours of the clients face. In Oregon the OARs indicate that traditional straight razors can be used but must be treated as scissors. Wiped free of hair and soaked for ten minutes in a Barbicide solution. For sanitation purposes, cost efficiency, time savers I would recommend the Feather system. It is used and weighted similar to traditional straight razor except that it can be dismantled and thoroughly cleaned and the blades are removed between clients to alleviate the “infectiousness” of the razor.
To adequately shave a client the barber will need the following instruments:
1. Straight Razor with blades or a Traditional Straight razor (Sterilized according to code)
2. Mechanical Latherizer
a. Or a Mug and Brush with Cream
b. Creams should be gentle such as P160, Valobra, Cella, Proraso/Bigelow.
3. Towels
a. 1 for wiping
b. 1 for steaming the face
4. Thayer’s witchhazel
5. Styptic Powder or Styptic matches for cuts or scratches
a. Weepers will be taken care of on the second pass
6. Shaving Talc
Once all of the instruments are in hand let us look at them individually starting with the Straight razor. I do not own a Feather or Shavette but here is a shavette blade; now imagine a blade twice as long and as sharp. That is the size and scope of the Feather blade. Here is a traditional straight razor…. These are the parts which will translate to the Feather or shavette.
I will be passing out a chapter from a 1951 text on shaving which goes in depth on this practice. The book offers a traditional way of shaving with the right hand. I do not use this approach as I find that it complicates an already complicated practice. I take an ambidextrous approach and keep the point of the razor going toward the client’s nose using a 45 degree downward motion. More on this topic later.
The mechanical latherizer is still used in some older barber shops for neck and ear trimming so that the barber does not have to whip up an entire mug of lather for a small shave. For your purposes this may be something that your employer uses conversely the shops that I have been in use the mug and brush or hand and brush method. I will be demonstrating the mug/hand and brush technique. The purpose of the brush is to move the lather under the beard hair and lift it up so that the razor will cut the hair closer to the skin and allow for a longer time between shaves and a smoother, softer feel.
Towels are self explanatory and needed for hygienic reasons also to wipe spent lather and to apply talc.
Thayer’s witchhazel is different than the standard witchhazel which contains alcohol. Alcohol will dry the skin and inflame razor burn. Most men will know what this feels like when they apply after shave. The slap and burn as it is referred to which is uncomfortable. Thayer’s comes in light scents such as Rose, Lemon, and Lavender. It is used primarily as an after shave. Some companies may use other types of after shaves that contain alcohol such as Pinaud, Luck Tiger, or Old Spice.
Styptic powders and matches contain a chemical that clots the blood when a cut or nick happens. They are applied with a little water to the skin and the bleeding will usually halt. For what we call a weeper, a small nick that just slowly oozes blood, those will usually close with the application of talc or witchhazel. Do not apply styptic powder to these.
Shaving talc dries the skin and takes away some of the shine. It also gives a sealing effect on the skin to allow that some of the razor burn if any will be diminished. Some people will use Alum blocks to tighten the skin after shaving and before the aftershave is used. However Alum is not sanitary after one use and is expensive to buy for multiple clients.
You will notice that nowhere in the above list did I state that we would be using “canned goo” for shaving the client. The reason for this is simple. “Canned goo”, as we refer to it, contains only chemicals which can clog the pores and does not support the effective shave process. Conversely creams such as those that I mentioned earlier contain tallow and little to no fragrance or other chemicals. Tallow is a great lubricant and skin softener which does promote the shaving process. The razor is supposed to glide over the skin not skip. The use of tallow or other substances promotes this gliding.
For practice at home I recommend that ladies shave their legs using the same technique that they will shave the client and that men either follow suit or shave the face.
To prepare to shave the client I will give an abbreviated version here which I will cover more in detail as the text book lays out.
Soak your badger brush for 10 minutes in hot water prior to seating your client. Prepare your lather in a bowl and leave in either a crock pot or sink of hot water. Soak a towel in hot water, do not scald the client. Apply lather to the clients and neck. Wring the towel near dry so that is it not dripping. Drape the towel over the face and neck leaving the nose exposed. You may apply an essential oil or fragrance oil under the nose to relax the client. After five minutes remove the towel and wipe the face. Place the towel on the sink for later use. Reapply the warm lather. Starting on either side of the client, shave the client using the shave paths that are outlined in the text. I will further simplify these paths so be aware of that change. After both sides and the neck are shaved apply some hot water with your hands, this is to find if there are any rough spots that may need a second pass. Although in practice I skip this step because I always do a two pass shave which is one pass with the grain and one pass against the grain. The second pass must be done lightly as an against the grain pass will irritate the skin. Reapply the lather without the towel after the skin has been wiped and refreshed with warm water and towel. Shave this time from the neck up instead of the cheek down. After a two pass shave there may still exist a rough patch or two using warm water lightly shave these off. Use cold water at the end to close the skin and help to seal any nicks. Apply shave talc and witchhazel. Tend to the mustache/beard/goatee if asked by trimming, waxing, or other grooming.
Tips to remember while shaving the client:
- Keep you razor at a 30 degree angle to the clients skin;
- Use little to no pressure;
- Allow the razor to bend and flex your fingers so that you can understand what the razor is telling you;
- Do not go over and over the same spot, shaving is the act of removing the not only the hair follicle but the top most layer of skin. Repeated scraping increases razor burn and client discomfort;
- Use a good quality brush and soap; and
- Encourage feedback from the client.
Remember that this is a process that you will need to practice in order to perfect, and you will cut or nick the client and yourself in the learning process. Be mindful and listen to what your hands are telling you.
Please let me know if this covers the basics, if there is something that I should add, subtract etc. My presentation is Wednesday morning and I was just notified of this!!
