Most of us when we wake up aren’t all that energized. The first thing we head to when we step out of bed is the coffee pot (for those of you who drink coffee) hmm, that does sound great right now! After that we head to the shower knowing we need to shave (if it is needed) but the thought of lathering our face, and shaving seems like it will take hours in that moment. Not true! This can be down in 12 minutes. Follow this Royal Shave routine and you will see the result. To add a little fun, time it and let us know how it goes!
First things first. Run a hot shower and wait for the steam to fill the empty cold air in your bathroom. Once you see this, hop in and soak your face in with the hot water and let the steam open your pours. we recommend bathing and shaving at the end so the pours on your face are 100% open. This will give you a closer shave because the skin is softer as well as the hairs in your beard.
1. Use a preshave oil.
Pre shaving oil is a type of lubricant that is applied to the skin prior to shaving your beard. The pre-shaving oil provides a closer, smoother shave and allows the razor to glide on the skin’s surface which reduces irritation.
We recommend:
The Art of Shaving Pre Shave Oil, 60ml ($19.95)
2. Use a shaving cream and brush
Another term used for this is to ‘lather the face.’ This causes a foamy substance on the beard in order to shave. Soak your brush in hot water and then dip it into the shaving soap or cream and swirl it around a few times to create a foam substance and then apply this to your face.
We recommend:
Taylor of Old Bond Street Luxury Shaving Cream Bowl ($15.95)
RoyalShave PB2 Best Badger 3-Band Shaving Brush ($42.95)
3. Choosing your razor
There is a very big difference between a cartridge razor, safety razor and straight razor. To read more about this go to www.royalshave.com Whatever tool you use, prepare it for your shave. Make sure your blade is sharp!
we recommend:
Safety Razor:
Merkur 34C HD Chrome Plated Safety Razor ( $49.50 )
Straight razor:
Royal Shave 5/8″ Full Hollow Straight Razor Exclusively by Dovo ( $159.00 )
4. Time to shave!
When shaving with a safety razor make sure the weight of the razor does most of the work. Hold it to your face like the picture below and pull down against the grain. If this is your first time shaving with a safety razor expect irritation on the face. The skin has to get used to this razor, the lather and everything that goes with this method of shaving. After a few shaves the irritation will be less. If there still continues to be irritation please look into changing your shaving cream. Repeat this shaving method twice to ensure a close shave.
With a straight razor when shaving make sure you pull the skin opposite to the direction you are shaving. Gently scrape down the face against the grain. There should be a slight gap between your skin and the razor. Please be very careful when using this technique it is easy to cut up your face.
5. Rinse and skin food
Once the shaving is over, rinse your face and then dab with a hot towel. Wait about 1 minute and then apply skin food to your face. What is skin food? Skin Food is a smooth gel-like liquid primarily used as an aftershave treatment. This will help with irritation and smoothness to your skin after your shave.
We recommend:
Geo F. Trumper Skin Food, 200ml ($37.95 )
Enjoy your 12 minute shave time!
