A Close Shave

Greetings Faithful Reader...

Shaving is one of those things that I do every day but not well. Usually when I'm finished, my face looks like I got into a slap fight with Wolverine.

Here's my first Christmas gift to you, O' Shaver! If you don't shave your face...please skip down about 4 inches.

1. Avoid shaving first thing in the morning. Your face would still be puffy due to the fluids that collect in your face tissues over a night's sleep, and the perfect shave would be hard to get. [editor's note - That is nasty...face tissues...fluids....ewwwww!]
2. Stubble should be wetted with warm or hot water before shaving. This swells the hair shaft allowing the blade to cut the hair, not your skin.
3. Use a sharp blade. A dull blade is responsible for many shaving cuts as it drags over your face and catches your skin along with the hair of your beard.
4. Thoroughly massage shave cream into stubble. A vitamin and Aloe Vera based shave cream will provide a close soothing shave and protect against razor rashes and burns.
5. Rinse the blade often in hot water when shaving and use slow short strokes. Take your time.
6. Shaving with grain means shaving in the direction of how the hair grows on your face. It is always best to shave this way. Shaving against the grain can cause redness, rashes, razor burn and ingrown hairs, which are all painful.
7. Use an exfoliate such as a facial cleanser or scrub to eradicate dead skin cells and open up the pores of the skin to prepare it for a close shave.
8. After shaving, apply an oil-free moisturizer to soothe and protect the face. If you prefer an after-shave, check the label for alcohol. Dryness and stinging sensations are by-products of most after-shave products whose primary ingredient is alcohol. It may feel good at the time, but alcohol based after-shaves are actually irritating to many complexions.

I hope that this is helpful and saves you the pain of screaming like the kid from Home Alone. If you don't shave your face...all of these tips should still apply to the legs, arms, and ears...basically where there is any unwanted hair.

Take your time, exfoliate, and apply moisturizer. Just a little tip from Vasilating...to you.

Embrace Randomness,
BV