The Symphony of Shaving Accessories

I recently came across this study and thought that it might be of interest to many of you who experience irritation and/or discomfort when shaving.  A kind of How to Shave. While I had a couple of problems with how the study was conducted (more on that later), the overall conclusions about shaving accessories are certainly worth noting.  The study was conducted by a dermatologist at Wake Forest University, financed by Gillette (ne Proctor and Gamble).

The Study

The study was composed of 40 men who reported that they suffered from sensitive skin and irritation when shaving.  Two shaving regiments were designed.  The first was composed of regular bar soap to clean the face, canned shaving cream for beard prep and a popular razor.  The second was composed of a proprietary pre shave cleanser, a gel type shaving cream, a high end razor and a post shave balm.  The study participants shaved half their face with each shaving regiment for a period of 14 days.  The results of the study showed that the second regiment produced a significantly more comfortable shave.    They based it on three measures: the participant’s reports of less irritation, their skin was more hydrated and when skin samples were examined under a microscope, less flaking was in evidence.

Although I’m neither a demonologist nor a researcher there do appear to be a couple of things about the study that give you pause.  Fact that P&G financed the study.  Different razors were used in the regiments.  The same razor was used throughout the 14 days.  But in spite of these issues the results do pass the basic logic test.  If you prepare you face by cleansing it properly, use  high quality beard softening/ lubrication soap, cream or gel, use a hydrating post shave balm and you employ a high quality, sharp razor you will get a more comfortable shave, guaranteed.

Conclusions

The result of the study clearly demonstrates the following:

• Cleansing the skin prior to shaving removes all the dirt, oils and dead skin cells from around the hair follicle.  This improves the  hair water absorptions properties, i.e. fatting  and softening it up, enabling the razor to cut the hair closer to the skin without excessive tugging and pulling.
• Using a high quality lubricant (cream, soap or gel) will minimize tugging and pulling and will help hold moisture in hair during the shave.
• Along with the beard, skin cells and moisture is removed during the shaving process which can lead to dry irritated skin.  A quality moisturizing balm will assist and re-moisturizing and protecting the skin.

Although significantly increasing the time spent and the expense of your daily shave.  Paying attention to these extra steps will surely ensure that you get the closest most comfortable shave possible.

Technorati Tags: pre shave cleanser, razor, Shaving Accessories, shaving balm, Shaving Cream, shaving gel

Where did the idea of shaving come from?  After all a shaved face is not man’s natural state is it?  Unfortunately the guy who first thought it up hasn’t been around for about 100,000 years or so.  We can only guess, but it may have had something to do with hygiene or, more likely, a request from a charming Neanderthal lady that started the whole process.  With the why lost in the fog of history, we can trace shaving accessories and trends well back in time. 

The first shaving devise was a couple of clam shells used as tweezers to literally pluck each hair.  Not a good way to go IMHO and was eventually replaced with flint blades.  The oldest date back to about 30,000BC. Depending on where you live you might also use a sharks tooth or volcanic obsidian glass to perform the task.  The first major breakthrough happened in and around 3,000 BC with the development of metalworking.  Copper razors were frequently found in India and Egypt around this time period.

Greece

The guy who really gave shaving its’ first real shot in the arm was Alexander the Great and it wasn’t at the request of a charming lady, Neanderthal or otherwise.  He did believe that shaving gave one a tidier appearance but the real motivation was likely a deadly one.  He strongly recommended that his troops shave before combat to eliminate the enemy’s ability to “beard grab” during battle.  Alexander’s subjects use a novacila (see picture), to get that smooth clean shave.

Rome

Around 300BC Publicus Ticinius Maenas, a wealthy Greek businessman brought professional barbers from Sicily to Rome.  This introduced a whole new Roman craze for shaving.  Soon the wealthy had a skilled live-in servant to shave them.  The less well-off visited the tonsor, or barber.  They use thin-bladed iron razors, which are sharpened with water and a whetstone.   This type of shaver corrodes quickly and becomes blunt, so customers often got cut.   The tonsor fixed this by applying the world’s first styptic stick, a plaster made from a perfumed ointment and spider webs soaked in oil and vinegar. Even then the barbershop was the preferred meeting spot of the day, with Rome’s men flocking there daily to get the latest updates in gossip and news.  Young men about age twenty-one were required to have their first shave as part of an elaborate party-like ritual where the young man’s bead shavings were offered to the gods.   Scipio Africanus and Julius Caesar both preferred the hairless face look, although Caesar reverted to the old fashion plucking routine.  Julius’s army, unfortunately, had to rub theirs off with a pumice stone.   As shaving spread throughout most of the world, men of unshaven societies became known as “barbarians,” meaning the “unbarbered.”  The positive shaving trend endures until the days of Emperor Hadrain (76-138 A.D.); who would revive the fad for beards to hide some nasty skin problems.

Through the following centuries shaving goes in and out of style with some noted improvement in shaving accessories and materials.  The next big mile stone was the development of the precursors of the safety razor in the 1700 but that’s a story for another day.

Technorati Tags: Alexander the Great, barber, Ceasar, razor, shaving, Shaving Accessories

Came across this shaving accessories item the other day and thought it was interesting enough to post on the blog.  It’s an item called a Razor Pit.  What does a Razor Pit do you might ask?  It’s a product designed to extend the life of your razor to about 150 shaves.  That’s about 5 months.  Kinda caught my eye.  Always looking for ways to save a buck so I took a look.

The product is based on research that the company did into why blades get dull.  Much to their amazement and mine I might add, they didn’t get dull at all.  What caused a razor to stop cutting well was the buildup of shaving “residue” i.e. skin, soap, hair, etc.  These leftovers would cling to the razor’s edge significantly diminishing its’ effectiveness.  Using the Razor Pit cleans the blade and prolongs its’ useful life.

It’s a simple case with a silicon pad in the bottom.  You add a bit of shaving foam to the pad.  Push you razor down against the pad with a constant pressure and push the razor up rather than you usual downward stroke.  This action removes the entire shaving residue and you left with a clean sharp blade again.  It seems to be compatible with most Gillett and Wilkson razors.

The trick is that it’s made in Denmark.  Although they appear to ship to the US it’s always a bit more costly and complex when getting products from overseas.  At an exchange rate of $1.51 to 1 British Pound it will run about $30 plus freight and duty if any.  But if a set of eight replacement blades cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of $25, this little shaving accessories gizmo will pay for itself in pretty short order.

Technorati Tags: razor, shaving, shaving accessoires, shaving foam