Ideal conditions for a great shave:

There are many things that you can do to make your at-home shaving experience better, and more enjoyable. The two most important conditions in prepping for a comfortable shave are heat and moisture. These allow the hairs on the face to soften and the pores to open. At Hermanos this is achieved with a hot towel (wet) – at home, the best time to shave is immediately after a hot shower. Second to that would be washing the face thoroughly with very warm water. Over and above these conditions, applying shaving cream with a shaving brush is ideal; the brush lifts the bristles of the hair on the face and foams the cream well. Skin also needs to be clean before shaving. Clean skin means a grit-free shave and less chance of bacteria and irritants in the air causing issues after the shave. A quality blade/blades and quality shaving products such as pre-shave cream, pre-shave oil, and shaving cream are really important.

Before starting a shave, some pointers regarding shaving technique:

1. Unless your skin is very hardy, shaving against the grain is not advised. So for most men, pay careful attention to ensure you shave with or – at most – across the grain. Against the direction of hair growth is likely to result in more ingrown hairs.

2. Stretch the skin – a smoother/flatter surface provides a ‘runway’ for the blade.

3. Be extra careful around contoured areas of the face ie. jawline, upper and lower lip, and Adam’s apple. The idea is to maintain a 30- 45-degree blade angle to the skin at all points.

4. Most men have a change in hair direction around the midline of the neck; remember to change the direction of shaving with the changing direction of hair growth.

5. When applying shaving cream with a brush be sure to use circular motions as opposed to painting strokes – this ensures the hair is lifted and shaving cream and moisture get underneath hair otherwise you are only coating outer bristles.