An idiots guide to shaving

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to the Man Made salon in central London to meet with the lovely folk from Cornerstone, a fairly new shaving subscription service and sample some of their products. 

While I have tried the kit I received as a sample once (and I have to say, was impressed), I do want to try it out a few times before giving a firm view on whether I would recommend it (all of the signs so far are positive) so keep a beady eye out for that one coming up. What struck me however when talking with the founder of the company, Oliver was his passion for the products and for shaving in general. When we first sat down and I asked the very simple question, “why”, the response resonated with me. 

What was the response? Dad’s, you’re all pretty bobbins at actually teaching your sons to shave properly (I’m paraphrasing here). It resonated so much that I tried to remember if my own dad had taken me to one side and suggested any tips to avoid shaving becoming a pain in the neck (literally). Nothing, squat, zip diddly - there was no father/son bonding moment over a razor blade as the thirteen year old me removed the first semblance of bum fluff from my face.

That lack of knowledge has resulted in me shaving like an amateur (and suffering) for well over twenty years. While writing this blog has opened my eyes (and pores) to new techniques and products, I felt compelled to share with you the Cornerstone six steps to a smooth, comfortable shave (and this acts as a rather nice warm up to my actual review of the products I used).

These tips have been taken directly from the amazing shaving guide I received and after following each step to the letter I have to say it made a big difference to my shaving experience - so why not share? Why not indeed.

Step One 

Before shaving take a warm shower to open up the pores in your face and soften the stubble. By doing this it should make it easier for your razor to cut each hair, giving a closer and more comfortable shave.

Step Two

Gently exfoliate your neck and beard area. By using an exfoliator with beads or grit like grains in a circular motion you can free an ingrown hairs and wash away any grime from the pores. This should leave a smoother surface for the razor to pass over and in theory reduce any cuts.

Step Three

Apply a shaving cream or gel of choice - from my experience, using a low lather gel or cream results in a better shave as the razor glides better over the face and doesn’t clog as much leaving stripes that require further attention.

Step Four

Make sure you have a fresh, sharp razor. There is no point following these steps if you are going to attempt to shave using a razor that has all of the sharpness of a blunt butter knife. The sharper the blade, the fewer passes of the beard area that are required.

Step Five

When shaving don’t press too hard and avoid shaving against the direction of hair growth. Going against the direction of growth results in hairs being cut at differing lengths, encourages ingrown hairs and that my readers is the main cause of the redness and itchy feeling.

Step Six

Rinse off any remaining shaving gel or cream with cold water. Not only does this spank you wide awake but it also serves to close the pores. Using a post shave balm, cream or serum is a crucial step, it helps to replenish your skin’s natural moisture and keep any skin irritation at bay.

There you go, six simple steps that have changed the way I shave. Yes, it takes longer to shave, but those extra minutes remove any danger of razor burn, I didn’t cut my face to ribbons and not a jot of irritation. For this I am truly thankful!

Choose your products carefully, chop and change to find what suits you personally and your own skin type, but if you follow this great guidance from Cornerstone then in my opinion you can’t go wrong.

Why not take a look at the Cornerstone website here and see if they can help you like they have helped me.

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Men-ü Shave Crème

After that horrific shaving experience (no, I’m not talking man-scaping gone wrong) with Clarins Men Rasage Ideal Smooth Shave a few weeks ago and at least 24 hours of an itchy, blotchy face and neck the opportunity to try Men-ü Shave Crème was very welcome. 

Me being me I launched the packaging (read threw the packaging in the direction of the bin) and was just about to dive straight in until I realised that this usually leads to much swearing, stamping of my feet and generally being a grumpy git when I have to accept that I should read the directions. I’m glad I took the time to read them, as I got the chance to use my shaving brush again - even though it‘s as good just rubbing between your palms and applying using your hands (it’s the little, inane things in life that make me smile the most).

Beardage pre shave.....quite long and thick hair.....

The brush is back....boom boom....

This is what Men-ü say about the shave crème over at their website:

‘Takes you to a whole new level of shaving. Includes tea tree oil (a natural antiseptic and antibacterial) that helps protect from spots and shaving rash. Packed with lubricants including silicone and moisturisers, and provides optimum slip without drying the skin. Less resistance, less irritation and less nicks mean a longer lasting blade! 

With a fresh mint & menthol fragrance, can be used with or without a shaving brush. 

Many foams and gels generate too aerated a lather. What is in contact with skin & beard matters, all else is wasted! With men-ü shave crème you see where you have shaved and the crème breaks down upon contact with water, so will not clog multi blade razors.’

As directed, I washed my face off, wet the brush and used two squirts from the pump dispenser. It covered about half of my face. Yes, I have a big face (the first person to say I look like a horse gets punched) but two squirts of the crème was just not enough. Based upon the recommended amount you should be able to get 165 shaves out of this 100ml tube of the shave crème. In my experience, I had to pump four squirts to get proper coverage of the beardage as you can see from the photograph.

Even despite this, 80 shaves from a 100ml tube costing £10.95 from Mankind here to me doesn’t seem that expensive, especially when you consider that the massive costs for blokes when shaving lies with the cost of blades (you should check out Razor Brite and their blade cleaning kits if you want your cartridges to last longer).

So, the lather, it’s immense, not too thick and it explodes from the crème as soon as any pressure is applied. Personally I prefer using a shaving brush to distribute this across my face, it’s far more even and helps once shaving starts as you can see the bits that have been done.

Using the shave crème again this morning to get a better feel for it I have to say it wasn’t as great as the first time I used it. That said however, it still had lots of things going for it. While the lather did clog the blades in my razor (this in fairness could have been due to the fact that my beard was quite thick) the fragrance, ease of shave and finish on my skin were exceptional. 

You can really smell the mint and tea tree, two of my favourite scents and like all things, if it smells good you are going to continually be drawn to it. While strong, the fragrances don’t linger on the skin once any excess lather has been washed from the face. Like all good grooming products, you don’t want it to be too strong, so that it alters the fragrance of any aftershave or cologne.

Post shave and no irritation.....bonus!

The marketing claims that it provides optimum slip are spot on. A fresh blade glides across the face and even with a thick beard being removed it seems to come off effortlessly. No snags, no swearing and what’s that, no bleeding - result.

After washing off the excess lather and drying my face I was impressed. As directed I used the Skin Refresher gel (again from Men-ü) and let it soak in. Wow, hours after shaving and my face feels baby soft, no signs of irritation and no blotches, not a dot. At this point and if I lacked self respect I would probably dance a little jig.

It’s cost effective, it smells great and it does exactly what it says on the tin. You can’t ask for much more than that. The fact that I hate shaving and fear the break outs afterwards means that a product like this is fantastic, and a very welcome addition to my ever growing collection of shave crème. 

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