Traditional Shaving

Revision as of 15:19, 2 December 2010

Traditional Shaving is a form of shaving that eschews the newer cartridge-based razors and aerosol-based creams and gels, and instead used older forms of blades such as the 'Straight' (cutthroat) and 'Double Edge' (DE) razors which when combined with quality soap or cream gives a much closer, irritation free shave. It is also known as Wet Shaving.

With the moves by multinational corporations to force western-world shavers into the expensive cartridge based products, many men have found that they spend up to $4 per cartridge, yet get all sorts of problems such as bumps, ingrown hairs, razor burn and other skin irritations. In most cases, the cartridges are do not last any length of time, and are used more times than they should because of their expense and that causes more issues.

Traditional Shaving instead uses sharp, inexpensive blades which in most cases last longer than cartridges and range from 8 to 15 times cheaper, giving much better value. While the cost of entry into Traditional Shaving is often much higher than a cartridge based razor, the ongoing running costs are much lower, and shaving is seen more as an enjoyable task than a daily chore.

For the most part, OCAU members use Double Edge (DE) Safety Razors for their tradtional wet shaving, mainly as the effort required to keep a Straight Razor in good condition is high. Thus, the scope of the Traditional Shaving page in this Wiki is limited to DE shaving. A Straight Razor Shaving page has been created for those that prefer that method.

The current main thread used by OCAU members for traditional shaving discussion is called DE Wet Shaving Victory

Requirements

There is a high initial cost of Traditional shaving, however you may have some usable items already in the house.

You may have an old DE Razor floating about. Many of us were given one by our Grandfathers in the 1980's as a toy - no blade in it of course. Otherwise they can be purchased from online retailers, eBay, etc.

Blades are getting hard to find now in retail outlets

DE Razors

Double-Edge Safety Razors, while not generally available at the supermarket, chemist or other grooming stores are still one of the best ways to shave. The replaceable blades are cheap compared to cartridge razors, and give very good to excellent results.

DE Razors are not entirely without risk because the blade edges of the razor are exposed and can cause nicks and cuts if the appropriate technique and sufficient caution are not used. They are, however, considered to be safer than straight razors because there is no actual risk of serious injury as there is with the naked blade of a Straight Razor.

DE Blades

Shaving Products

In order for the blade to glide across the skin and slice through the facial hair, some sort of lubrication is required. In most cases with traditional shaving, this lubrication is provided by a cream or soap which is worked into a lather and applied to the face, often with a shaving brush. Traditional shaving soaps and creams are based on Tallow (animal fats) or Vegetable fats/oils, and sometimes a mixture of the two. These base ingredients provide lubrication to the blade.

Modern products such as Foams and Gels may work for some people, however they lack the Tallow or Vegetable fats, and replace then with petroleum-derived surfactants instead, namely Sodium Laryl Sufate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate. These two chemicals tend to strip your skin of it's natural oils and some people can have sensitivity to them.

Creams

Soaps