Wet Shaving Methods
Men’s grooming, wet shaving, traditional shaving. Whatever you call it, the practices of shaving, personal hygiene, and self-care have been around for a while. The resurgence of interest in older methods in recent decades has created some rabid fans and followers. But what about contemporary shaving practices? Is there a place for the cartridge razor?
(Note: For our purposes, we will define the methods as follows: traditional wet shaving method is creating a lather with a shaving brush on a specifically designed shaving soap and shaving with a safety razor or other single edge blade. Contemporary wet shaving method is shaving with a canned or aerosol shaving cream and a multi-blade, disposable cartridge razor.)
Benefits of Contemporary Shaving
- Time. For a quick shower shave, a cartridge razor can serve you well. It is usually a quick and convenient, in-and-out way to groom.
- Ease of use. There is a very small learning curve with a cartridge razor. You can pay and play.
- Travel. If you are getting in some sky miles, a cartridge razor can be a nice option. They are able to be stashed in your carry-on, put away damp, or just thrown away when your trip nears its end (depending on how disposable you’ve gone).
Benefits of Traditional Wet Shaving
- Me Time. This method of shaving slows you down a bit, but not in a bad way. A little extra time spent on yourself is not wasted.
- Close, comfortable, less irritating (for some). Many wet shavers have dramatic experiences with the radically different shaves they get with a cartridge vs. safety razor. In large part due to the exceptional soaps/lather, exfoliating brush, and single edge of the blade, they get a much less irritating groom.
- Money. IF you can avoid the rabbit hole and not get sucked into this amazing hobby, then there are cost benefits associated with traditional wet shaving. After your initial investment in the tools (razor, brush, blade, soap), purchases are few and far between and much cheaper on the whole than cartridges. However, many who embrace this way of shaving find that they do it for more than just the savings. In fact, they might find themselves paying much more as they dabble in scents, soap formulas, brush knots and handles, new razor designs, and more.
- The experience. Over and over again, traditional wet shavers tout the experience of their shave as a “game changer”. They are willing to take a bit more time and expend a bit more energy when the outcome is so much better. They enjoy the meditative process of the shave and find it far and away more enjoyable than contemporary methods.
What makes you feel good? Are you a die-hard blade-and-brush-man? Do you find a little wiggle room for a disposable razor at times? Maybe you are still sold on the cartridge-in-the-shower shave? Let us know what trips-your-trigger in the comments below.
