The Art of the Shave

The Art of the Shave: Your Guide to Facial Hair Care

The Art of the Shave: Your Guide to Facial Hair care Beards are back. Everyone seems to be sporting one these days, from hipsters out West to country boys in the Southeast. However, not everyone can grow a full beard. There are also many employers who put their foot down and make the clean-shaven look company law. Shaving and a beard aren’t mutually exclusive, either. Bearded men often contour their beards to keep them neat and look more professional. Wherever you fall on the spectrum, here are a few tips to get you started.

Growing Your Beard

Whether you’re a committed member of the Beard Gang or you just like to keep some stubble on your cheeks, growing a beard requires patience and commitment. The first few days and weeks of learning facial hair care are the hardest. Still, once you make it through this rough patch — no pun intended! — it gets a lot easier.

1. Choose a Compatible Look

There are a number of factors you need to consider when choosing the look that’s right for you. The first is the natural growth pattern of your facial hair. Can you grow a full beard or is a mustache or goatee where your limits lie? Also, sometimes hair grows in such fine patches that the best look is to remain clean-shaven. This is your first stopping point when it comes to choosing a compatible look. If growing a beard is possible, then consider the shape of your face:

• Oval: This facial type works well with almost any style of facial hair growth — or lack thereof.
• Square: A goatee and some careful contouring may help to soften sharper angles and add some length to your face.
• Round: Growing out a long beard and keeping facial hair to a minimum on the cheeks helps to make the face look leaner.
• Heart-Shaped: Try a mustache to direct focus from the chin or grow out a full beard to round out the chin.
• Long: It’s best to refrain from goatees for this facial type; instead opt for a thicker beard on the sides to add more fullness.

2. Wash and Moisturize Your Beard

This is where a lot of men become confused when it comes to beard care. Do they use regular soap to wash their face or shampoo? What about those bottles for men that offer a nice two-in-one mix? Is conditioner still necessary? The answers really come down to preference as well as what your skin can handle.

Luckily, there are many beard brands on the market to address every hair and skin type you can imagine. A little bit of searching can help to make your life a whole lot easier. It’s also important to remember that washing strips the beard of natural oils, so be sure to replenish that with beard oils. Again, consider what your skin can handle when choosing oils or gels. You don’t want to sacrifice healthy skin for a handsome beard.

3. Groom Your Beard

Outside of hygiene, there’s also the neat finishes that keep your beard looking good. Note that the hair that sprouts from your head may not be the same type that grows from your chin. Some hair types may also tangle more than others. This makes trial and error necessary for the first few weeks. You should start with a soft brush and wide-teeth comb to see how difficult or easy it is to brush and comb through.

Trimming your beard is also necessary. How often you do this will come down to how long you’re trying to grow your beard to be and how fast it grows. Note that the type of facial hair you have may lead to some shrinkage. Focus on the growth that actually shows when making a decision. Trimming helps to maintain a particular shape, which further helps to complement your existing facial features.

Shaving Your Beard

Some men who have nurtured their beards for years might argue that to shave a beard requires greater commitment than growing one. Even if you’ve never grown a beard before, you may agree that your daily and weekly routine seems a lot more complicated than that of your bearded friends. Follow these steps to make the process easier.

1. Wash Your Face

Nicking the skin is a common risk for those who shave. If your face is still covered with the dirt and grime of the day, you have a greater risk of that nick getting infected and taking a long time to heal. Washing your face helps to ensure you’re starting off with a clean base for healthy results. Wetting the skin also makes the physical process easier, especially if your hair is more coarse, dry or kinky.

2. Use Pre-Shave Products

Virtually all men have had that morning when they ran out of shaving cream and had to do a quick shave without it. You probably paid for this with discomfort that lasted for the rest of the day. Always apply a pre-shave product to the area you plan to shape or shave. If you do run out, then some men have had success with using hair conditioner or even vaseline. Keep these around as your absolute last-resort options.

3. Give Yourself Time

Nothing leads to nicks more than hurrying to get a shave in before you head out. If you know you need to do some grooming, start early. This gives you the time to be more patient without worrying about being late for work or your date. Be gentle and try not to press down too hard, especially if you have sensitive skin or acne. To determine how much shaving time you need to do a good, unrushed job, consider timing yourself for a few weeks.

4. Use Aftershave

Even with the best pre-shave products, you are likely to experience a little discomfort afterwards. This can include tightness in the skin, razor burn, excessive dryness, flushing of the skin, and irritation. The less frequently you shave and the more sensitive your skin is, the more likely these effects become. Aftershave helps to alleviate many of these symptoms, so you can forget a razor ever touched your face.

5. Change the Blades

Who keeps track of the blades they use on their razors? Not many people do, but you certainly should. Blades become duller the more you use them. This might make one-use razors sound ideal, but reusable blades are often sharper and more sophisticated. Follow the replacement instructions that come with your razor and use your discretion as well.

Growing a beard and maintaining a clean-shaven look both require some degree of work to cultivate the desired appearance. While personal preference and work restrictions play a role, it’s also important to be realistic about what complements your lifestyle, schedule, and beard-growing ability.