Wet Shaving

Many people find wet shaving the most comfortable, pleasant, and affordable way to shave. Here are the basic steps in shaving with a mug, soap, and brush.

	1) Begin by holding the brush under running water to get it thoroughly wet. Then shake it once or twice to remove the excess water.
	2) Keep the soap in a bowl or mug. Move the brush in a circular motion over the surface of the soap to create a soapy lather. Use enough water to wet the soap, but not so much that it gets very runny. You may wish to use a shaving cream (from a squeeze tube, never an aerosol can) rather than a soap. The technique is basically the same. Creams often need less water
	3) Use the brush to carry the soapy foam from the mug and create a lather all over your face and beard. You may have to add some water (to the brush) at this time to get a rich foamy lather on your face. The lather should be wet and stiff, not runny The purpose of all this is to moisten the beard and keep it moist during the shave.
	4) Use your razor to shave off the whiskers, the lather comes off with it. You will soon learn the best direction to pull the razor ("with the grain") for each section of your face to get the most comfortable, close shave. Some men find that a second shave is required. You may want to use a towel or facecloth when you are done with the razor to get the last bits of lather off your face. I don't use any after shave lotion (because the shaving does not cause me any irritation and I don't like the smell of the lotion) but you may prefer to put some on now.
	5) Rinse the brush off, shake most of the water off, and hang it to dry with the bristles down.

Further Reading

Students interested in learning more about shaving may be interested in these materials:

• Body Hair Removal, from Wikibooks.