Bald Noggin News: WHAT YOU NEED FOR THE PERFECT WET SHAVE

The tools you need for wet shaving.

When it comes to the art of Wet Shaving there are only a few essential ingredients. Water of course, as hot as you like and plenty of it.

You'll need a good Saftey Razor to start.

Sure, you can stick with the plastic, cheesy ones you've been buying for years. Or use your head and treat yourself to a gleaming chrome, precision made razor that will last you a life time. You'll find a great many to choose from but the best far are made by Merkur out of Germany. Their razors are gorgeous and offer a shave of unparallel quality.

If you're just starting out you might want to consider the Merkur 23C or the Merkur HD (heavy duty) Barber pole razor prices on the web at countless shopping sites, including eBay run $25 - $50 respectively. You can spend 3 times that but there is in my opinion no reason to shell out that much cash right off the bat.

It's your technique that'll make for a great shave more than buying the most expensive one you can find.

Give yourself the Brush off - The Shaving Brush explained.

Aside from the razor and blade the biggest difference between wet shaving and boring ineffective, over priced shaving is the use of a shaving brush. Badger fur or 'Badger Brushes" being the most popular, followed by Boars Bristle brushes - and if you're like me and make it a point to use cruelty free products whenever you can - today's synthetics are wonderful.

You use the brush to either apply or spread the shaving cream on your skin and you'll be blown away by not only how great it feels but the astonishing shave that will result. The brush forces water and hydrating emollients into the whisker, softening them and making them easy to cut through. A good shaving brush also exfoliates the skin each time you use it, resulting in a noticeably better, healthier looking complexion

As you browse around you'll see the prices for shaving brushes vary from $9.00 to a whopping $1,500 for a top of the line Silver tip Badger fur brush. Do they feel nice and silky soft? of course. Do the exfoliate your skin? no.
Is it worth spending that kind of money on a shaving brush?
Don't get crazy - of course not!

Wet Shaving "snobs" will tell you Badger is the only way to go. They're mistaken. A decent Boars bristle or better still a new synthetic Saving Brush from a company like Omega that offers a a their new synthetic fiber "Syntex" will knock you out in both feel and performance.

Prices range between $25 and $60 for excellent quality Synthetic Shaving brushes. They do a great job holding the hot water and allowing you to keep dipping into your now favorite and luscious shaving cream. Or use a shaving soap in mug and whip up mounds of dense rich foam just like the "ole' school" barbers do.

Something magical happens between the shaving brush, shave cream, water and razor. The experience is incredibly relaxing and the end result is pretty much shaving nirvana. Now the fun really begins as you find yourself scouring the Web for the ocean of pre-shave balms and oils, after shave moisturizers, rose waters and skin soothing after shaves.

Here are a few links to get you browsing around, these are sites I've had good experiences with, no doubt you will to:

http://www.classicshaving.com/Home.html

http://leesrazors.com/

http://shoeboxshaveshop.com/

You'll also find a ton of online forums, these are great source to read product reviews, get answers to your questions, learn new techniques - and last but not least have fun.

http://headshaveproducts.com/

http://badgerandblade.com

Is the only objective to get that perfect shave?

No, not really. But rather to just relax and savour the uxorious and quite intoxicating art of Wet Shaving from a long gone era. Don't expect the "Perfect Shave" because remember should you find it - you would miss out on your lifetime ahead to practice. The fun of it all my Friend, is in the journey and not the destination.