Why you should try a straight razor

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Step by step guide on how to use a straight razor:

1. Prepare your face for shaving
2. Use Shaving Oil
3. Time to lather up
4. Prepare your straight razor
5. It's finally time to shave

Prepare your face for shaving

Before you get to the shaving it’s important that your skin is ready. In short: heat will open your pores and cold will close them. That’s why you want to start with warming up your face. When you’re at at barber they usually do this with a hot towel. You can obviously do that at home too, but you might as well rinse your face with warm water och simply take a shower.

Use shaving oil

Shaving oil will soften the beard and act as a protective barrier for your skin. You can apply it before jumping in the shower to really give it time to work. But it’ll also work if you apply it after you’ve showered.

Time to lather up

Shaving Cream: Golden Ember is very easy to use. Just add a small amount to your bowl, make sure that your shaving brush is moist and start whipping. If you don't own a shaving brush you can also work up the lather in your hands. Once you’ve worked up a lather it’s time to apply it to your face. Don’t be afraid to use some gentle pressure and “scrub” the lather onto your skin.

Prepare your straight razor

The next step is to prepare your straight razor. It’s common to use a straight razor with disposable blades, meaning that you don’t have to sharpen the edge. All of our straight razors use half of a double edge blade. So a pack with 5 blades will give you 10 fresh blade changes. Carefully grab a razor blade, break it in half and insert it.

It’s finally time to shave!

When you shave yourself with a knife it is best to start where the beard is the thinnest, up on your cheeks. Hold the knife with one hand, tense the skin with the other and shave with the grain. If you want to go against the grain it’s important to reapply lather. But it’s usually good enough to only go with the grain since the knife and all the preparations give a very close shave. Last but not least, apply some Aftershave & Face Lotion to keep your skin happy.

Conclusion

A straight razor can be a bit pricey to get but it makes up for it by being cheaper in the long run. The razor blades don’t cost much and you get a closer shave. And it’s very fun to use. You can also try a safety razor which is more akin to a regular razor. The difference is that the safety razor uses one razor blade instead of a “cartridge” like the popular brands you’ll find at the grocery store does. This means that a safety razor will be cheaper in the long run as well.

Shave well & be swell!