How to Shave for the First Time in Months
Naked Armor
Whether you’ve nurtured a beard for months or for several years, when the time comes to shave it off, it can be a momentous personal experience.
Published by Naked Armor
Well kept beards can make you look more attractive to women.
The reason for letting it grow can be because you can’t go to your barber to get it trimmed because of the pandemic or simply because you just wanted a manly beard.
The latter is a laudable choice. Especially since the beard trend is still peaking. And also because having a beard makes you more attractive to women and makes you more confident.
But, alas, if you didn’t do good beard care and didn’t apply oils, you’ll find that unkempt whiskers are the least of your problems.
Because shaving is more than just cutting off the facial hair. It’s also about caring for the skin underneath all that hair. Men who grow out their beards for months or does not have a regular shaving routine often forget that. This is why when the moment of truth comes and all that was hidden is revealed, they will find lots of dry and dead, flaky skin, and sometimes, a beard rash.
Razor rash and beardruff on your clean shaven face is never a good thing, dudes.
So in order to help keep the shaving experience smooth and easy for you, here are some tips on how to shave for the first time in months.
Trim Your Beard First
For some guys, growing facial hair is easy as a walk in the park. Give it only a few weeks or so and they’ll have a jungle growth of hair. But when it’s time to shave it off, don’t go directly to using a razor. You have to be strategic in shaving.
If your beard is longer than half an inch, what you need to do is to chop off the tougher hair first. Grab a pair of barber grade scissors and cut it off as close as you can to the skin. The goal here is to cut it down into a stubble or fuzz so that it would be easy to shave it off later.
If you’ve got a trimmer, you can use it as well to mow your face. Just keep it really short as you can.
If you got a long beard, trim it first before shaving.
Take a Shower
Now that you’ve thinned the growth, it’s time to take a shower. The warm water softens hair and opens up pores, which makes shaving easier. The warm moisture also softens up the dead skin cells and dried sebum cells so that it can easily get washed away. Take some time to also exfoliate your face by gently rubbing it in a circular motion with your fingers. The gentle motion will help scrub the face clean while also bringing fresh blood to circulate in your epidermal layer.
Shaving is more than just cutting off the facial hair. It’s also about caring for the skin underneath all that hair.
— D'Rock, Naked Armor Founder
Apply Pre-Shave Oil
After your shower, now is the time to apply a bit of pre-shave oil to your cropped fuzz. The oil functions in two ways. First, it keeps the moisture in your skin so that it remains soft and smooth. Sometimes, hot showers can dehydrate the skin leaving it dry and rough and that would not help your shaving experience.
Second, it also serves as a barrier against the friction from the razor blade. Using a quality pre-shave oil also helps ensure a smoother razor glide making it a comfortable shaving experience.
Lather Up Before Shaving
And by this, we mean lather up using a shave soap and not a bath soap. A shave soap has more glycerin that helps protect the skin from blade friction. It also usually has other essential oils that nourish skin and hair.
Always shave in the direction of the grain and avoid the temptation to bear down on the razor — just because the hair has been there since last fall doesn’t mean it requires any more force to remove. Take small and slow passes to help make sure that you get everything and lessen the chances of razor burn as well.
Apply a lot of lather before shaving to lessen blade friction and to make your shaving experience smooth and comfortable.
Shave with a Single Blade Razor
You can use a safety razor or for a closer shave, a straight razor. Going old school wet shaving using these traditional razors help exfoliate your skin and will take off all that dead flaky skin, preventing bacteria and other gunk from getting trapped and making you breakout.
It also takes out the discomfort in shaving. Because these razors only have a single blade, it won’t tug and pull your whiskers as they shave. Added plus, you won’t have to deal with razor bumps afterwards.
A single blade razor, like a straight razor, won't tug and pull your whiskers as you shave.
Soothe New Skin
Newly exposed skin after a shave can be often drier than the rest of the face. More so, if the beard has not been maintained and moisturized. That’s why after a wet shave, always apply an aftershave to get rid of the last remnants of skin bacteria and also to close the micro-abrasions on the skin which is caused by the blade.
Follow it up with a soothing and healing post-shave solution. If you haven’t got a store product, some household stuff like olive oil will do fine as well. Rub a good amount of it into the skin and let it absorb to keep the skin hydrated and moisturized.
Applying an aftershave helps get rid of skin bacteria and close micro-abrasions caused by your shaving.
Prepare for New Growth
Now that you’ve shaved it off, the next time you want to grow your beard back, remember this: You can proactively prevent post-beard sensitive skin by treating your face right even when it’s buried beneath a mound of hair.
Drink lots of water and add a facial moisturizer to your routine. Similarly, when it’s already growing, use beard oils and balms like those in our Beard Grooming Kit to ensure that both the beard hair and the skin underneath stay soft and in good shape over the course of its growth.
Get the Naked Armor Shaving Experience
And if you’re looking for the perfect single blade razors, check out Naked Armor’s safety and straight razors.
Naked Armor's Solomon Straight Razor (Brown)
Naked Armor's Solomon Straight Razor (Black)
Naked Armor's Bela
Straight Razor
Naked Armor's Merlin
Straight Razor
Naked Armor's Lancelot
Straight Razor
Naked Armor's Spartacus Sandalwood Safety Razor Kit
Our blades are made from high quality Japanese steel so they don’t get dull easily and are sharp enough to cut hair instantly. In particular, our straight razor blades are designed in between a full hollow and half hollow grind. This makes them versatile for all kinds of hair textures and types and can easily be used by a newbie or a pro.
Visit our website for more of our products.
Essential Naked Armor Reads
Does Shaving Cause Acne?
Why Shaving is Healthy for You
Is Shaving Against the Grain Bad?
Leave a comment