How to Shave With a Manual Razor
We all miss one or two life lessons. Lifehacker reader lllcoco never learned to shave with a hand razor. So, we’ve made a step-by-step video tutorial for lllcoco and anyone else who relied only on electric shavers.
Choose a blade
Purchase a disposable razor from a drug store or grocery store. (We are discarding old razors for now.) Some razors are solid; others have a single handle and a set of disposable blade cartridges. Choose whatever you want.
Cartridges wear out very quickly. The companies that sell them suggest that you change them every 5-7 uses, but if you still have an acute problem after that, go ahead. Just change it if you notice that it doesn’t cut well, clings to your hair, or anything else that makes you cut yourself more often.
Manual razors have one to five blades. The extra blades should catch more hairs in one stroke, saving you time. But they can also scratch your face more, and if you have thick hair like mine, it will get caught between the blades. If you are switching from an electric shave to a hand shave, experiment with a few different shaving heads.
I suspect the distribution of blades is a scam and was certainly ridiculed by MAD magazine back in the 70s , a generation before Onion ‘s acclaimed 2004 Fuck It All, We Make Five Blades.
Get wet
Shave between showers and clothes. Then you will have damp hair and skin and can wipe off any mess before putting on your clothes.
You don’t need to apply shaving cream or gel while shaving, but if you’re not used to shaving, the gel will make it smoother or smarter. Squeeze some gel onto your hand and rub it into the lather. Then, apply it to every surface you intend to shave. Let it sit on your face for a few seconds and soak into your hair and skin, softening it even more.
Move smoothly
Run the razor across your skin perpendicular to the blade. (Never run a razor over your skin; you will cut yourself into chunks.) Shaving with straight hair is softer but less effective; shaving against it is harder on your skin but knocks off more hair.
Rinse the blade under the tap every few strokes or whenever the blade becomes clogged with hair.
Do not run the shaver more than necessary. You may need to repeat this several times, but scratching yourself a dozen times with a metal blade is not good for your skin!
Wash
After shaving off all your hair, wash off your face with a towel. No matter how hard you try, you will have a lock of hair on the towel, and a few pieces will stick to you as you dress and show up later. This is a human condition.
If you made a tiny cut, glue a tiny piece of toilet paper to your neck to collect blood. If you cut yourself severely, seek medical attention. Congratulations! You shaved without an electric shaver!