why is it men have to shave :'(

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I got a new razor proglide flex ball and their brand shave gel for christmas cause to get a job I'm expected to be clean shaved every day. the thing is suppose to prevent cuts, but all it did was cut me 20 times :'( and no one cares not even my family. tv shows more important.

the cheap disposable razor cut me less. so i don't normally shave i just trim it with wahl hair trimmer to a like 1-2 day after shave look. cause well cuts on my face turn into bumps that stay forever i' so sad and tense now little things are pissing me off. why the f**k does society make guys shave if we weren't suppose to have hair on our face why does it grow there...............................

When I shaved with a cartridge razor, I would ALWAYS, without fail, end up with a bloody face. I switched to an old fashioned double edge safety razor and I get the occasional nick here and there but I no longer have a sea of red on my face. If you're like me and hate to shave and do it only when the hair starts itching, switch to a safety razor. You can buy one off Ebay, I use the Merkur 180/23C, and Astra Superior Platinum blades made in Russia, you can get the blades off bestshave.net. As to why men have beards, I've read that somewhere way back in our evolutionary past it must have made men attractive, like the way genitals have hair to make them stand out, and armpits have hair to trap odors so as to attract the opposite sex via pheromone odor.

I have one of those small shaving mirrors in the shower. With the hot water and steam on the skin, I tend to cut myself a lot less.

No idea, that's stupid it should be up to the individual.

My sister gave me one of those for Christmas. It didn't cut me, but it sucks. Threw it away after one use. I have been using Mach3 and one cartridge/blade lasts me a good 5 days shaving both face and head. I just can't stand hair on my face, especially chin and under nose. I don't care about opinion or how I look. I don't even look in the mirror. As for my dome, I go back and forth on that. I sometimes let hair grow for awhile and then go back to shaving it 2-3 times a year. I think the last time I cut myself was about 20 years ago.

I think it depends on the time period and culture. I presume (could be wrong off course) that the present day demand for clean shaven in Western culture can be traced back for a large part to the industrial revolution, where it was needed to prevent hair from getting stuck in the machines.

I solved the problem first by dropping shaving cream when I was in Air Force Basic--because of the way the cream has a tendency to come out even when you're not using it, it tended to mark against you in personal space inspections--and then second by using disposable razors where the razors "move" as you shave, like adjustable razors that adapted to the face rather than the other way around.

It also depends on the shaving cream I find. I get mine from the Body Shop for when I do shave (which I haven't in about 2 and a half months at this point). It goes on gently I find and I barely get any cuts. I take a clipper to my beard beforehand then shave and find that it works well that way to reduce cuts.

Don't use aftershave either. That stings really badly, at least to me.

In Australia we have a saying - "Never trust a man that wears no whiskers"

They say that a moustache creates symmetry on a man's face.

Grow a respectable set of whiskers and that is just as acceptable as being clean shaven. The more whiskers you sport the less time you spend shaving!!

electrical shaver? they do a decent job if used regulearly...
- I say that, being very beardy myself.
But a well kept beard, i.e., not the way I wear mine, is widely accepted...

I use the old round shaving soap that sits in a cup or small bowl and apply with a shaving brush.

Sly:

Sadly the 'art' of shaving has been lost as a father-son 'teaching' since the introduction of the disposable razors and the increased rush of modern life.

Shaving is a process not a 'quicky' thing to do. Please try this:

Have this at hand:

- Have two small clean towel set aside only for shaving. I suggest a white one and a brown one.

- Buy a safety razor. One of these: http://thinkeatbehealthy.com/wp-content ... or-web.jpg

Safety razors are much better than the modern disposable cartridge razors because they use only one blade. However modern razors let you shave in half the time because they use multiple blades...but that shave is 'low quality' and can hurt you. Once you learn how to shave with a safety razor though, you will shave just as fast and have no cuts or razor burns.

- Buy a shaving kit. It should include a brush, shaving soap and a bowl. I use this one which is super cheap: http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/van-de ... sku6046693

- Buy an aftershave lotion. Not mandatory but it does help those with sensitive skin.

All the above combined should cost you less than 50 bucks. Its not that expensive and its basically a one time purchase. The only things you need to buy from there onward is the shaving soap when you run out (once a month usually) and the razor blades (like 10 cents per blade and you buy them in packs of 100 ..each blade lasts a month or two).

Basics of Shaving (the stuff no longer passed down...which is damn critical for a painless, good shave!):

1- Prepare your shaving soap in the bowl.
2- Fill your sink with warm-hot water and drop the razor into it. This is to warm the blade (cold blades cut).
3- 'Prep' your face for shaving. This is done by using warm-hot water to soften the beard. You can do this by either taking a hot water shower and near the end put your face on the water stream for a minute or so... or drop the white towel in the hot water, leave it there a few seconds so it heats up, take it out, squeeze most of the water quickly and press it firmly against your beard until you no longer feel it hot but rather warm. Repeat two more times.
4- Apply generous soap-foam on beard and massage it in just like you do shampoo on your hair.
5- Take the razor out of the hot water, shake the water out of the blade and give it a second or two before starting to shave. You dont want a scalding hot blade against your face but you do want it to be warm.
6- The how to shave is up to you. You need to learn on your own how it works best for you. I shave in just 2 'passes' of the blade.. first pass I shave following the beard (if hairs grow downward then I shave it in downward motion) and 2nd pass against the beard (where I had shaved downward I shave upward in 2nd pass). It works for me because the first 'pass' removes the bulk of the beard and leaves stubble...and the 2nd pass cleanly removes the stubble. Things to remember: Always keep your razor warm... when you wash the soap/beard residue while shaving do it in the hot water in the sink. Always shave in vertical motion never horizontal... if you do horizontal your beard will end up eventually growing sideways. Well, you can do it if you want to look like wolverine in a year's time .
7- When done shaving, dry your face with the brown towel and apply aftershave.
8- Finally, clean the razor well and make sure the blade is dry before storing it. You dont want to leave it wet or the blade will not last as long or worse, it may either rust (only happens in really cheap blades) or get microscopic calcium crystals on the edge of the blade that will cut you next shave (it will happen if you live in areas with hard water..like Florida).

One other thing you can do is, if you decide to purchase more expensive blades, you can extend their 'lifetime' by removing the blade after you shave, drying it and storing it in a small container with baby oil. The oil prevents air and anything else from harming the blade's edge in between shaves. I use $1 dollar blades (expensive) but each one lasts me for 6 months by keeping them in oil... if I use the cheaper blades without storing them in oil I go through 3 to 6 blades in that time depending on their quality.

You can try to get a better shave with your disposable cartridge razor right now simply by 'prepping' your beard with hot water, using the shaving soap (shaving foam cream that come in cans are HORRIBLE) and shaving with warmed razor blades. However the the multiple-blades the modern razors use still cause more cuts and irritation than the single blade safety razors.

Hope this helps!

Cartridge razors are a massively profitable scam invented by gillette. In reality, double edged safety razors that cost 10 cents a blade are better than the over-engineered and overpriced cartridges which cost a few dollars per blade.

Dantac,
I don't know how you can use the same blade for months. I use a fresh blade every time I shave. Never heard of anyone using the same blade without razor burn for more than a few days.

Be glad you don't have to shave your legs. We women might not need to do it every day but there's a lot more to shave. As a teen and young adult I really hated shaving my legs and would cut myself a lot, so I mostly only shaved in the summer when I wore shorts and bathing suits. But now I shave every other day because I don't like it when I do let the hair grow. All bristly and like a gorilla.

Some cultures aren't as hair-aphobic as in North America. I heard people in Europe don't even shave their pits. I'm sorry but think the line has to be drawn somewhere, few things are more gross than sweaty, smelly armpit hair.

Alex: The oil prevents interaction of air and the shard edge of the blade. Drying it after use also helps. My beard is rather thin so I would guess the blade's sharp edge doesnt get as worn as it would with someone with thick hair. Also, the expensive blades I use are very high quality (at least I think so since they keep their edge so long!).