I don't know how to shave

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I don't know how to shave

Postby Tesseracts » Sat Nov 29, 2014 5:28 pm

Despite being a female, I have hair on my neck. Lately, instead of tearing it out by the roots with an epilator, or murdering hair follicles with electrolysis, I have taken to shaving my neck and chin. For the most part, it works, but there is stubborn, slightly thicker hair at the bottom of my neck that leaves behind little flecks of stubble when I shave it. This is barely noticeable, and it's very likely nobody other than myself will ever stare closely enough at my neck to notice it. However, I hate it with all of my soul and I want it gone. Today, I tried simply applying more force with the razor, but the only result of that is a neck that is (slightly) bleeding from several places.

My question is, is there any way I could possibly shave better? Does a straight razor really shave closer, or do people just say that? Does it matter if I use a fancy razor with 1000 blades? Does the type of shaving cream matter? My dad just told me to cover it with makeup, which seems like bad advice.
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Re: I don't know how to shave

Postby DashaBlade » Sat Nov 29, 2014 6:00 pm

According to my husband, the best razors for shaving one's face are ladies' leg razors. I mean, even the cheap ones that cost $2 for a package of eight. Also, he suggests after shaving, use a little baby oil on your face and run the razor over it again. The number of blades doesn't really matter, it's the sharpness that counts. And shave with the grain and not against it unless you want ingrown hairs.

In addition, the hairs will start growing back pretty quickly, which is why dudes with dark hair have to shave twice a day or risk the dreaded five o'clock shadow. Therefore, don't bother to shave until right before you plan to go out, otherwise you give those bastards a chance to start popping up again.
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Re: I don't know how to shave

Postby Cordslash » Sat Nov 29, 2014 9:16 pm

Dasha's right Tess. It's the sharpness of the blade that counts. Remember that a razor loses its edge fairly quickly, so if you're using disposables make sure to change them up regularly. I have to disagree on the ladies' razor though unless you have very few hairs. 3 or 4 bladed razors were created by the gods.

Stubble is taken care of by applying oil or moisturiser after shaving and then running the blade through again. A tip which has already been given, so you know it's true.

BTW shaving cream doesn't make a difference in the quality of the shave itself. It's mostly there for comfort. I use it myself but it's not really necessary.
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Re: I don't know how to shave

Postby AboveGL » Sat Nov 29, 2014 9:23 pm

Soap and moisturizer can do the job well enough, shaving gel/cream isn't necessary. But I still like to use it anyway.
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Re: I don't know how to shave

Postby Learned Nand » Sun Nov 30, 2014 12:00 am

I know a barber down on Fleet Street will give you the closest shave you've ever had.
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Re: I don't know how to shave

Postby JamesT » Sun Nov 30, 2014 12:22 am

The correct answer: Don't. Let your facial hair bloom into a beautiful lady beard. A lady beard is a rare and wonderful thing. Nurture it and eventually you will be able to cosplay as the evil universe version of yourself.

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Re: I don't know how to shave

Postby NathanLoiselle » Sun Nov 30, 2014 1:17 am

Shaving cream, or alternately soap, helps prevent the cut hair from sticking to the blade.
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Re: I don't know how to shave

Postby Jack Road » Sun Nov 30, 2014 1:20 pm

I'm rather fascinated with shaving, because I don't grow facial hair well, and I wish I did. Most of my male friends grow magnificent beards if you squeeze them too hard, like playdoh men. So a guilty pleasure of mine is perusing shaving guides and nodding solemnly, like I can't remove what little stubble I have using any old thing. As usual, Wirecutter/Sweethome puts the shame to any other review with an exhaustive 10,000 word article.

http://thesweethome.com/reviews/the-best-razors/
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Re: I don't know how to shave

Postby Sekhmet » Mon Dec 01, 2014 12:01 pm

If you want to use makeup instead, I would recommend that you apply a medium to full coverage foundation or concealer to the spots with a buffing, stippling or kabuki brush in a circular motion, making sure to coat the entire hair from all angles. A liquid or cream formula will cling better but you could make a powder formula work. If you could still see any dark traces I would apply a peachy or orangey corrector/concealer lightly to the stubborn hair before the foundation/concealer. However, considering your hair colour I doubt this would be an issue. Make sure whatever product you use matches your skin tone and shade exactly or it could look odd.

However I would not recommend this method for 2 reasons. The first being it would be a lot easier to get rid of the hair right away, since you would need to trim them anyway and second unless you could find a 100% perfect colour match, in tone and shade, you would need to bring the makeup up on to your face so that your face and neck look like they belong to the same person. If you already wear a base (foundation, BB cream, powder, exc.) it would only take a couple seconds extra but if you don’t you would need to factor in the extra time it would take to put on a basic full face.

I would think about that choice for a couple seconds and promptly ask for a razor :D .
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Re: I don't know how to shave

Postby sunglasses » Mon Dec 01, 2014 3:13 pm

When it comes to makeup, Dermablend, is hands down the best. It's not cheap though.

You can find it at Macy's.

Hence the not cheapness, but it's amazing at coverups. You can even coverup tattoos with the shit.

Also, make sure you rinse your razor out, keeps it sharp longer.
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Re: I don't know how to shave

Postby LaoWai » Mon Dec 01, 2014 11:23 pm

The smoothest shaves I've ever had were at a barber-shop, and the lessons I've learned from those were adding heat and moisture to the mix. With a proper shave, you get your face covered with a hot, damp towel for a few minutes, then get hot shaving cream brushed onto your face for a while before the razor comes into play.

At home, to get close, I stick my face into hot water in the shower for about a minute, wash with a moisturizing face wash, rinse with hot water, rub on a moisturizer, then have at it with a disposable twin blade (Gillette Sensor). Other than that, the best advice I was ever given was to never shave with soap, since body soap dulls blades.
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Re: I don't know how to shave

Postby gregfrankenstein » Tue Dec 02, 2014 2:38 am

I had a post all typed up where I was going to give heaps of handy shaving advice, but uh--

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Maybe I need this thread more than it needs me.
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Re: I don't know how to shave

Postby Tesseracts » Tue Feb 03, 2015 1:40 am

I finally bought a straight razor. I bought it from a shaving store at the mall, and surprisingly they did not assume I was buying it for someone else, despite my hairy male friend being with me at the time. I guess I just look like the sort of woman who buys a straight razor for herself.

I used it today, and only cut myself once. It's a very small cut, and the extreme sharpness of the blade means it doesn't hurt at all. My face is very smooth, much more smooth than after using the various non-straight razors I have tried. The straight razor is definitely better.
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Re: I don't know how to shave

Postby Aquila89 » Tue Feb 03, 2015 12:21 pm

That's why I have a beard; I was never fully satisfied with the results of shaving. There was always some hair left. (Well, that and I'm too lazy to shave every day). Of course, for women this is a less available option.
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Re: I don't know how to shave

Postby mancityfooty » Sun Feb 08, 2015 11:21 pm

I hate shaving. I've done the beard thing a thousand times which is almost as bad, mainly because then I would have something else that needed washing and I could never get the trim thing down. Now I'm mainly trying to keep a level of stubble instead. Does that help you? No, of course not.
Maybe it's taboo for here but have you ever thought of Nair? I've known several women who removed body hair in that way. Or there's shaving powder, although that's pretty much a DIY Nair.
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