Complete your perfect shave with these simple steps.

Step #3: Time to Shave
Now that you have prepared your face appropriately for the main event, it’s time to get down to shaving. I hope you enjoy shaving because you are going to do it thousands of times over the course of a lifetime. If you don’t enjoy it now, you should do whatever you can to make the process more pleasurable. Don’t forget to keep the blade at a 30 degree angle, and never apply pressure when pressing the blade against your face. Let the weight of the razor apply the only pressure you need. An ultralight razor may be applied to the face with gentle pressure, only as much as needed to make firm contact with your skin without scraping or dragging.

Test drive several double-edge blade brands with a blade sampler.

» Read the rest of this entry «

Read these simple steps for a perfect shave before you pick up your razor again.

Step #1: Be Prepared
Before you begin wet-shaving, take the time to prepare your face. Your beard grows thick and strong for a reason. Although we will leave those reasons to the physical anthropologists to decide, one thing remains clear: your beard needs special preparation before wet-shaving if you want maximum results. Shaving your face without preparing it first is a surefire way to give yourself an inferior shave and unwanted razor burn. Shaving oil is a great choice for preparing your face, but it’s not the only choice.

PREP Original Formula Pre-Post Protective Cream

Products like Proraso, Prep-Italy pre-post creams and Taylor of Bond Street Pre-shave Gel are well-respected on the playing field of shaving preparation. If you are looking for a more inexpensive option, try an oil-based face and body cream. In the past, I used Vaseline creams because they worked great. Unfortunately, they are not great for one’s health due to their containing petrol, so I had to find other alternatives. If using petroleum by-products on your skin doesn’t bother you, the Vaseline creams will help you get a nice, close shave and smooth skin all in one fell swoop.

» Read the rest of this entry «

We just spotted this traditional doctor’s bag front-and-center on the latest episode of Fringe.

It could have been some clever product placement scheme to promote this little gem that is coming soon to our store.

But it was not. Still, nice touch!

Update: the Doctor’s Bag is now available here!

Some people believe that all the good stuff has already been invented. I don’t believe that is true. There is plenty of room for new ideas and inventions. However, there are some things that don’t need to be reinvented. One of these things is the wheel. Another is the razor. Now, someone just needs to break the news to Gillette before they try to patent the wheel.

The Safety Razor: invented in the the late 19th century, and still going strong.

» Read the rest of this entry «

It is not often we are proffered an opportunity to actually experience the past. Mauer & Wirtz extends a hand and guides us back over 220 years to a time when a unique formulation was given as a wedding present. A prominent citizen of Cologne, Wilhelm Muelhens, received a recipe from a Roman Catholic monk on the eve of his marriage, and the rest is truly history.

No. 4711 in its Aftershave incarnation

Not merely a fragrance, the secret formula gifted in 1792 was an “aqua mirabilis” or miracle water, purported to have amazing curative properties. Taken internally before any thought of being worn as a fragrance, Muelhens embraced the formula and began production. Just two years later, Muelhen’s home in the Glockengasse was numbered 4711 during the French occupation of Germany. An everlasting name for the elixir crafted within was born.

» Read the rest of this entry «

The strong, rugged “man’s man” of yesterday is giving way to a more modern, more appearance-oriented contemporary. At least, American personal-care e-commerce company, Birchbox, hopes so. Birchbox is launching a new lifestyle and grooming product directed at men, which it hopes will resonate with guys who take an interest in personal appearance, skin and hair health, and other issues typically eschewed by the macho man of the past.

» Read the rest of this entry «

“My first dollar shave club package” by paulidin

Recently, there’s been a lot of press about The Dollar Shave Club, a new company in California started by comedian Michael Dublin. This company claims that it can provide consumers with quality shaving razors for only $1 a month (plus shipping). This sounds like a great deal, but is it worth it? Part of The Dollar Shave Club’s marketing tactics is to tell consumers that these razors are just like the ones their grandfathers used, but that’s not true at all. People really used to use double-edged razors to obtain the closest shave possible.

» Read the rest of this entry «