Badger Hair Shaving Brushes

If you have been reading our blog so far, we’ve covered the essentials about shaving creams and about razors. Now it is time to tell you more about shaving brushes. Hopefully someone gave you a badger hair brush during the holidays (or at least an ÃªShave gift certificate to get one!!), but if you haven’t gotten one, it is now time for you to choose and treat you with your own.

A lot of people think that a using a brush is going to make them spend more time shaving, but if you use the right products and a good brush, you will end up shaving better and faster! The brush will give you a light exfoliation and raise your hair away from you face to allow closer shave.

There are different grades of badger hair. Among these kinds, there are:

  1. Genuine Badger Hair: This kind of hair is in the lower tier of the badger hair pyramid. It is perfect for skeptics that want to try the product before they commit to a new shaving regime.
  2. Fine Badger Hair: This is a good, standard quality brush. The hair is soft and elastic when it gets wet and provides the skin with a light exfoliation. It will remain in good condition between 3 to 5 years as long as you take care of it, which mainly means: hanging it upside down!
  3. Finest Badger Hair: This kind of hair is even more elastic, and thanks to the fact that it is finer, the seal that holds the hair will contain more badger hair in it, which means you will get a better exfoliation because now you have more, finer hairs going through your pores as you apply the cream. It will keep its shape between seven to ten years.
  4. Silvertip Badger Hair: Do you deserve a Rolls Royce?!?! If you think you do, then you must also deserve a Silvertip Brush too. It is the best of the best. When I used this for the first time, I truly thought “This must be what it feels to frolic around in heaven!” It is so soft you just want to keep on lathering up. These kinds of brush will last 15 to 20 years if you take care of it. It is truly awesome. And it ends up being the best value.

To use it, all you need to do is wet it with hot water, dab it directly in the shaving cream, and lather it up directly on your face by applying pressure with a circular motion. It’s that easy. You will be ready to get the best shave within seconds and afterwards you will be so smoothest, softest and most nourished skin you have had in a while.  If you would like to pick up a shaving brush, why not visit eshave.com and start getting the best shave ever.

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To Shave or Not to Shave

“To Shave, or Not to Shave” — That is the Question.

For hundreds, or even thousands of years, men all over the world have complained about the fact that they HAVE to shave. Shaving is a chore — a painful one. All of us, at some point have whined about getting razor bumps, dry skin, or irritation due to shaving. I personally used to complain about my razor burn every single morning to the man in the mirror. It was then when I started searching for the techniques, products and rituals that would make me, and my skin, feel great every day.

The amount of shaving and grooming products out there is vast. It is very important to learn which ones are the best for you depending on your kind of beard and skin. In my case, I have coarse hair, and a combination of sensitive with oily skin a real nightmare. I use to have red, flaky skin, and that made me feel self-conscious all day and affect my performance at work, with my relationships and with all aspects of my life in general. And believe it or not, all these problems were in part caused by an insignificant, evil, little alcohol-based shaving cream in a can that was fighting to destroy my skin!

Now, I feel great, and I can even dare to give advise to all of you! Why? Because I think that it is time that we all come together, and say: I HAD A PERFECT SHAVE THIS MORNING. AND I LIKE IT! WORLD: I FEEL GREAT TODAY. That is my goal: To help you all feel great every morning about yourselves. And we will start this journey with the most simple, common task — Shaving.

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How to Shave – The Basics

Many of us have problems when it comes to shaving. Do you know why? Because we have been shaving the wrong way since were kids!! Lets face it, we think we only need some sort of shaving razor, and a lubricant to protect the skin. However, if you get dry skin, or if you cut yourself too much, or if you get bumps or razor burn, there is a LOT to learn because believe it or not, that is not normal. Here are a few basic points to start getting more in touch with your inner-barber.

ABOUT RAZORS

The first thing you need is a good razor. Disposable razors are the worst because the blade tends to get dull almost immediately. If you use disposable razors, make sure you throw them away after each use (hence the name disposable).

Then there are the razors with disposable heads (e.g. Gillette Mach 3, Schick Quattro, or Gillette Fusion). The quality and sharpness of these blades is better than any of the disposable razors. If I was you, I would get one of these. It is important that you choose the one that makes you feel more comfortable when shaving and that has the right amount of blades for your type of skin and kind of facial hair.

Finally, for those of you that are knowledgeable enough and that are looking for a little thrill, there are also safety and straight edge razors. These can be a little bit more tricky and dangerous because well… you can cut yourself easier. So if you get one of these just make sure you get proper training.

ABOUT SHAVING CREAMS

Shaving CreamsAfter having chosen the proper razor, you need the right product to shave. This is when we all start running into trouble. Most people tend to use shaving creams and shaving gels that come in a can. That is the worst! Most of those shaving products have alcohol, which is one of the ingredients that tend to cause more problems. It dries your skin up and it closes and clogs the pores. To avoid these problems, I recommend you switch to a more gentle, alcohol free, shaving cream.

Most creams in the market are made as a paste. They are a step ahead of “the stuff in the can but I am still not a fan of them. I find them too thick for the razors, so they clog them, and you need to shave with more pressure, therefore you still getting razor burn and irritation.

What I suggest is that you switch to a water activated, lathering shaving cream. Most lathering shaving creams require using a badger hair brush. The reason to use this kind of brush is that badger hair is the only hair that absorbs water and still keeps its shape and elasticity when wet. If you start using a badger hair brush, your skin and general feeling about shaving will change drastically.

The shaving brush will exfoliate and make your hair come out straight out from the pore so that you get a better, closer shave. Also, you will activate the cream with warm water, so when lathering, your pores will remain open. The consistency of the lather will be light enough so that it does not clog neither your razor nor your pores, but it will also be thick enough so that it gives you enough moisture and protection.

So now that I’ve told you how to use it to your advantage, get the right products and start experimenting in this journey to get the best shave ever!!! You will LOVE IT! And then you will wonder why no one told you all this before.

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Take What’s Yours

When Derek Jeter steps up to the plate, he has it.  When Barack Obama clears his throat for the State of the Union, he has it.  When Ernest Hemingway rolled up his sleeves to arm-wrestle a shark, he had it.

 

Confidence.

 

Confidence, along with skill and luck, is what sets apart winners and losers, the greats and the forgottens, the Hall-of-Famers and the also-rans.  You can’t do much to change your luck, and you can practice as much as you can, but when clutch time comes and you have any doubt in your mind that you can succeed, you have already lost.

 

Look at Don Draper.  When he is not dallying with beautiful women or drinking enough rye to incapacitate an elephant, he is absolutely tearing up boardrooms with his no-holds-barred, I-know-this-is-the-right-move-and-don’t-care-if-you-disagree ad pitches.  He has the confidence to succeed; everything else is just gravy.

 

But it’s not just world-class athletes and high-powered execs that need confidence.  Anyone who has been too nervous to talk to the pretty girl across the room knows the ignominy of self-doubt.  Anyone who has been intimidated by their boss’s perceived power and so accepted without a peep lower pay or humiliating working conditions knows it, too.

 

The question then becomes: How do you become confident?

 

Well, you can be uncannily successful at your profession, extremely attractive or witty, or develop a death wish.  These are, in order, next to impossible, impossible, and probably not a great idea.

 

But there is hope.  When you look good, you feel good.  That’s êShave’s founding philosophy, and something we strive to work towards every day.  We want our customers to be as happy with themselves as they are with our products.  And it all starts with a little ritual in the morning.

 

So go ahead.  Ask the girl out.  Demand a promotion.  Stand up for what you believe in.  You’ll be glad you did.

 

Just remember to shave first.

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Stand and Deliver

One of the most commonly neglected elements of any shaver’s arsenal is the stand.  Sure, you shell out the big bucks on a 100% silvertip badger-hair brush and a top-of-the-line, customized, monogrammed, handmade razor with a phoenix feather core.  You then buy the best all-natural shaving creams, pre-shave oils, and after-shave lotions, because your skin is far too important to be abused with dime-store brand aerosol cream.  Like a caveman.

But then, what do you do with those artisanal implements?  Do you give them the care and coddling such precision instruments need to reach their full potential?  Sure, you may keep your razor clean, change the blade regularly, and save it the indignation of coming in contact with your, ahem, downstairs brush.

And you think that you can keep your brush in good working order by shaking off excess water after each use and keeping it out of harm’s way, locked deep in a medicine cabinet or underneath a bathroom sink.  You tell yourself, “There, my little daughter won’t use my precious blaireau to apply makeup or anything like that.  And my son won’t use it to dust himself off when he comes in from the sandbox.  It’s the perfect plan!”

Although I appreciate your enthusiasm, I regret to inform you that you are missing a crucial element of brush maintenance.  See, simply shaking the brush doesn’t get it completely dry.  Badger hair, as you may know, is the only type of hair that absorbs and holds water, which is what makes it perfect for shaving.  The key to a close shave is getting warm water close to your skin, and 100% badger works better than boar, synthetic, and any other imitators on the market at that job.  So even if the tips of the bristles are dry, there may still be moisture lurking in the depths.

Keeping your brush dry is no less important to shavers than keeping gunpowder dry was to old-timey cowboys.  The little bit of moisture can become a breeding ground for all kinds of bacteria and fungi that will eat away at your brush, making the hair fall out and degenerating the tool long before its time.

So what, then, is the answer to this crisis of our times?  Do we as a nation have the fortitude and strength to overcome such heinous dangers?

We do.  We just crushed the rest of the world in the Olympics and landed a robot on Mars.  If that doesn’t eliminate the stereotype that Americans are fat and dumb, consider this: the êShave Shaving Stand.  Available in numerous designs, from the practical T Stand to the sleek and sexy S Stand, this marvel of engineering solves the basic problem of brush maintenance.

The key to all êShave stands is that they hold the brush upside down so that excess water drips off, leaving your brush high and dry.  This protects the brush from degradation and scum build-up; it works so well, I used it on my little sister’s new friends, and it got rid of them!

Of course, some people prefer the stands because they make a stylish addition to any shaving set.  These units have been designed to match our hand-crafted brushes, and if your girlfriend ever tried to teach you anything, it’s that it’s important to get things that match.  These êShave products look good, but you can make them look even better with a Shaving Stand.

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A Little Goes a Long Way

We here at êShave know that a little goes a long way.  And no, we’re not just talking about Darren Sproles.

For those of you who do not understand that joke, Darren Sproles is a running back for the New Orleans Saints, and at five feet, six inches tall, he is one of the shortest men ever to play that position.  He also set the NFL record for all-purpose yards last year.  So, literally, a little (man) went a long way.

 

He’s also 190 pounds and could probably break me in half, so I am not going to continue down this line of reasoning.

 

Anyway, like most things in life, the central philosophy of “a little goes a long way” can best be expressed through football, but it also has other applications as well.  For instance, our creams and lotions are specially designed to be effective even when you use only a small amount of product.  With a badger-hair brush, just a penny-sized dab of shaving cream can prepare your whole face for shaving twice.  Just follow a few simple steps:

 

  1. Thoroughly moisten your brush.  We recommend letting it sit in a bowl of warm water while you shower.  When you get out, your brush will be ready to go.
  2. Let the excess water drip off your brush, and use it to scoop a small bit of cream.
  3. Lather up!  This can be done in a bowl, but I personally prefer doing it in my hand.  I get a foamier lather, with the added benefit of moisturizing my hands with êShave’s cream’s hydrating properties.
  4. Shave normally.  After you finish, if you want to get an even closer shave, you should still have enough lather on the brush for another go-round.  This time, be extra careful with your blade, as your skin may be extra sensitive due to the previous contact with the metal.

 

It is that easy.  Getting so much from so little has the added benefit of saving you money in the long run.  Many people are turned off to êShave and other luxury shaving products because of their relatively high initial costs.  But a four-ounce jar of êShave Shaving Cream can last up to six months when used with a badger-hair brush.  Try to get that kind of longevity out of a can.

 

So if you want to make the most out of what you have, look no further than êShave.  And as you separate two-ply toilet paper and shift to neutral down hills to save a few bucks, take solace in the fact that with us, you’ll get your money’s worth.

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Just a Thought

Who first thought of shaving with badger hair?  Like, who looked at a badger, didn’t think it was a skunk at first, and could see past its beady eyes, sunken ears, and menacing snout and think, “You know what?  I’m gonna rub soap on my face with that thing?”  I mean, I’m glad they did, because badger hair is the only kind of hair that absorbs water and so makes the perfect brush, but still.  How many animals did they go through before they figured it out?

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Filed under Entermation, Infotainment

History of Shaving Cream, Part 1 (of 1)

Shaving cream is one of those things you always think of just being there, like toothpaste and toilet paper.  It has become such a staple of modern life that you never take the time to consider what life could have been like before it.  But you know Julius Caesar didn’t have Crest White Strips, King Tut didn’t have Charmin Ultra Soft, and Alexander the Great certainly never used Barbasol to perfect that baby-faced visage apparent from all his statues.  But just our ancestors lacked these brands didn’t mean shaving was unknown (unless Mona Lisa simply never grew eyebrows).  Shaving cream has a long and colorful history, and knowing where it’s been may make you appreciate where it is now.

 

The earliest recorded use of shaving cream comes from Mesopotamia over four thousand years ago.  The Sumerians used animal fats and ashes from wood to create primitive soaps which they would apply to their beards before shaving, similar to the way fur was removed from animal hides.  As evidenced by the depilated domes and immaculately shaped facial hair of their sculptures, the ancient Egyptians were probably the first culture that took shaving seriously, and they used animal fats and oils as lubricants for bronze razors.  They saw beards as divine attributes of the gods, and although the pharaohs went clean shaven most of the time, they wore fake beards for ceremonial purposes.  Even female rulers like Hatshepsut followed this tradition, and while this practice may seem, today, objectively icky, at least we know what they used to keep their faces so clean.

 

Shaving creams remained essentially unchanged from the Romans to the Renaissance, with people using soaps to develop thick lathers on their beards.  Beards fell in and out of style in Europe, but by the 1700s, men and women were shaving their heads to fit under the popular powdered wigs of the time.  Around this time, some of the modern shaving implements, like the badger hair brush, began to appear, but it was not until the next century that shaving creams would evolve to a form recognizable today.

 

Soaps meant specifically for shaving started developing in England in the early part of the 19th century; in 1840, Vroom and Fowler’s Walnut Oil Military Shaving Soap became one of the first widely available foaming tablets on the market, likely due to its catchy name.  The thickness and luxuriance of the foam made it more useful for shaving than the simple soaps of before.  Also during this time, barber traditions took form which basically remain unchanged today.  Though we may no longer sport handlebar mustaches (a circumstance I lament terribly), we owe our knowledge of wet shaving to these early pioneers.

 

The 1900s saw tremendous advancements in shaving creams, but not all of them were for the better.  Burma-Shave, the first “brushless,” pre-lathered shaving cream, was introduced in America in 1925 and quickly grew popular for its convenience and famous rhyming billboards that lined the nation’s highways.  In the 1940s, as a result of wartime rationing, shaving creams took a step backward, lubricating without lathering, like the oils of old.  In addition, Jacob Schick invented the first practical electric shaver in 1923, a device that works dry with no lubrication or cream.  Although early models were somewhat clumsy and expensive, Schick sold millions and contributed to a decline in shaving cream sales across the board.

 

After the war, shaving cream suffered its toughest blow: aerosol spray cans.  First introduced in 1949, Americans chose the speed and ease of aerosol over the quality of traditional soaps and creams, despite the fact that the cans were much more expensive than their alternatives.  By the time Nixon took office, 65% of all shaving prep products sold in the US were aerosol cans, likely because of the mid-Sixties fascination with space-age technology (note: most of what I know of the 1960s comes from Star Trek).  As competition among companies grew, quality diminished to try to market the cheapest products, and Americans were mired in a wasteland of dry skin and razor burn.

 

But there was hope.  Beginning in the ‘70s and ‘80s, as EPA regulations and public sentiment turned the tide against polluting aerosol cans, many users began to turn back to old-style wet shaving.  Today, many companies offer quality products in the tradition of the old masters but with modern science and ingenuity to bring shaving creams to a level previously thought unthinkable.  Current wet shavers respect the classics and seek to emulate them with creams and soaps that combine the quality favored by their ancestors with centuries of learning and tinkering.  We may not have powdered wigs or fake beards, but our shaving needs are no less urgent than those who came before us, and shaving cream continues its march towards perfection.

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Filed under Entermation, Infotainment, Were You Aware

Come on Get Happy

What is it about gift-giving that is so stressful?  It is better to give than to receive, blessed are those that can give without remembering, and all that jazz.  Then why do I dread birthdays, Christmases, and, especially, Mother’s and Father’s days so much?  I am most certainly not a bad son; I have it on good authority that I am my parents’ favorite, no matter what my brother and sister say.  I have gone through all the standard gifts: flowers and jewelry for Mom, ties and shirts for Dad.  Each year, it becomes more and more difficult to express how much I care about them through some single object, and from my talks with my siblings and peers, I am not alone in this dilemma.  Until I started working at êShave, this Father’s Day was shaping up to be one of the most dreadful yet, as I am sure it is for most people.

 

As this company makes men’s products, we naturally have a big rush around Father’s Day, and this means tons of stressed out sons like myself come along to search for the perfect gift for dear old dad.  We pride ourselves on customer satisfaction, so this season presents a unique problem: how can we make the best out of what most people consider a miserable time of year?

 

Pondering this and all the rest of the world’s problems (as I do every morning after SportsCenter and my bowl of Lucky Charms), I made my way to the êShave offices, where the salespeople were conducting their weekly conference call.  Each Wednesday, they gather to discuss current strategies, sales figures, and their favorite colors in order to maximize business.  Being a lowly intern, I am usually not privy to these conversations, but today I was asked to sit in and listen.

 

From the speakerphone, our fearless leader, Danielle Malka, explained in simple terms what needed to be done.  Customers should be happy, and it is our job to make them happy.  While I ignored for a second the lingering thought that we should be making people happy all of time, regardless of holiday season, Danielle emphasized our commitment to customer satisfaction.  We sell luxury products, after all, tools which are meant to luxuriate.  Our products make our customers feel good and relaxed, but only after they use them.  Truth be told, the myriad of creams and scents can seem daunting on first glance; for instance, new users often can’t see the relative benefits of Orange Sandalwood After Shave Soother versus White Tea After Shave Cream.  This added level of decision-making increases stress (and makes your hair fall out, which ultimately cuts into our profits).

 

That’s where our salespeople come in.  Our goal whenever anyone comes into the store is to create the most inviting, helpful atmosphere so that our clients feel at home and can make informed decisions.  êShave quality means more than a fancy box or sweet-smelling cream; it is a commitment to improving the lives of each and every person that walks in the doors.  We provide an experience—what the French call un expérience—that is unmatched elsewhere.  We are the total package, and we will work tirelessly to make our client’s lives better.

 

So, Danielle continued, here is the plan: at our stores and on the phone, our salespeople will work to be even more friendly and helpful.  We will assist customers in every aspect of the shopping process, aiding them to find the best gift for dad, grandpa, or any other important man in their life.  We want to make this stressful time slightly less stressful.  So if you’re racking your brain trying to find the perfect gift for Father Dearest, look no further than your friendly neighborhood êShave rep.  We’ll help you find what you’re looking for, and you’ll look good doing it.

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Filed under A Little Late for Father's Day, Professional Shave, Story of My Life

Holding the Line

We here at êShave are all about the clean shaved look.  We know the ladies go crazy for a little scruff, but we also know that if you really want to get close to someone, you need that mythical “baby-butt smooth” look that, despite having an objectively creepy sounding name, greatly facilitates face-to-face contact.  The best kind of contact.

 

But for those of us who are a little more rugged, adventurous, or hirsute, or for those who simply can’t be bothered to keep our faces clean all the time, we may want a beard.  That’s perfectly alright—some of history’s greatest heroes, from Paul Bunyan to Karl Marx—sported the old Rough Rider.  It is a symbol of manliness and power the world over.  Even in America, where facial hair has more or less fallen out of fashion, the beard still conjures up images of glory and adventure.  If you walk down the street with a true carpetface, people will think you are one of three things: lumberjack, professional hockey player making a deep playoff run, or Rick Ross.  Those are all good things to be.

 

This is all moot, however, if your hair creeps below the proper neckline, that event horizon of facial fur beyond which your hirsute pursuits transform from a perfectly acceptable look to that bane of freaks and shut-ins everywhere: the neckbeard.  Extensive scientific surveys have shown that the vast majority of women admit to either “liking” or “straight-up totally digging” scruff, and a sizeable portion report being “totes turned on” by a full beard, but in a study published in 2005 in the New England Journal of Medicine, a whopping 98% of women answered either “no,” “dear God, no,” or “get away from me with that clipboard” when asked if they would date a man with a neckbeard.

 

Unfortunately, I am more familiar with this plight than most.  Whenever I try to grow out some facial hair, I manage a few wisps on my chin and upper lip like a middle schooler, but the region from my underchin to my Adam’s apple becomes a vicious forest of curly hair and girl repellant.  As Hobbes said, the life of the neckbeard can only be described as solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

 

Of course, this is to say nothing about the so-called “neckbeard culture.”  Over the past couple years, neckbeard has come to mean both the hairstyle itself and the group commonly associated with it.  As urbandictionary.com defines it, “neckbeard” is a “derogatory term for slovenly nerdy people who have no sense of hygiene or grooming. Often related to hobbies such as card gaming, video gaming, anime, et. al.”  Now, the purpose of this post is not to denigrate these pastimes or nerd culture in general.  People have their own interests, and that’s fine.  What this is meant to do is eliminate the scourge of the neckbeard, mostly so we don’t have to look at it anymore.

 

If you suffer from chronic neckbeard, there are two solutions: shave everything, or master the neckline.  The latter choice seems simple enough, but many people still make the classic mistake of shaving too close to the chin.  They think this will outline the chin, but really it just makes them look like they’ve got two.

 

To avoid such a fashion faux pas, follow these simple steps:

 

  1. To find the outer most boundary of your beard, extend the line of your sideburns down and shave everything between it and your ears.
  2. The neckline should be about halfway between the edge of your chin and your jawline.  Imagine a gently curving line extending from the back of your right ear, down to the top of the neck below the jaw, and back up to your left ear.
  3. Connect the two lines and round off the corner.  You got yourself a neckline going!

 

A good beard requires regular upkeep: trim it at least every three days to keep it looking sharp and eliminate straggling hair.  Like a herd of buffalo, by eliminating the fringes, you make the pack stronger as a whole.

 

In the spirit of the upcoming Olympics, I encourage all of you to use this knowledge to make yourselves stronger, faster, and more effective in the hunt for ladies.

 

And for all you ladyfolk out there, be warned: a new swarm of artfully bearded men is on the prowl.  Gird your loins.

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Filed under Carpetface, Lady Magnet, Shaving Advice