Reply #60: Pre-treat with Magic Cream Shave, then use a blade

[Dogmudgeon]

You can also use Nair, but Magic Cream Shave is better formulated. It says it's exclusively for black men, but like a good libbrul, I'm color-blind. I am deeply grateful for yet another African-American-initiated improvement in the culture of manliness. Ebony's online Yahoo! store has a lot of similar products. (You should not use depilating powders until you have a lot of experience with the cream method and a devil-may-care attitude about your face. They are difficult to work with.) Magic Cream Shave is widely sold at retail for about three bucks a tube and it comes in two strengths. The tube also says it's "fragrant" but it has minimum added perfume -- the fragrance is from the depilatory itself.

I have baby-like skin but the beard of Hercules, God's punishment for my choice of a Russian Jewish father and an Irish-English mother.

Here is La Technique: smear the depilatory on your face and remove it as soon as you feel any kind of burning sensation. At first, you won't be able to keep it on for more that a few minutes, but after a week or two, you'll be able to keep it on for a half an hour or more. Just make sure to keep it moist -- wet your fingertips, rub the water in lightly, and rinse your hands off.

To remove it, wipe it off gently, then rinse your face well. Aveeno Shave Cream works well with it and is my shaving cream of choice. Only a little is required. Gels don't work quite as well -- not for me, anyway. You may find otherwise.

Although the depilatory is not (and should NOT be) painful, I do find shaving to be painful under any circumstances. So I also mix a little anesthetic liquid, like Bactine or J&J Antiseptic Wash, in with the shaving cream. It's all quite easy on the budget. I've even used straight Lanacaine, but you only really need a little.

This may all sound horrific, but it isn't. The active ingredients, thioglycolates, are strong alpha-hydroxy acids that have an anti-wrinkle and anti-infection effect. It literally melts into the hair -- not the skin. Where there is no hair, the stuff cleans the skin's pores out thoroughly, so with care, you can use it on areas where there is little hair. Just don't get it near your eyes! (So if you want to use it on your brow for deep cleansing, roll up a dry washcloth and hold it over your eyes and/or eyebrows.)

Also, don't use it on active pimples and acne outbreaks. Common sense is called for. If you have a skin condition, don't use this method until you have a chance to consult a dermatologist!

Some of the hair will just come off when you wash the cream away, but the rest of it will need to be shaved. You can then use even a fairly dull razor and you will still get a remarkably close shave with even LESS irritation that you are accustomed to. If you have a light beard, you could conceivably get a good shave with a plastic edge like an old credit card. (There are actually plastic shaving blades -- check out that Ebony link.)

Do not expect perfect shaves for the first two weeks, the same as when you change to any other shaving method. You should also let your beard grow out a little more often for the first few weeks. And go slow with the depilatory exposure times. If you are patient, you will be rewarded with incredibly close, even shaves and an improvement in your skin's health.

I pre-treat, spend a half-hour reading, then shave. After that, a shower. There is still a little facial irritation (read: pain) as with any blade shave, but a lot fewer nicks, so the overall pain and irritation is far less in most cases. It all depends on your ability to pay attention to details, like how the depilatory works on your beard and skin.

It may sound like a lot of work, but the technique can be mastered quickly. It's a lot more comfortable and actually saves hirsute dudes like the Big Ol' Pig a lot of time.

--p!