Does your shave routine go something like this?

Cover face with foam
Shave with a 3- or 5-blade razor
Rinse
Apply burning aftershave

Well, there IS a better way!

Using conventional shave foam and razors can leave your skin dry and, worse, more prone to ingrown hairs. If you ever struggle with ingrown hairs or find they pop up on a regular basis, this tutorial is for you.

What is the deal with ingrown hairs?

Are they exactly what they sound like? Yeah, they are. Ingrown hairs are hairs that get trapped under the skin but keep growing, causing red bumps that can swell and even get infected if not treated properly and eventually “released.”
Ingrown hairs (and their mean cousin, razor bumps) are more likely to wreak havoc on your face when old, dead skin cells get trapped in hair follicles, causing hairs to grow sideways or down rather than out. They can also spring up after over-shaving your face with a dull blade or a razor with multiple blades, and they tend to happen to men with curlier hair (since their hair can more easily change direction and head back into the skin).

A super close shave isn't worth anything if you have a face full of painful ingrown hairs.

Stop the unsightly red spots and the hassle! Shave like the stand-up man you are ⁠— do it right and reap the rewards of smooth, healthy-looking skin. Here’s how.


Spoiler alert: Your professional shaving journey starts with 3 products.

Prevent Ingrown Hairs and Say “l Love You” to Your Face with a Proper Shave

You will need:
1 - Shave oil
2 - High-glycerine soap
3 - Aftershave balm
>> Get all 3 with our best-selling Shaving Set

FIRST: Lube up (your face)

For best results, shave right after a steamy shower (or bath) to open your pores and soften your whiskers. Prep your clean skin for shaving by applying shave oil first ⁠— add a few pumps to your hands and massage it into your wet face and neck. Wait 30 seconds to allow your hair follicles to absorb the oil, which will do a lot to help your blade glide smoothly over your hair shafts without tugging on them.


When washing your face before a shave, gently exfoliate with a warm washcloth to help clear dead skin cells! Those little bastards can cause ingrown hairs!

SECOND: Do the deed. (Lather up and shave.)

Work our hot-processed shave soap* into a lather and apply it all over your face (yes, OVER the shave oil). Now your face is slick and ready for a gentle shave. If you can, use a safety blade (that’s 1 single blade, we’re talkin’) instead of a multi-blade razor to prevent over-scraping your skin, which, you guessed it, encourages your little hair follicles to get trapped and create ingrown hairs. More techniques to avoiding ingrown hairs and other skin problems: Shave in short strokes, go in the direction of your hair growth, and rinse your razor between strokes. When you're done shaving, give your face a final rinse with water.

What this? This is our birch tar soap. Kinda famous-y.

(*You can use your own soap too, I guess. But know that our hot-processed soap is the BEST. No really, we totally stand by that, and so do our customers who are handing out 5-star reviews like hotcakes. You should totally check it out here and, like, use it and stuff. On your face, beard, body, wherever. It works great everywhere. Even my girlfriend likes it [she shaves her legs with it]. And our birch tar soap will even make you smell like a campfire. Did we mention our fans swear by our birch tar soap for skin issues like acne and psoriasis? OK, OK, we’re done selling our soap… for now. It has tons of glycerine too, which is really amazing at moisturizing your skin, but we won’t mention that because we are DONE selling this soap bar to ya. Totally done now. End. Fin. Seriously.. you can stop reading now.)

LAST: Moisturize.

Your skin is in a sensitive place right now post-shave, so you want to pat it dry, not rub it dry, to prevent irritation and redness. Once dry, scrape a tiny bit ⁠— about a pea-sized amount ⁠— of our alcohol-free aftershave balm onto your hands, rub your hands together to melt the balm, and then massage it into your face and neck to seal in moisture and nourish your skin.

That’s it. You did it! Doesn’t it feel good?

Pro tip! Eliminate redness and give yourself a refreshing pick me up with a spritz of Face Tonic (toner and aftershave)