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Prep Your Skin for the Perfect Shave

February 4, 2014 By //  by The Beardsgaards Leave a Comment

Blademaiden Shaving

For most men (or whoever), shaving is a chore.

Of course, you can always come into the shop and have us do it for you (we barbers love shaving!), but if you have to shave your own face, proper skin preparation with save you from everything from razor burn to irritation, bleeding, sensitivity and ingrown hairs.

These are the steps we use in the shop to get your skin ready for the perfect shave, adapted for your home routine.

Buzz

Wahl DetailerIf you have more than a day or two of stubble (depending on thickness and rate of growth, of course), taking a razor straight to it can tear your face up, as well as dull the ever loving shit out of the blade.

Buzzing your whiskers down to a more reasonable length makes for a much more comfortable shave. Our favorite tool for the job is the Wahl Detailer liner, a great little multitasker that is perfect for everything from cleaning up the edges of beards and hair to knocking down ear and nose hair.

Soften

In the shop, every man’s favorite part of the shave is the hot towel portion of the festivities. A slathering of conditioner (we love Davines Nounou Conditioner) and the moist heat work together to loosen up dead skin cells and soften beard hair.

You can replicate the hot towels we use in the shop at home by soaking a hand towel in water and squeezing it out relatively hard. You want a decent amount of moisture, not sloppy wet or dripping. Then just stick it in the microwave for a minute or two (until it is almost too hot to touch), and slap it on your face. For shaves in the shop we use two to three towels, but even one application will soften things up quite nicely.

For a faster and more streamlined beard softening, you can do all of this during your normal showering routine. Go about your usual business, then near the end of your shower, when the hot water has already done its initial softening job, rub on that conditioner and let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing.

Buff

Hair, especially thick hair, does this interesting little trick wherein it grows up and out of the skin, and sometimes pulls the skin up around the hair with it. When a razor comes along, you’re trying to shave through skin and hair. This does not end well. There will be blood.

When we shave you in the shop, we use a hot towel to give your face a good rub, but a great (even better, actually) option is a scrub. While there are many excellent scrubs out there, but you can make a quick and dirty one with equal parts sugar and olive oil, followed by a wash. Or, if you live with a female person, you likely have a good scrub somewhere in your bathroom already.

Not only does a regular exfoliation give you a baby smooth face, it feels fantastic. The first time Tyler tried it, he remarked that it felt like a bear scratching its back against a tree. So. Good.

Remember, you can have too much of a good thing with this one. Keep it to two or three times a week, max.

Wash

Those little rough bits in the scrub will be a problem for your razor if you don’t get them all off your face before you shave.

Finish with a quick wash with something that is not, for the love of all things holy, standard bar soap. Most of that stuff has highly alkaline detergents that will strip everything good off your skin and age you prematurely. Seriously, whatever you grew up with your dad using is likely is the worst.

We love Hudson Made’s Apothecary Rose face and body soap, made the old fashioned way with oils that nourish your skin instead of stripping it.

Ready for razor deployment. Read about the 4 Steps to a Perfect Shave.


Ever had a razor shave in the shop? What are your biggest shaving problems? Ask away in the comments, we can help.

Filed Under: Blog, From the Chair, Shaving & Skincare Tagged With: Evergreen Terrace, How To, Pillar, Shaving, Skincare

About The Beardsgaards

The Beardsgaards are a pair of mom-and-pop barber nerds with a shared obsession with perfection. We built this old school barbershop to feel like home to everyone who enters beneath the Elvish script above our door. If we and the Gaardian army can give you a better handle on your grooming routine, all the better.

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We built this place for you, to bring you everything you ever dreamed you could find in your friendly neighborhood barbershop, and a stupid amount more. Beardsmith and Blademaiden, the mom and pop founders, invite you to explore the realm.

Our Little Slice of Valhalla

In historic downtown Batavia on Route 31 between 1st and Main

117 S Batavia Ave, Batavia, IL 60510

PHONE: ( 630 ) 454 - 4820

EMAIL: shop@beardsgaardbarbers.com

Appointment & Walk-Ins Both!

Parking

Loads of free parking here, both on the street in front of the shop, with an even more substantial parking lot in back.

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Family owned & operated since 2014. There be nerds here. And dragons.
💈Classic Haircuts • Epic Beards • Razor Shaves💈
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Beardsgaard Barbers
The time is nigh, Gaardians. The Realm is coming t The time is nigh, Gaardians. The Realm is coming to you across the ether via our new Twitch channel! Starting tomorrow evening (January 23) at 7:00 pm CST. Join us at www.twitch.tv/beardsgaardbarbers to watch the official Beardsgaard D&D game begin. 

With a mix of staff and shop friends, we will explore the reaches of The Realm, battle monsters, and save...things? Complete with doses of awkward. Be-HOLD-er on to your butts. It's going to be a wild ride!
It’s official everyone! Beard trims are back and It’s official everyone! Beard trims are back and open for booking. While we know it’s been months and everyone is looking a bit scruffy please be patient as we try and squeeze all the beard trims we can into the schedule. We’d also like to thank everyone who’s been diligent with keeping our shop a safe and healthy environment. 
If you’re already booked in the schedule we can’t guarantee we can add a beard trim to your service but we can definitely try booking you for a different time to get that beard in. 
{Link to book in bio}
Our news friends at @nbcchicago popped in for some Our news friends at @nbcchicago popped in for some street interviews. You can see what our clients and barbers said at 4pm and 6pm today!
We were deeply saddened by the news of Christopher We were deeply saddened by the news of Christopher Tolkien passing a year ago, and still are to this day. Our love of his father and Lord of the Rings is ever present here at Beardsgaard. So tonight we, and hopefully the rest of you, will take a moment to remember one of the greatest authors of all time, his son, and the impact the Tolkien family has had on our lives. 
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”
-J.R.R. Tolkien
While we appreciate all the self sufficient kids t While we appreciate all the self sufficient kids that come into the shop, we still need an adult with them to sign our liability waiver. We know it’s a bit of a pain but it’s really to appease Phydeoux the shop dragon. He has a hunger for children and waivers, and we’d rather feed him waivers.
You don’t have to wear it after your cut, but do You don’t have to wear it after your cut, but don’t forget your hat. It’s cold outside.
The product goblin (and the rest of us) think @soa The product goblin (and the rest of us) think @soapdistillery body oils smell good enough to drink. We promise the oils will make you feel much better if you put them on your outside instead of your inside though.
Well hello to those with wild beards who heard whi Well hello to those with wild beards who heard whispers of moving out of Tier 3 Mitigation! Please pause, we're not there yet. 

This does not apply to the entire state of Illinois, only certain regions. As of now, we are still in Tier 3. We will announce when we have moved to Tier 2 on all of our social media channels as well as our email list, so sit tight until then!

Because knowledge is power, you also can go to http://dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics?regionID=8 at any time and look at Region 8, which contains Kane County. As of this posting, we are not meeting the metric on hospital bed availability. 

We promise, we want to get everything under your mask looking and feeling great, but we cannot do that until it's safe. Thank you for understanding, and please keep an eye out here, on Instagram or sign up for our email list at the bottom of www.beardsgaardbarbers.com to get updates.
And you? Do you like the barber shop? We like you. And you? Do you like the barber shop? We like you.
We may specialize in short, traditionally masculin We may specialize in short, traditionally masculine haircuts, but Beardsgaard has always been a place for everyone; girls, guys, gays, theys - all identities and orientations find acceptance and a barbershop home here. If, however, you are looking for the luscious salon locks that are far less in our barberly skill set, we are the lucky next door neighbors of the incredible @coasthairsalon
Between the two of us, we have heads of every sort covered in spectacular hair, and positive vibes.
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Our Little Slice of Valhalla

In historic downtown Batavia on Route 31 between 1st and Main

117 S Batavia Ave, Batavia, IL 60510

PHONE: ( 630 ) 454 - 4820

EMAIL: shop@beardsgaardbarbers.com

Appointment & Walk-Ins Both!

Parking

Loads of free parking here, both on the street in front of the shop, with an even more substantial parking lot in back.

Current Hours

Closed for Shop Lunch 2-3 pm weekdays, 1-2 pm Saturdays

• Monday - Friday 9 / 8 • Saturday 9 / 5

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All full for the day! (Closed Sundays & Mondays. Call or book online )
For the safety of our staff and clients, we must refuse service to anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms.
Actually there’s a whole list of questions we’re gonna ask you at the door, brace yourself.
Shop closes for lunch weekdays 2-3 PM and Saturdays 1-2 PM
Shop our entire shop online, for shipping worldwide or curbside pickup! {CLICKY HERE}
Beard trims are back! Book Here!
While you’re here, peruse our sibling shop right next door or in the Webs of Inter, River Peak Apothecary!