Throw it away!! You will never need shaving cream again!!!

In the NewScientist regarding how shaving cream works:

I once read an interview with a scientist from Gillette, the American shaving cream manufacturer, who explained that a razor can cut wet hair more easily than dry hair. The only purpose of the shaving cream, he said, was to hold the water against the hair shaft. Hair gets its maximum saturation in water after about two minutes, he added.

I was in the habit of shaving every morning before I took a shower, but I was too impatient to wait two minutes after applying the cream. It struck me that, instead of shaving first, I should simply wait until I had finished showering and my beard would be fully saturated. I reasoned that I should be able to shave then, without using any shaving cream. I tried it, and got the cleanest, smoothest shave I ever had in my life. I have never used shaving cream since.

I apologise to Gillette if the honesty of their scientist results in reduced sales.

make sure you dont try this with a leg razor

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Update on Sunday, July 9, 2000 - Server time 19:14

After making this node, I tried it myself the next morning. It fucking worked! My face is smooth as a baby's butt and I didn't use a drop of shaving cream. It even worked on those hard to shave places like the upper lip and chin.

Update on Tuesday, July 11, 2000 - Server time 18:57

This rocks. Anybody want to buy a half used can of shaving cream?

Wait a minute! You may want to hang on to that can of shaving cream after all...

A few days after reading Halcyon&on's writeup I decided to test out his findings, mainly because I think shaving is a hassle and making the whole process quicker would be very nice indeed.

By eliminating the need for shaving cream I could not only save time and money, but also be spared the inevitable exasperation of having to wash down the drain the excess shaving cream I always have in my hands after applying rich amounts on my face. How come there always comes too much shaving cream out of the can?

Anyway, I had waited a few days so as to have a bit of beard to shave off. After a long shower, I started to shave, not using shaving cream. And, HANG ON(!), this actually worked!

I must admit I had been a bit sceptical, because previous efforts of shaving without shaving cream had been quite painful and not very successful. But then I had not known about the need for saturating the hair with water.

But now, shaving went pretty smoothly, although it felt different than when using shaving cream, the beard was shaven off quickly and without any cuts or scratching. Good.

But...

Yes, there was a but. Even if the shaving itself went pretty good, the result really wasn't too impressive. After shaving and washing up, I realized that there really was quite a bit of stubble left.

OK, I had better try this again...

Another long shower, and yet again, shaving without shaving cream. But this time, scrutinous and meticulous work went into the removal of facial hair. The result? A bit disappointing really... Lots of stubble, and lots of time spent. And this time I didn't have all that much beard when beginning.

Conlusion... well, sort of

So, what this has taught me is that shaving cream is actually a good thing, especially if you want a close shave. But you really have to let it stay on your face for a little while for it to work properly.

Shaving without shaving cream does work though, just not as well as Halcyon&on claims.

A song that makes frequent appearences on the Dr. Demento show. The good doctor generally adlibs and sings the lyrics live, and they're never the same twice.

The chorus is:

Shaving Cream!
Stay nice and clean!
Shave every day
and you'll always look keen!

The verses are always unique, but are designed to combine with the chorus to play on our tendency to want to complete the rhyme. For instance:

My girl and I were to be married
I wanted to look proper and fit
But on the way to the chapple
I tripped on an apple
and fell into a great big deep pile of....(Chorus)