The razor I “enjoyed” most was the Gillette Sensor Excel. Most new razors have pivoting heads that have led to some pretty painful hacking. The Sensor Excel’s head does not pivot so if you’re looking for a multi-blade razor, look for this one but do not fall for the Sensor3 which has more whizbang features and I believe a pivoting head. I used to buy 30 cartridges at a time for it at Costco but unfortunately they no longer seem to carry them here in Reno.

I’ve recently discovered the problem was the multiple blades. Multi-blade razors function in such a manner that the first blade pulls the hair and the second, third, fourth (and so on) blades cut the hair. Ouch! Earl Spriggs gave me a single-blade straight razor along with shaving soaps and a brush as a graduation present and I’ve found it makes a significant difference during shaving. Before I started using the “new” razor, he suggested I check out videos from Mantic59 on YouTube. Mantic59 has an entire channel of videos dedicated to shaving with multiple types of razors including a straight edge razor, for those of you brave souls looking for a barber shave.

While I doubt shaving will ever be an entirely pleasant experience, I’ve found that using a single-blade razor has made shaving much more enjoyable and my face doesn’t hate me (as much) afterward.

Everything I’ve watched and read about single-blade shaving stresses the importance of:

• Maintaing a 30-degree angle between the blade and the face
• Proper lathering
• Have patience when shaving – it’s not a race
• Do NOT apply pressure to the blade
• Use an alcohol-free aftershave product to help soothe and condition the skin

Not applying pressure to the blade might seem counterintuitive for most shavers because most of today’s safety razors are extremely light and require a little bit of pressure to pull and hack the hair off your face. When using a single-blade razor (as pictured right), the weight of the razor itself is enough pressure to provide a close shave without destroying the top layer of your skin. If you’re doing it right, you will know it’s working as you actually hear the blade cutting the hair, something you probably don’t hear with your multi-blade razor now. The key to avoiding razor burn is to not apply pressure!

Happy shaving!