The Art of Shaving

by Myriam Zaoui and Eric Malka

Book Overview

The average man will shave approximately 20,000 times over the course of his life, spending the equivalent of 139 full days doing it. He will shave off 27 feet of hair, from a total of 30,000 whiskers on his face. And he will probably be doing something wrong. So he'll suffer nicks and cuts, ingrown hairs, and rashes; his five-o'clock shadow will arrive before lunch, his neck will be irritated and red, and he'll get razor burn. Instead of reaping...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609609157
• ISBN13: 9780609609156
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter Publishers
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.8" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

A solid intro to wet shaving

This is a handy book for those of us in the man's world who have been shaving for some time with no real idea of how to do it, just our best guess. Some of it might be old hat to the experienced shaver, but some of it won't be, particularly the addition of lotions and a skin care regimen. This is a manual on how to shave, as well as how to care for your skin. We need to get past thinking of these as separate things. They are not. If you do one and not the other you have an inferior product. Take care of your skin prior to and during the shave and half the battle is won. In fact, with proper skin care and proper shaving technique and equipment you will actually look forward to shaving. My only complaint with this book is its adoption of the multi-razor cartridges of today. These expensive and inefficient heads are one of the banes of my existence. I have adopted the older safety razor for my use, which provides a far closer shave and for infinitely less money. Further exploration of this topic would have made the book better, in my opinion, and offered a realistic contrast to the status quo of today. Still, it is a minor quibble with a great little book.

Watch the video first

I found some useful information in this book. However, most of the tips are display in a fairly well done video at the author's website. Just do a google search on "The Art of Shaving" and view the "Perfect Shave" video. You will see all of the tips acted out. Like shave after a shower, shave with the grain, use a preshave oil, how to dry afterwards, etc. The book itself is not bad, and a very quick read. The book is not a direct advertisement for the author's products. He actually rarely mentions them in the text. The book is useful no matter who you buy your supplies from.

Great!

I have been shaving for 40+ years and now realize that I did not know how to do it right! This book is terrific and tells you what you need to know. I'm now enjoying my morning shave as this book has made it into a real pleasure and a small luxury to start the day. Skin looks and feels better, shave is actually closer, and it is a relaxing moment in the day. Yes, there are some commercials for the authors' store, but if you don't like that just skip over those bits and go on the Internet to find alternate supplies (Casewll Massey has some great products too). Buy the BEST badger hair brush you can find and follow the rest of the authors' advice and you will start enjoying the ritual and how you look and feel afterward. Very highly recommended.

Some good information

This book covers a lot on technique, tools, and supplies. Some people might not care about the historical elements of shaving, but I found them interesting. A few elements might seem common sense, but not everyone was taught to shave properly. Some of the tips (like using pre-shave oil) were invaluable. It was nicely compiled and a quick, informative read. The "aromatherapy" seemes a bit like snake oil selling, but staying away from alcohols and petro-chemicals is good advice. Bottom line, I'm getting better shaves after reading this book.

Detailed, informative and a quick read

I received this book (along with the products the authors are affiliated with) as a gift and would recommend it (and them).As an engineer, I found the systematic analysis of the best types of products, techniques and tools to be very useful. The authors recommend types of products (which they do happen to sell) but not specific brands. The one exception to this is a product they don't sell anyway.I liked the book and found some great information and advice in there.