HOME WEB NEWS IMAGES CLASSIFIEDS YELLOW PAGESPOLLS - SURVEYS WIKI COUNTRIES PHOTOS US UK INDIA
Cities Stocks Weather Movies Coupons Travel Blogs Health Horoscope Maps ASIA EUROPE Classifieds Yellow Pages
|
 gold coast, camp grounds, site mapsearch engine, slab city, rest area | ||
|
new year, buy from, rights reserved shows, tutorials, tell me | ||
|
last minute, fly from, drop off ryanair, low fares, vacations | ||
 1
|
This article is about the use of a razor. For the thin strip removed from the surface of a piece of wood by planing, see Plane (tool).
A man shaving his undercheek using a straight razor.
Shaving is the removal of body hair (depilation), using a sharp blade known as a razor or with any other kind of bladed implement, to slice it down to the level of the skin. Shaving is most commonly used by men to remove their facial hair and women to remove their leg and underarm hair. A man is called clean-shaven if he has had his beard totally removed.Clean-shaven. Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
Both men and women sometimes shave their facial hair, undercheek hair, chest hair, abdominal hair, leg hair, underarm hair, pubic hair or any other bodily hair.Susan Breslow Sardone. What is a Bikini Wax?. about.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-26. Head shaving is much more common among men. It is often associated with religious practice, the armed forces and some competitive sports such as swimming and extreme sports. It has become common for men with partial baldness. Head shaving has also been used to humiliate, punish and show submission to an authority.Mark of a woman (February 20, 2007). Mark of a woman. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-09-26. |accessdate=2007-09-26}} (from internet archive)<
In most societies there is a social stigma around the presence of perceptible beard growth on a woman and strong pressure to remove it.
Contents |
Alexander the Great\'s shaven image on the Alexander Mosaic, 2nd Century BC
Before the advent of razors, some humans removed hair using two shells to pull the hair out.The war against hair. shaving.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-26. Later, around 3,000 BC, when copper tools were developed, humans developed copper razors. The idea of an aesthetic approach to personal hygiene may have begun at this time, though Egyptian priests may have practiced something similar to this earlier. Alexander the Great strongly promoted shaving during his reign in the 4th century BC.
Shaving can be done with a straight razor or safety razor (called \'manual shaving\' or \'wet shaving\') or an electric razor (called \'dry shaving\'). If a manual wet razor is used, some lathering or lubricating agent such as cream, soap, gel, foam or oil is normally applied to the area to be shaved first; this helps avoid a painful razor burn. These lubricate the area to be shaved, moisturize the skin and lift, soften and swell the hairs. This enhances the cutting action and sometimes permits cutting the hairs deeper below the surface of the skin.
Safety razor, shaving brush and shaving soap. The brush is used to make lather from the soap.
There are two types of manual razors: straight razor and safety razors. Safety razors are further subdivided into double-edged razors, injector razors, cartridge razors and disposable razors.
Straight razors are still made today, notably by Dovo, Zowada Razors, Thiers Issard, and Feather. Shaving with these razors requires some practice but one can pick up the art very quickly. Once it was more commonplace but now is seen mostly in use in barber shops wielded by a skilled barber.
While straight razors did give a good shave, there was the task of sharpening and honing the razor from which the invention of the double-edged razor offered freedom.Safety Razors - What you need to know before you buy. Classic Shaving Guide. Retrieved on 2007-09-26. Double-edge razors are also readily available and are still made by Merkur in Germany, Antique Gillette, Schick, and Feather (a Japanese company). Double-edge razors are named so because the blade that they use has two sharp edges. Cartridge razors are the most expensive type as the blades are designed to only fit the razors of the manufacturer. Current multi-bladed cartridges claim to improve shaving and have seen a design war with manufacturers adding greater numbers of blades than competitors.
Disposable razors are the cheapest available and have a simple handle built into the blade. Purchasers are not tied to a single manufacturer but can easily switch to cheaper or better brands thus keeping prices low.
These methods can be used with disposable cartridges, disposable razors, safety razors and straight razors.All About Shaving Hudson\'s]. FTM Resource Guide. Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
References How to shave correctly. health24.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
Some tough beards may get a closer shave by shaving again immediately after the first shave, but this time going in the direction across the grain or against the grain. (Some find that shaving against the grain leads to cuts, soreness and ingrown hairs.)
Shaving cream acts as a lubricant and a moisturizer, and also as an indicator of which areas have not been shaved.Shaving seminar: (a) With the grain or against it? (b) Hot water or cold?. The Straight Dope. Retrieved on 2007-09-26. Shaving gels may dry out the skin. The modern shaving cream may be slightly more expensive but offers a more comfortable shave; they are often found to be enriched with aloe vera (soothing) and/or tea tree oil (natural antiseptic). A cheaper alternative is to use any soft soap and a brush with long soft bristles (called a Shaving brush). The soap is worked up into a foam by the brush, either against the face, in a Shaving mug, bowl or scuttle.
Many men use an aftershave lotion after they have finished shaving. It may contain an antiseptic agent such as isopropyl alcohol to prevent infection from cuts, a perfume to enhance scent, and a moisturizer to soften the facial skin.
One of the most overlooked aspects after shaving is moisturizing the skin. The skin ends up damaged and dry after shaving, so in order to give back its natural moisture levels moisturizer must be applied. It\'s better if your moisturizer has solar protection included, because the dryness and sun damage can lead to faster aging.
A rotary design electrical shaver
The Electric razor consists of a set of oscillating or rotating blades, which are held behind a perforated metal foil that prevents them coming into contact with the skin. Bristles poke through holes in the foil and are sliced by the moving blades. In some designs the blades are a rotating cylinder, in others they are one or more rotating disks, and in others a set of oscillating blades. Each design has an optimum motion over the skin for the best shave and manufacturers provide guidance on this. Generally for circular blades it is a circular motion and for cylindrical or oscillating blades it is up and down. The first electric razor was built by Jacob Schick in 1928.
The primary disadvantage to electric shaving is that it is not as close as wet shaving. The advantages are as follows: fewer cuts in the skin, no ingrown hairs (pseudofolliculitis barbae, also called razor bumps), less pain and redness. Shaving with an electric razor. Electric Shaving Guide. Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
Many pre- and post-electric lotions are sold but electric shaving does not usually require the application of any lubrication to be effective and can be done dry.
There are special electrical razors available for use by women, but these are essentially no different to those made for men.
Shaving without the aid of shaving cream, gel, soap, or oil is known as dry shaving. Electric razors are typically used without external shaving aids, and were originally called dry shavers. However, modern electric razors often lubricate the skin slightly, and pre-shave lotions which provide some lubrication without clogging electric razors are available.
The removal of a full beard often requires the use of scissors or an electric (or beard) trimmer to reduce the mass of hair, simplifying the process.
Shaving can have numerous side effects, including cuts, abrasions, and irritation. Many side effects can be minimized by using a fresh blade, applying plenty of lubrication, and avoiding pressing down with the razor. A shaving brush can also help. There are many products on the market to get rid of them, they commonly dry the affected area and some help to lift out the trapped hair(s). Some people choose to use only single-blade or wire-wrapped blades that shave farther away from the skin. Others cannot use razors at all and use depilatory shaving powders to dissolve hair above the skin\'s surface.
Cuts from shaving can bleed for about fifteen minutes. Cuts can be caused by blade movement which is parallel to the blade or to the presence of bumps on the skin which are sliced by the blade. Common methods used to stop bleeding include putting alcohol on a cotton swab and pressing it onto the cut until the bleeding stops, as well as tearing off a small piece of toilet paper and placing it onto the cut. Products such as styptic pencils and styptic liquids can also be used to stop bleeding. Placing a small amount of petroleum jelly on a cut after most of the bleeding has ended can stop the bleeding without forming a scab. Shaving in a cold shower can help prevent bleeding as well, because blood flow to the skin is reduced in these conditions due to vasoconstriction caused by the cold water.
Shaving blade disposal in the era of safety razors and double edge blades was a concern for a mans spouse and children who could easily take a casually cast blade into the garbage, and in the process of compressing or compacting the garbage, cut themselves seriously. In fact bathroom mirrored cabinets had blade slots manufactured into their chassis so that the dulled blades could be placed out of the hands of children or wives by dropping the blades between the studs of the house wall framing, "out of sight out of mind".
Razor burn is an irritation of the skin caused by shaving either at sensitive areas or not using proper technique. It appears as a mild rash and usually disappears after a few hours to a few days, depending on severity. In severe cases, razor burn can also be accompanied by razor bumps, where the area around shaved hairs get raised red welts or infected pustules.
Razor burn is a common problem, especially among those who shave coarse hairs on areas with sensitive skin like the bikini line (This includes, pubic hair, hair around the penis, hair around the scrotum, and hair around the anus.), underarms, chest, and beard.
The condition can be caused by shaving too closely, shaving with a blunt blade, dry shaving, applying too much pressure when shaving, shaving too quickly or roughly, or shaving against the grain.
Ways to prevent razor burn include keeping the face moist, using a shaving brush and lather, using a moisturizing shaving gel, shaving in the direction of the hair growth, resisting the urge to shave too closely, applying minimal pressure, avoiding scratching or irritation after shaving, avoiding irritating products on the shaved area (colognes, perfumes, etc.) and using an aftershave cream with aloe vera or other emollients.How to Get That Perfect Shave Also, it is good to prepare the skin for shaving by cleansing the area to be shaved with a face wash containing salicylic acid, to facilitate the removal of oils and dead skin. Putting a warm, wet cloth on one\'s face helps as well, by softening hairs.Preshave. razorburnrelief.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
Ways that may help heal and soothe razor burn include applying witch hazel, mild salicylic acid solutions, aloe vera gel or cold water. Home Remedy for Razor Burn
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama shows a shaved face and a shaved head.
Tonsure is the practice of some Christian churches, and some Hindu and Buddhist (only monks or nuns) temples of shaving the hair from the scalp of priests as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem.
Muslim men are discouraged from shaving their faces. Some legal schools include the moustache in this definition while others encourage the moustache to be shaved. [1]
Jewish men are forbidden by the Torah to shave their facial hair with a razor.Leviticus 19:27 Whether it is permitted to shave with an electric razor is a matter of debate among Jewish legal decisors, but most are lenient.Heinemann, Moshe. Electric Shavers. Retrieved on December 2006.
Hair (known as Kesh) is one of the Five K’s which all baptised Sikhs keep. It is a common belief among Sikhs that it is forbidden to shave any body hair because God created the human body with hair, and it is against His will for them to remove it. One of the reasons Sikhs wear turbans is to cover their long hair.
Historically however, Sikhs were required to wear a turban and beard in India during Muslim rule in order to be easily identifiable and to show that they would not only openly practise their religion in the face of religious persecution, but also afford protection to other Sikhs and Hindus seeking shelter from the rulers of the time.
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia
