minimal shaving

one of the things i like about vacation is the ability to live exactly as you want. you can wear the clothes that feel good, wake when you want, and eat and drink whatever you want. but the thing i like the best is the ability get up and walk the beach immediately after rolling out of bed. throw on some shorts and start your day. it is the elimination of the daily routine that reminds you that you are on vacation. it is the freedom from the daily grind that tells you that you are free.

one of the core parts of my day is the daily shave. with the need to keep my agressive haircut in good form, i shave head and face every day. i do it everyday, a reminder to myself that i made a decision years ago, i changed things inside and out, things that may have only mattered to me. it all came with a central promise to myself, and everyday the process is a reminder. my routine is for me, no one is watching or telling me to do it. it may not matter to anyone; but it makes me happy so i keep it going it and remember.

but when i am on a trip, i tend to relax and delay my ritual until later in the day. i spend the day-time hours with stubble and then clean the day away with a shave and shower before dinner. there is something about being on the beach, holding a glass in your hand, and looking like hemingway's santiago that feels good in a different way. it also reminds me of my father, the man who taught me to shave, who when i see him now is rarely clean shaven. i look in the mirror and think about the old man, and the ritual that has changed over the years.

when i first began, my father brought me into the bathroom and gave me a soft brush and a cup for the shaving soap. he taught me how to wet my beard, apply the soap to my face and then to draw the razor over my skin. i was brought into the club, a clear sign of manhood and i felt as though i was taught the right way. something about wetting the brush and then swirling it against the soap in the cup just felt right. it was more thoughtful than pushing the button on a can. i started my adulthood by going old-school, feeling the brush on my skin before the cold razor.

i shaved like this all though high school. when college came, the brush was in my toiletry bag, but i also had a small can of cream. standing at the bank of sinks after showering, with a brush in my hand lost some of its appeal. i used a razor and shaving cream at the sink for the next 15 years. it was a standard practice, it lost the appeal of the original. it was now a chore that i needed to do. it might have felt good before a special event, but most days it was just a portion of the routine. until i moved my shaving into the shower.

i had read an article on shaving, the focus was that shaving cream was not important for anything more than to keep your skin wet for the razor. the article made it clear that water was the key element, soap or cream was an enabling technology. i decided to experiment with this by moving my shave under the shower head. the major upside was that shaving was now under the warm water spray, rather than standing at the sink during the winter. the reality that the sink remained clean with my new technique was an added marital benefit.

the next decade saw changes to the process. i went from shaving cream, to women's shaving cream i shared with my wife, to soap because it was there and my wife no longer was, to elimination of the soap all together for a razor and water only shave. this was the culmination of a transition the article had pointed to years ago. the legacy of my fathers teachings were hard to shake, but in the end simple was better.

when i had moved into the shower, i needed to bring a mirror with me, over the years that was dropped too; it became all about feeling my way to the clean shave. this was reinforced when i moved to asia and spent months shaving in the dark, no need for a mirror if the bathroom was dark anyway. those months were also without hot water, which i was told was normal for malaysia, but it was the line i could not cross. razor and hot water were the limits of my simplicity of the daily shave.

until this week, i have found a way to further simplify the package. my toiletry bag stays in my luggage, always ready to travel. before i left on holiday i checked the bag and found fresh razors ready to go. i had a nagging feeling i was missing something after my last trip, but checking made me feel better. until i reached my post travel-adventure shower and found the razors there, but the handle missing. i was without a key piece of shaving equipment, in a resort over an hour from the nearest city, no hope of finding a spare handle and no desire to go without shaving for 3 days.

so, i did what any former macgyver viewer would do; i found a way. my solution was pretty simple, i didn't have to break out the leatherman and duct-tape and attach the razor to a trimmed down toothbrush handle (i considered that and discarded the idea). but i now know that razor handles are not a requirement for a clean shave. in a pinch, you simply need to pinch the razor between your thumb and first two fingers. it takes a second to get the feel, but a clean, smooth shave is possible. again, simple is best.

i remember the old man every time i shave. i love that i was taught the right way to do it when i was young, but i also love that i have made this process my own over the years. slowly eliminating all the extras and getting to the bare requirements. i never set out to do this, but as the years pass you learn things. if you travel and take on new situations, you find what is important. you also find that you can control the time and place for yourself when you are relaxed and enjoying live.

what is better than a clean smooth shave? the ability to remember what got you here.