The Shaving Order

Length of Shower: 12 min.--So, shaving is something that all of us do, or should do, at least every few days.  And while the ladies can get away with not shaving for the entire winter season sometimes, we men have to continue to shave all year long because it involves that one thing you can't hide from American society: our face!

So, what is the proper way to shave?  I'm not talking about going with the grain or using shaving cream, I'm talking about the order with which you shave the areas of your face.  Do you start in the center of your face near your lips and work your way to your ears?  Do you start near the Adam's Apple and work your way up the face?  Do you do the left side and then the right side?  Right then left?  Which way is best?  I tend to think that it doesn't really matter and so it's actually a decision of personal preference.

For me, I like to shave outside in.  So, I start with my right side near my ear and side burn.  I shave the entire right side cheek (not neck yet) but leave about an inch from my lips.  Then I do the left side in the same fashion.  Third, I go back to the right side and get the neck to the Adam's Apple.  Then the left side neck to the Adam's Apple.

With the center of my face and neck now covered with hair and shaving cream I begin to work up the neck starting just below the Adam's Apple.  You have to be very careful around the Adam's Apple because that is where most men cut themselves during shaving.  It is a difficult task shaving there which is why I wait until this moment to do it.  See by shaving a large amount of my face before this I have given myself a warm-up for this difficult and sensitive area of my neck.  However, I also didn't put it off until the end because I maybe in a hurry to finish or perhaps even just tired of shaving by then.  That is why the Adams Apple area is shaved directly in the middle of the shaving process.

Now I have a goatee looking area of shaving cream on my face.  This is also an area you need to be careful with because cutting the lips and not only be painful, but also bleed like there is no tomorrow.  So, this is where I shave down the sides of my lips and then under my lips very carefully and I finish off with the chin.  I like shaving my chin for some reason.  It's round sure, but it is both strong and soft and for some reason I always get a good close shave here without having to concentrate or worry too much about anything.  Which is good, because the final step is left and it is not a step to rush through.

Lastly, I have what I call the "Hitler stash" remaining.  It is the small area just above my lips and below my nose but not very wide and it looks like a Hitler mustache made of shaving cream.  Most of the times I resist doing funny impressions of Hitler at this point, but every once in a while I make "Hitler" do silly things to amuse myself.  Shaving here though needs to be slow and deliberate and don't hesitate to get right up into the nostrils to get those tiny little seemingly clear hairs growing there.  And also don't forget those same little microscopic hairs on your upper lip.

The final step in the shaving process is to take a good look at your entire face to make sure you didn't miss any areas.  Double check your jaw bones and upper cheeks and then make sure that your side burns are both even and level with each other; no one wants a lopsided face.

And that is the order with which I shave and will someday teach my future son to shave.  I hope this helped you men and gave you woman a deeper appreciation of a good shave on a man.  While you ladies take your time with your hair everyday, we men are taking our very lives into danger every 3 or 4 days by putting a blade to our faces so that you keep kissing us on the lips and cheeks :)