Michael Kellydoes without . . . shaving foam
A few months ago I gave up shaving for a week, inspired mainly by my intense dislike of being forced to pay through the nose for razor blades. If you think blades are bad, shaving foam is an even bigger racket, if you ask me.
I don't mind paying for a product when it's necessary or good value. But men seem to have been duped into believing that you cannot shave without cream, which is just not true. And here's another thing: far from helping the whole process, shaving cream makes your skin feel mushy and insipid. Give your face a rub: if it feels like slapping a raw chicken breast, you will know what I mean.
This week's minor triumph was that I moved away from expensive, toxic shaving foam - just what's in it that causes a pea-sized drop to expand to an orange-sized ball in three seconds? - and instead used a little oil to shave. You can use any type, really. Baby oil will do fine. The first step is to move your shaving into the shower. Four out of five men still shave at the sink, even though the steam and moisture in a shower make shaving there much more comfortable.
It felt strange at first, shaving without that big white chemical mask between my precious face and the blade. But I persevered. It didn't hurt. I didn't get razor burn. Quite the opposite, in fact. Within a week my skin felt as if it was in better condition. I also felt smug about not washing blobs of foamy white chemicals down the plughole.
If you don't like the idea of using baby oil (it's not very manly, I admit), head for your local chemist and pick up a bottle of, say, King of Shaves oil, which is basically just tea-tree oil and water. You use just a few drops for each shave, so one of the tiny bottles will last for months.
I will never go back to foam - not least because I no longer need to use loads of aftershave to soothe my skin.
By the way, King of Shaves was, briefly, my favourite company in the whole world, until I discovered that it also makes a bronzing moisturiser for men. If the big cosmetics companies have their way - and they probably will - all men will moisturise morning and night, exfoliate once a week and apply eye cream daily.
Fight this tyranny. The first step in our resistance is to stop buying shaving foam. Victory can be ours!