Shaving, Beard Design, and Facial Hair Services
Preparation and skin
A safe shave starts with softening: warm towels and lather hydrate and swell the hair, making it easier to cut and less irritating to the skin. Hold skin taut with the free hand, and shave with the grain first for comfort, re-lathering for any against-the-grain pass. A straight razor is held at roughly a 30-degree angle, never scraped flat against the skin.
Strokes
Learn the named strokes: the freehand stroke travels down and slightly outward, the reverse freehand travels up and inward, and the backhand stroke is used on the opposite side of the face. Keep the razor stropped and honed and never test sharpness on your own skin during a service.
Beard design and lines
Symmetry is the graded skill. The cheek line is drawn naturally, following the client's growth pattern; the neckline is shaped in a soft U roughly one to two finger widths above the laryngeal prominence (Adam's apple); the mustache line stops at the natural lip line and never enters the mouth. Blend sideburns into the haircut and check both sides from the front before finishing.
Traps
- Shaving over moles, acne, boils, or broken skin - contraindicated; refer.
- Forgetting that a fresh chemical service or exfoliation makes skin more sensitive.
- Making the neckline too high, which removes the natural beard foundation.
- Using styptic powder as a substitute for proper technique; it treats nicks, not prevention.
Rule of thumb
Design the lines on the skin before removing hair, then step back and compare left to right. If the two sides don't mirror, fix the fuller side first.