Shaving and Facial Hair Services
Preparation and drape
A shave begins with consultation: check for skin disorders, moles, acne, recent sun exposure, or a contagious condition - any of these means stop or modify. Drape with a clean towel and neck strip so no cape touches skin. Soften the beard with a hot towel and lather worked in with a brush in a circular motion; a stiff, dry beard is the number-one cause of razor burn.
Razor handling and strokes
The razor is held at a shallow angle - roughly 30° to the skin - with a light, controlled grip. The three classic strokes are the freehand, backhand, and freehand-reverse strokes, and they exist so the barber can reach every region with the correct hand. Always stretch the skin taut ahead of the blade and shave with the grain on the first pass. Against-the-grain passes are a common cause of ingrown hairs, folliculitis, and irritation and are not the default for a test answer.
Safety and sanitation points
Use a fresh blade per client, dispose of blades in a sharps container, and never wipe a blade on a towel and reuse it. Moustache and beard outlining is done with the client upright, using the same stretch-and-shallow-angle principle.
Traps
Watch for questions that recommend shaving against the grain “for a closer shave,” that show a razor held at 45° or 90°, or that allow a nick to be handled by simply wiping the razor and continuing. Also: the hot towel is for softening and comfort, not for sanitizing.
Rule of thumb
Shallow angle, taut skin, with the grain, fresh blade.