How to Shave Your Head in the Shower and the Benefits
If you shave your head bald and have never shaved in the shower then you don’t know what you’re missing. You’ll get the slickest look and feel, and it makes sense in every way when you see the benefits.
Let’s take a brief look at some of the benefits!
Benefits of Shaving in the Shower
- Less mess and fuss – No cleaning up hairs and soap around the sink, and no splashes of water over the floor. There is also nothing to clean up off your own body as it’s all washed off in the shower.
- You get a closer shave – I’m sure I get a closer shave in the shower and bath and this is because the constant heat from the water allows the pores to open. Splashing warm water, even on the face before shaving, doesn’t seem to work as well as the head getting a soak in the shower.
- It’s relaxing and satisfying – Personally, it just feels more relaxing and satisfying coming out of the shower all shaved up than it does when using the bathroom sink.
Less mess and fuss, you get a closer shave and it’s relaxing and satisfying.
Stuff You Need
- Hair Clippers (Palm Held Clippers are Ideal)
- Anit-mist or waterproof mirror
- Shaving soap of your choice
- A good quality razor (never shave your bonce with cheap razors)
- Pre-shave oil (optional)
Which razor type to use? This is up to you (Gillette Mach3 is perfect), although cheap throwaways (not cartridge types) are not so great, and this is one of the reasons you might have seen some guys with lots of nicks and slices on their scalp. The blade cartridge needs to be able to move up and down, which helps it to move across different areas of the scalp easily.
You can use safety razors and many guys are happy to do so. However, what I have found is a safety razor does not have flex within the head like a cartridge razor, and does not work well on the various contours of the head (Safety Razors vs Cartridge Razors).
Razors like the HeadBlade ATX and Moto are dedicated head-shaving razors that are well worth taking look at. These have the perfect design with ergonomics that makes head shaving a lot easier.
Get Prepared and Shaving
Get Trimmed First
The main thing to do before you shower is to get your hair trimmed as close to the scalp as possible, using hair clippers without attaching any clipper comb. This will make shaving with a razor much easier and faster, and enable the blade on the razor to last longer.
Get Your Anti-Mist Mirror In Place (if you have one or a normal mirror)
Place your waterproof mirror if you’re using one where it would suit you best. You shouldn’t need to use the mirror much for your head as it is all done via feeling. You will only use the mirror for your face or when avoiding shaving your beard (you might want to keep the bearded bald look).
If you don’t have an anti-mist mirror, don’t worry. You will need to wipe the mirror clean with a flannel every now and again when it mists up, or a splash of water over it does the trick.
Lubrication (gel, soap, or shaving cream)
You’ve got yourself showered and warmed up your skin with the heat of the shower water, so now you just need to cover your head (or head and face) with the shaving soap, foam, or gel. Use whichever lubrication works for you, but we usually don’t need quite as much as the amount we use when shaving our faces (just enough to create a slick film, will do).
Get Shaving
It is best to begin shaving your head upwards on the side and back against the grain, and then from the front to back on the top (also against the grain). It helps to shave against the grain; otherwise, the razor is likely to just miss lots of hair and kind of slip over the hair.
Plenty of rinsing while shaving to keep the blades unclogged is a good idea.
Once the initial shaving is done you can usually go up, down, or in any other direction. It is all about feeling around your head once you have a good part of the shaving done, and make sure you feel around the ears and the knobbly bone at the back of the head where it is easily missed.
It is all about feeling around your head once you have a good part of the shaving done. Just Feel!
Post Shave
After shaving and showering you might want to give your head a splash of cold water. This is supposed to help close up the pores, and it feels good while activating your vagus nerve at the same time.
Then get dry and check by feeling around your head for anything missed. Shaving reminds me of proofreading in terms of still finding faults after checking more than once.
Now you may apply your favorite moisturizer or balm, but do be careful if you are new to shaving your head as you don’t want a skin reaction from trying out some new lotion. For first-time head shavers it might be best to use a natural balm containing something like Aloe Vera, otherwise, if you have an issue you won’t know if it was the shaving or the after-care treatment.
Your head might itch after……
So, be prepared. If you are new to head shaving and this is the first time then you are most likely to get quite itchy and it can feel odd, and bare up there. Don’t worry the itchy feeling passes once the hair begins to grow back more, and the next time you shave your head you will not get the itch again.
How close and soft does that feel now?
Happy Shaving!
