It’s time to get rid of that Movember ‘stache.
On Nov. 30, Movember, an annual charity event in which men grow moustaches in order to promote awareness of prostate and testicular cancer, comes to a close. When the calendar hits December, many Movember participants will tending to some much-needed grooming.
In order to assist in the process, we decided to consult the experts at r/wicked_edge, a subreddit dedicated exclusively to shaving.
Through topics like razor suggestions, technique ideas, and even “close shave” stories (which have nothing to do with near-accidents), r/wicked_edge has brought over 22,000 shaving enthusiasts to its strange corner of Reddit since September 2010. Moderator andrewsmith1986 believes grooming can indeed be an art form.
“There is a beauty to it much in the same way that a fast car or a sword or a firearm has,” he explained. “It is very much like meditation. I stop thinking about all of my other problems in my life and I take an hour out of my day every few days to just pamper myself and remove the hair on my face (warm bath, hot towel, warm lather, moisturizer, after shave, conditioner).”
The subreddit was one of many online communities that participated in Movember. Fellow moderator betelgeux joined in, posting a video of himself shaving his beard and leaving only his moustache.
Since most Movember participants may be used to removing only stubble from their faces, andrewsmith1986 had some tips for when it comes to shaving a full-fledged moustache that has been growing for the past 30 days.
“Depending on your growth and the type of blade you use, you should definitely trim it first,” he suggested. “You won’t be able to get much off per stroke if you don’t.”
While r/wicked_edge glorifies the use of straight, double edge, or injected blade razors, andrewsmith1986 believes that there is no one “best” razor to use.
“My razor (a 1922 Gillette tuckaway safety razor) is older than my father and I combined and has likely been used 1000+ times in the years since it was made,” he said. “It is still as solid as the day it was made and works even better than it did then due to the increases in blade technology.”
Fortunately for Movember participants, shaving one’s ‘stache is far easier than tackling beard or neck hair.
“Shaving just a moustache, you can see what you are doing pretty well,” he explained. “Shaving my neck is difficult due to the size/position of my mirror and the fact that I’m 6’4”. A moustache isn’t too difficult either because the grain typically moves in one direction. My neck is a bramble of chaotic hairs.”
Sharpen those blades, folks. Christmas card photos are just around the corner.
Photo via Chris Gladis/Flickr