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How To Use Shave Maps PDF
How To Use Shave Maps PDF
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How To Use Shave Maps – 1st Edition 2016 – Copyright Real Men Real Style
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Contents
How to Use a Shaving Map ..................................................................................................................................................... 1
Using the Shaving Map ....................................................................................................................................................... 1
Sections of the Face ............................................................................................................................................................ 5
How To Use Shave Maps – 1st Edition 2016 – Copyright Real Men Real Style
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(That's not actually a terrible strategy. You'll figure out pretty quickly which directions
glide smoothly and which directions tug painfully. But the trial-and-error period can really
hurt.)
How To Use Shave Maps – 1st Edition 2016 – Copyright Real Men Real Style Page 1
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How To Use Shave Maps – 1st Edition 2016 – Copyright Real Men Real Style Page 2
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Another is to follow traditional patterns. Most fathers will teach their sons a specific
technique, or you'll pick one up from some other male role model somewhere along the
way. Even shaving cream advertisements usually show men holding and pulling their
razors in a fairly standard pattern -- it doesn't change much from brand to brand.
To use it, you spend five minutes with a mirror figuring out which ways the hairs on your
face grow. Then you note the direction down on each section of the shaving map, and use
that to guide your shave.
The goal is to keep yourself always shaving in the same direction that your hairs grow. Not
everyone's leave the skin and immediately angle downward. Some curl, some grow
diagonally, and some bristle outward in a wide spray.
The more you can shave with the direction of growth, the closer you'll cut to the root of the
hair (giving you a closer shave), and the less you'll have to tug on the hairs (reducing
irritation and the chance of slipping and cutting yourself).
To do it, just get up close to a mirror, spread the hairs of your beard until you can see them
right down at the skin level, where they emerge, and note down the direction of growth.
Repeat this for each section of your face and presto -- you've got a road map for where to
draw the blade.
It sounds goofy. You'll feel goofy doing it. But once you've done it, you can follow those
directions for your next shave -- and unless you already had a perfect system down, you'll
feel a distinct improvement.
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How To Use Shave Maps – 1st Edition 2016 – Copyright Real Men Real Style Page 4
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The Jawline - Hairs that angle slightly inward (toward the point of your chin) on the
planes of your cheeks often switch to angling outward (toward the corners of your
jaw) as you switch from above the jawline to below it.
The Jowls - Most men have a diagonal crease angling out from each corner of the
mouth and running down to the jawline -- the dividing line between the jowl/cheek
and the chin. Hairs often switch directions here, with the hairs on the cheek growing
one way and hairs inside the line on the chin growing another.
The Philtrum - The small groove under your nose, running vertically down to the
upper lip, is called your philtrum. Hair growth usually divides there, with hairs on
the left side angling outward to the left, and hairs on the right outward to the right.
The Cheeks - Hairs high up on the cheek often grow more vertically than hairs
lower on the cheek. Down near the jawline you may need to be moving the razor
almost horizontally.
The Neck - Hairs down on the neck usually angle in opposite directions on each
side. This can run either way -- some men have hairs that angle in to meet at the
center, while other men have theirs growing out away from the center. In either
case the razor will generally be going at an angle most of the time.
If you look at the shaving map, it tends to divide along common "fault lines" like these to
make small regions where you'll always be moving the razor in the same direction. Give it a
try and see -- it might just change how you think about shaving forever!
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How To Use Shave Maps – 1st Edition 2016 – Copyright Real Men Real Style Page 6
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How To Use Shave Maps – 1st Edition 2016 – Copyright Real Men Real Style Page 7
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Try It Yourself!
Print Off This Page and the Next Page and Fill in Your Own Shave Map
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How To Use Shave Maps – 1st Edition 2016 – Copyright Real Men Real Style Page 9
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How To Use Shave Maps – 1st Edition 2016 – Copyright Real Men Real Style Page 10
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How To Use Shave Maps – 1st Edition 2016 – Copyright Real Men Real Style Page 11