Shaving – Do try this at Home

It’s a pretty common occurrence at the shop to have inquiries about what exactly is involved in a Wet Shave.  For men who have for decades been shaving perfectly adequately at home, they want to know what we can offer that they don’t already do themselves.  Anyone who’s been to our store and experienced a shave from one of our expert barbers will attest  that what we offer is luxury in a barber’s chair, though that’s not to say that there are ways to make your home shaving routine a little more like the real McCoy.  Here are some tips on what you can do in your own bathroom

If you’ve ever had a traditional shave you’ll know there’s nothing quite like it.  From the smell of the shaving cream and the feel of the hot towel hitting your face to the unbeatable smoothness of the final results, it’s an unforgettable rite of passage.  Plus, there’s something liberating about having someone else do all the work.  What is essentially a daily chore turns into a relaxing indulgence.  But there’s another benefit to having a traditional wet shave.  If you’re observant (and are inquisitive enough to ask a few questions) you can pick up some great tips about technique and then incorporate them into your routine at home.  Men on the whole aren’t taught how to shave and so they get it wrong from the start, leaving their first experience a bad one.

Pall Mall Barbers are expert barbers and considered by many to be London’s favourite barbershop

Luxury haircuts and wet shaves

Tools of the Trade

For a traditional approach to shaving, kit yourself out with these essential shaving tools.

The Hot Towel

To prepare your skin for the shave, give yourself a DIY hot towel treatment by dipping a towel into a sink full of hot water, wringing it out and plopping it onto you face for minute or so.  It’s how we, the professionals always kick off a traditional shave.  To aid this process you can use a product like American Crew pre shaving oil or even a simple almond oil.  Rubbing the oil into the skin helps soften the skin, reduce friction for the razor and helps lift the hairs in readiness for cutting.

The Razor

Razors are a bit like cars – some handle better than others and driving an Audi Q7 is always going to be better than driving a clapped out old banger.  So to groom like a lord invest in a decent razor – we would always recommend one of our “Regal” range or if you’d like something a little more unique our double edged razor.  Like many traditional style razors it uses a “butterfly” design head which allows the top to be opened to allow the insertion of double-edged blades.  It also allows for the razor blades to be continuously adjusted, ensuring you have total control as you’re shaving.  But what about open or cut throat razors, you ask?  Well, they are the crème de la crème, but we’d suggest coming to the shop for some lessons before embarking in “extreme shaving”.

Pall Mall Barbers is a quality barbershop in London’s West End. We offer cut throat shaves

The Shaving Brush

Start by investing in a quality shaving brush like our Art Deco Badger Hair Brush.  Not only is it the best way to create a creamy lather, it also helps lift your stubble and exfoliate the skin, ridding it of the dead cells which can clog your razor.  The best brushes are made of badger hair – one of the few animal hairs that holds, rather than repels moisture.  To protect your investment always hang your brush upside down on a brush stand after use.  This prevents water seeping into the handle, causing the hairs to rot.

Shaving Cream

Face the facts: there’s nothing gentlemanly about a cheap own brand shaving foam, so switch to a traditional shaving cream – they’re richer, creamier and often kinder to the skin.  Or use a traditional shaving soap, like D R Harris’ Arlington Shaving Soap.  It will work brilliantly with your new shaving brush.

The Balm

A soothing balm is essential for calming irritation, re-hydrating skin and kick starting the skin’s natural repair process.  One brand that proves very popular in the shop is Jack Black.

Stylish haircuts in a traditional setting. Great gifts for men

BBC Generation Earth – Filmed at Pall Mall Barbers 28th May‏

On a bleary eyed Monday morning at 9am an intrepid television crew came to Pall Mall Barbers for a spot of filming. There were five people in the team; the Assistant Producer, the Director Nat Sharman, the Camera Operator, the Sound Recordist and the presenter Dallas Campbell. It was for a new BBC television show “Generation Earth”.

Pall Mall Barbers are expert barbers and considered by many to be London’s favourite barbershop

Generation Earth is a new BBC1 landmark documentary series. The series aims to be a fascinating look at innovation, engineering and visionary thinking all over the world. We hope to capture the scale of human kind’s ambition and ability to adapt the planet to suit our growing needs.  Today we're changing our planet with extraordinary speed and unparalleled scope. Our feats of engineering are rivalling Mother Nature and our ambition knows no bounds. This is the story of how we've made our planet fit for purpose. The series is presented by Dallas Campbell who is well known for presenting BBC’s ‘Bang Goes the Theory’.

Luxury haircuts and wet shaves

Dallas Campbell (born 17 September 1970 in Kilmacolm, Scotland) is a British television presenter and television and stage actor. His acting credits include Spender, A Touch of Frost, Family Affairs, Casualty and Holby City. His film acting credits include Hard Men and Fallen Angels.

After attending schools in Darras Hall and Ponteland, Northumberland, Dallas continued his education at Glenalmond College in Perthshire, Scotland. From 1989 to 1992 he studied Drama and English at the University of Northampton. In 1997 he appeared in the play The Warp, which is the longest play ever performed (over 24 hours).

He was the screenwriter and director of the short subject film No Deposit, No Return in 2004. In June 2008 he joined The Gadget Show, which he left (in 2009) to be replaced by Ortis Deley.

He holds the slot car (scalextric) world land speed record as of 2008 (while being a presenter of The Gadget Show). He is one of four presenters in the BBC science magazine programme Bang Goes The Theory.

Pall Mall Barbers is a quality barbershop in London’s West End. We offer cut throat shaves

Episode 1 of Generation Earth, ‘A Place to Live’ looks at the extraordinary change in where we now call home. More than half of the world’s population now live in urban areas. In December the film crew recorded a 30 storey building in China being constructed in 15 days. Here is some time lapse footage of the building work – it is truly extraordinary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdpf-MQM9vY.

Stylish haircuts in a traditional setting. Great gifts for men

When the editing of the episode is completed the plan is to intercut the footage of this buildings construction with the presenter Dallas growing a beard / not shaving for 15 days.

The sequence that was filmed on Monday sees Dallas having a wet shave to end the sequence.  We believe this is a rather neat way to finish an article, in our humble opinion.