The role of shaving brushes in a routine is to prep your skin and facial hair so that they’re in the optimal conditions for shaving. Their other crucial role is to thoroughly and evenly distribute the shaving cream, gel or foam, and create the maximum amount of lather in order to ease the shaving process.
How do shaving brushes actually work?
Shaving brushes prepare your skin and hair for an optimal shave in a number of ways. The first role they play is that they gently exfoliate the skin, removing dead skin cells, hair, and dirt from the area which is about to be shaved. This prevents razors from clogging, which decreases the amount of passes needed to remove all the hair.
As well as this, they allow the softening agents present in the cream or gel you’re using to penetrate deeper into individual facial hairs, causing them to be more pliable, less coarse, and ultimately, easier to cut through.
Their most important effect is to lift the clean, softened hair from your skin. This improves your shave to no end, as it allows the blade of your razor to easily pass through the hair without having to be pressed into your skin, bringing about massive reductions in redness, irritation, and ingrown hairs.
How to use shaving brushes
Step 1. Clean the face with warm water and cleanser
Self-explanatory so far, but in case you weren’t aware, it’s a vital step. Cleaning the area will reduce the likelihood of breakouts occurring from bacterial infection of shaving nicks and cuts. Using warm water also opens up your pores, and allows for a closer shave. Exfoliating at this stage is also helpful.