shaving

Of all the undertakings of a gentleman's toilet, and indeed of his daily routine entirely, the most exacting, the most essential and the most transforming is the act of shaving.

To bring into close proximity finely honed metal (a testament to mankinds ingenuity and mastery of nature) and human flesh (a poetic recursion to our soft and organic origins), is to each day play out the essential and eternal drama of man versus machine, even of life and death.

A close shave requires a precision that will not allow for subterfuge or fudging. You are either clean shaven or you aren't. To achieve it there are no easy solutions. You must have the appropriate equipment in excellent condition, you must have a liberal supply of warm water, and you must have the time, the expertise, and the temperament to be able to focus on an exacting task each and every day.

If you are missing one of these factors, it will show. There will be small bristles still present up under your nostrils. Perhaps an entire swathe of one cheek will still be bearded. Or you will bleed. And bleed, possibly staining your collar or your sleeve.

A clean shave demonstrates the ability to arrange your affairs in an orderly manner and that you are able to undertake a precision task on a regular basis. It suggests you are man or woman of depth, who can achieve a sophisticated contemplative mental state whenever circumstances dictate that such a state is of benefit to the execution of life's broader endeavours. (Eyeing down a tyrant leader would be another moment that could use such a skill.)

The value of shaving as an act of faith can be demonstrated by examining one specific detail of the process - the application of shaving cream. Consider the options: squirted from a can and slapped by hand on to the face, the shaver is now ready to be shaved, but is he ready to shave? However if the shaving cream is mixed from a dry powder with water, suds-ed up and then lathered neatly to the contours of the jaw, we find our shaver is now calmed by ritual, familiarised with the environment in which the main task is to be done, and warmed up for fine manual labour tasks using a small yet forgiving tool around the facial region.

I could expand on each stage in the shaving meditation, as I'm sure you can imagine

Of course this applies almost entirely to the use of the cut throat razor. 95% of shaving moments are done with contraptions of much higher artifice. However it is a good way to think about shaving, even when you are using a cheap disposable in a backpacker joint in Phnom Pen after a night of drinking Khmer whisky.