Your face is the first thing people notice whenever you enter a room or just walking across the street. Good grooming can guarantee a lot of confidence whether in the company of friends, workmates or total strangers. For most men good grooming starts with a properly saved beard. Beard saving is however an art you learn by yourself and most people do it the wrong way. Here is a step by step guide on how to properly shave your beard

Step 1: Wet Your Beard

This is the first step that prepares your face for a proper saving. Taking a shower or just rinsing your face before shaving will help you avoid irritation and razor burn. Wet hair is easy to cut off since water makes the hair weak.

Step 2: Apply Cream

If you want a clean shaved beard; then consider investing in a good quality cream with high lubricant concentration and moisturizer. The saving cream softens the beard preparing it for a nice shave. A well lubricated beard is easy to shave as the razor cuts across smoothly without any irritation.

Step 3: Use a Shaving Brush to Apply Cream

Shaving brush helps you raise the hair for a closer cut, exfoliates the skin giving it a healthy and smooth feel and helps create a creamy lather while applying the cream.

Step 4: Use a Quality Razor

If you want a good shave with no razor burns and shaving rash; then consider investing on a high quality razor. Everybody wants to have a smooth skin after shaving; dull razor blades can irritate the skin exposing it to rashes. Don’t forget to change your razors often since even the highest quality razors become dull after a few shaves.

Step 5: Rinse Your Razor Often

Rinse your razor with hot water before you start shaving and after every few swipes. This helps remove clogging hair and cream hence making it more effective. Hot water helps lubricate the blade.

Step 6: Use the Razor Properly

If you’re new in the beard shaving art you might cut yourself a few times while shaving. But you can avoid this if you learn how to use your razor properly. Learn the direction of your hair growth and shave in that direction. Shaving against the direction of your hair growth is sure to give you a much closer shave but you can easily cut yourself in the process. Start with the soft hair then finish off with hard hair; these gives the hard hairs time to absorb moisture and become soft. Don’t press your razor too hard as it will cause razor burn and razor bumps.

Step 7: Re-shave

Some people may not achieve a clean shave with the first few swipes; if that’s your case then apply more cream and get more lather then repeat the shaving process pressing the razor even lighter. Re-shaving will give you a smoother shave. However, over-shaving will irritate your skin causing razor burns.

Step 8: Cleanse and Sooth Your Skin After Shaving

Rinse your skin with warm water after a complete shave. Use facial wash with high concentration of tea tree oil to protect it from spots and rashes and witch hazel that has healing and soothing properties. Finally rinse with cool water and pat with a clean, smooth towel to dry.

Step 9: Apply an After Shave Lotion or Balm

Your skin looses a lot of moisture during the shaving process, a good after shave lotion will help restore back the moisture and keep it smooth, cool, refreshed and moisturized.

Step 10: Store Your Razors Properly

Most men have a bad habit of throwing things around or leaving them on the work station. Don’t just leave your razors on the sink. Make sure you rinse your blade after you finish shaving to remove cream, clogging hairs and oils; shake properly then store in a dry place. Do not wipe with a towel since this will make them dull easily. You don’t want to keep changing your razors every time you want to shave; then practice the good habit of proper cleaning and good storage.

Step 11: Shave Often

Shaving your beards often ensures smoother skin and less effort the next time you shave. Less thickened hair is easy to shave and less irritating. So if you want to practice proper hygiene; then make beard shaving a habit that you practice more often.

If you follow the above steps; then you are sure to achieve that celebrity look you have admired for so long and improve your confidence.