Notes » Occam's Wet Shave
Notes » February 2004
Occam's Wet Shave
Making the switch from foam to traditional wet shaving isn't easy in Hong Kong.
It requires a badger-hair brush, shaving soap, and for those with steady hands, a cut-throat razor. I've never used a straight razor; I elected to stay with the Mach 3 and get the brush and soap set. Shaving problems don't stem from the triple blades, but the gel or foam. That stuff doesn't work well.
All I had to do was pick up a decent brush and a good-quality soap. Sounds simple, doesn't it?
This is Hong Kong: welcome to the needle in the haystack. A painstaking search of shops and department stores in Tsim Sha Tsui, Central and Admiralty turned up one set. I didn't like it and it was grossly overpriced.
I then realised the utter lack of traditional gear was diametrically opposed by the fantastic proliferation of electric razors.
Of course! In a society that feels compelled to hurry through everything, why should shaving be excluded? Electric razors are brutal to the skin; I had one long ago and binned it; I didn't enjoy shredding my face.
Knowing I'd never find what I wanted locally, I went to the Internet, which turned up several companies devoted to the art of traditional wet shaving. All of the better sites were in England.
How ironic.
Dare I assume wet shaving never caught on in Hong Kong? That would be the simplest explanation. Occam would be proud.
I've placed my order. In the meantime, I'd love to find a good barber shop where they perform old-fashioned shaves. You know, the kind where I'd recline in a chair and the barber would slap a hot, steamed towel on my face, lather me up, and then deftly bare my face of its whiskers with a straight razor. Someone has to teach me how to use that blade, it might as well be a professional.
If it gives a better shave than the Mach 3, I won't have to comb Hong Kong to buy one.
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