Style :: Grooming
Shaving 101: A Primer
by PJ Gach EDGE Contributor Friday Jul 1, 2005 Skin care companies have finally learned what guys knew all along; they’re fabulous and should be pampered! With all of the choices out there, the EDGE Grooming Team decided to be brave and road test them for you. Over the course of three months, we tested nearly every product on the market (more than 60 products in all!). In this 3-part series, we’ll give you the tips and picks for the best products on the market. In this, the first of our series, we selected our favorite razors and pre-shave products. Look for Shaving 102 next week for creams and gels, and Shaving 103 just after, for the best post-shave products. We hope that our tireless work (nicks and razor burn included) will help you get your face ready for summer fun. What do we ask for in return? Band-aids and chocolate (lots please) are sufficient! Pre Shaving Rituals It’s always a good idea to prep your beard before your shave. This ritual affords a closer shave and healthier skin. It may take a few extra seconds, but believe us, it’s worth it. Here are our favorite pre-shave products, designed to make your shave a little bit easier.
The barbs, or "cogs" as they are called, naturally "adhere" to the skin and allow the physician to manipulate the appearance of the face as the threads are pulled taut. The threads are knotted and hidden under the scalp (the only logical hiding place for a knotted piece of barbed wire.) Rather than being sliced and diced while pleasantly sedated (as is the case with plastic surgery) Contour Threads provide an arguably more palatable alternative, namely, something that resembles a railroad spike being thrust into your face while you are under a mild local anesthetic. Recent press releases extol the virtues of being able to actually participate in and watch the procedure as it happens. As a result of the local anesthetic injected at the point of incision, patients are fully conscious and able to view what is being done to them. This means that, not only are you awake during the entire process, but you actually get to see the painful desecration of your face. (I’ll take two!) It is left to the discretion of the patient as to how tight one would like to look, the choices ranging from Shelley-Winters-Jowl-Chic to Skeletor to I-Want-To-Be-Able-To-Blink-My-Lips.
Additionally, the procedure can be performed in less than an hour in a doctor’s office as opposed to an operating room, a breakthrough for those fearful of hospitals. Plastic surgery can often take upwards of several hours, especially for the more extensive procedures on very old and/or very ugly people. Furthermore, the recovery time associated with Contour Threads is minimal. It is an outpatient procedure from which one can recover within a matter of but-a-few-days, and unlike plastic surgery the results are instantaneous. Because it can be performed so quickly and the recovery time so short, the procedure has been unofficially dubbed the Lunchtime Lift, an uber-cutesy name for a grisly little procedure. As with almost any cosmetic procedure, however, the results are not permanent and will not necessarily eliminate the need (down the road) for more extensive constructive surgery. The sad fact of life is that pretty much everything on your body will start to sag as you age, and although Contour Threads will not hasten the sagging, it will not prevent it either.
The good news is that, as Dr. Stephen Mulholland (developer of the Contour Threads procedure) so eloquently stated on his recent appearance on the Today show, this procedure satisfies the three R’s: it’s replaceable, removable, and redo-able. (I’d just like to point out that Dr. Mulholland likes to invent new and linguistically incorrect words like "redo-able.") The results can last anywhere from 3-7 years, at which point, you can either opt to slowly revert to homeliness, or pony up another 8 G’s for some more barbed wire in your face. Essentially, Contour Threads is the affluent poor-man’s plastic surgery. The procedure obviously lends much of its appeal to its price tag, the cost varying according to facility and the skill level of the physician. The price will fluctuate depending on what you need done, some facilities charging per thread, some charging by how heinous you look. Generally speaking, however, it ranges in price from $2000-$8000, which is nothing compared to plastic surgery which may run you more … especially if you don’t have it done in Mexico.
However, to add a pun more painful than the procedure itself, there are strings attached! As with any surgical procedure, there are risks, and they’re not pretty. They can include infection, puckering or pleating of the skin, Seroma (you don’t want to know,) numbness, pigment changes, or nerve damage. What ‘s more, the threads may actually be palpable or visible, especially on patients with thinner skin. For many, however, the possible benefits seem to far outweigh the risks, as this procedure is yet another shining example of America’s obsession with instant gratification and aesthetics. Look good. Look good now.
After testing more than 10 different razors, from single-blade disposable to 3- and 4- blade monsters that practically promised to do the dishes, EDGE’s Style Editor Jason Salzenstein picked the Gillette Mach3 line as the gold standard. Both the Mach3 and the Mach3 Power were used for testing, and both reliably gave a smooth shave with less irritation than other brands. Editor’s Note: I fell in lust with the Mach3 Power Nitro- the vibration is kind of fun, the razor itself is beautiful, and I found that it gave me a closer shave. I could go longer between shaves, and I didn’t have the itching or dry skin that I found with some less expensive brands. Gillette Mach3 Power Nitro starter set about $11 with 8-pack refill blades about $20 www.mach3turbo.com Now that you’re prepped and ready, you’re set-to-shave. Check out shaving 102 next week for the best creams and gels, and get that kissable mug that’ll turn heads and invite hands, all summer long. Researched and written by EDGE Style Contributor PJ Gach. Additional research, testing and editing by EDGE Style Editor Jason Salzenstein and the EDGE Grooming Team PJ Gach is a Contributing Writer for the Style & Entertainment Sections of the EDGE group of publications.She also freelances for Lemondrop.com. PJ has styled, shot and written fashion pieces for Hamptons.com. PJ writes about beauty, fashion, and lifestyle topics for national publications. As an entertainment/rock journalist her pieces have appeared in the US and Europe, including The New York Post, Rolling Stone (web & mag), Ing�nue Magazine and Drill magazine. She’s a Manhattanite, a proud dog owner, gal about town, and freelance writer. In her spare time, she rescues orphaned shoes. You can reach her at pjgachjournalist@gmail.com |
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