Grooming Tip: Fogless Mirrors

From the time I started shaving I realized that I had been plagued with two things: sensitive skin, and a tough beard, two things that do not work well with together. Over the years I’ve been the victim of irritated skin, bad shaves, and since I’ve been shaving my head, irritated head skin, which is even worse than an irritated neck. A few years ago, I found a helpful solution called the fogless mirror.

It’s a proven fact that you get a better shave when your face is exposed to steam or hot water. Both of these things soften the skin and open up your pores, which exposes the hair from the hair folicle. Once you get out of the shower and your face goes back to a normal temperature, your pores close, causing less of the hair to be exposed for shaving. But that’s not the only advantage.

The question is, “Why would you not want to shave in the shower?” Shaving in the sink is gross. Your stubble gets everywhere, and so does your shaving cream or gel. It’s a pain to clean up, and if you’re married or simply in a living situation where you’re sharing a sink with a lady friend, why be a slob? Easy to make a mess, annoying to clean up after. If you shave in the shower, everything that drips goes down the drain, and you can’t beat that. Aside from the lack of disgusting, lathery, piles of stubbly, “post shave,” shaving in the shower allows you to, well, shower longer. Unless you’re 7 years old and your Mommy has to force you to shower, I can’t imagine that any grown man does not enjoy a nice, long, hot shower? Hell on occasion, I stay in there for half an hour or until my fingers are so pruned that I’m physically uncomfortable. If you shave in the shower, you will have a reason to stay in there and let the warm water wash all of the stress away.

“So where do I find one of these fogless mirrors,” you may ask? Well the answer is everywhere. The truth of it is that I’ve paid $9.99, and I’ve paid $39.99 and I can’t tell the difference. Eventually they all seem to lose their foglessness, but when they are working, it’s pretty great. The point is that unless you are obsessive compulsive, you should have a pretty good handle on how to shave at this point, and you won’t necessarily mind a little bit of fog on the mirror. I’m a hairy dude myself (TMI, I know), and I do a pretty decent job, even through my $10, fogged, fogless mirror. I’ve found that even after the mirror inevitably begins to fog, you can simply rub some soap or shaving gel on it, and magically the fog goes away. I also shave my head every 4-5 days, and shaving in the shower, with use of a fogless mirror has saved my head from looking like a teenage boy’s pimply face. I’ve only shaved my head once without being in the shower, and it was bad news.

If you’re really fancy, you can buy them equipped with a razor holder, and/or a radio or MP3 compatible device. The music will help you to relax before work, or simply live out your American Idol dreams. Often they are magnifying mirrors, but that just makes me incredibly OCD, and I wind up almost slicing my jugular vein. They have lights, they have clocks, you name it, they probably make it. You can literally buy these mirrors everywhere, and the beauty is that you can get them for so cheap that you won’t even mind having to replace them every so often. I even bring mine on long trips or vacations. Do yourself a favor, get one, then shave with it. Your skin will thank you, and any lady in your life will rub the side of your face like a “Skin Bracer” commercial from the early 80′s. It’s a win/win for everyone.