
Shaving at Burning Man
- jella
- Posts: 1823
- Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2009 9:01 pm
- Burning Since: 2009
- Camp Name: Dye with dignity
- Location: Escondido, California
Re: Shaving at Burning Man
No kidding...besides it's too early to shave.

Burning Man isn't about the stuff you see when you get there ....it's about the people that brought that stuff there
Re: Shaving at Burning Man
I've since moved on to a super cheapo 'shavette' mini straight razor with a finger ring. It takes disposable double edged blades from a safety razor. The result is zero clogs and fewer nicks, surprisingly. I'll see how it works on the playa in a couple weeks.
- Shoeshine
- Posts: 169
- Joined: Sat May 01, 2010 12:21 am
- Burning Since: 2010
- Camp Name: Camp DIY
- Location: San Deigo, CA
Re: Shaving at Burning Man
straight blade shaving is awesome. but there is a learning curve. Learning to strop it well takes some practice, honing even more.
If you dont want to get into it full bore, any barber supply has straight blade holders and the blades are dirt cheap.
example (not advocating this company just a quick google search) https://www.barbersupply.com/razor-shav ... zor-black/
The key for me is pre-shave oil.
No clog, minimal water (couple of tablespoons will do) wipe it on a rag and leave to dry.
I shave 2-3 times each year out there and it feels great, kind of an indulgence. Just go slow take your time, light strokes. A mirror really helps, not only to see spots but to make sure you are holding the thing correctly. You hold it no more than 15 deg to your face. too steep and thats when you cut yourself.
An aftershave is nice too, really anything astringent like witch-hazel, but I like taconic bay-rum. (my wife helped pick that one, says it smells like a man in good way. I gotta say ups the amorous triggers)
Treat it like self-care, a spa moment. 20 minutes to focus on yourself.
makes me feel like a million bucks
maybe practice at home before the burn though...
Cheers
Shoe
If you dont want to get into it full bore, any barber supply has straight blade holders and the blades are dirt cheap.
example (not advocating this company just a quick google search) https://www.barbersupply.com/razor-shav ... zor-black/
The key for me is pre-shave oil.
No clog, minimal water (couple of tablespoons will do) wipe it on a rag and leave to dry.
I shave 2-3 times each year out there and it feels great, kind of an indulgence. Just go slow take your time, light strokes. A mirror really helps, not only to see spots but to make sure you are holding the thing correctly. You hold it no more than 15 deg to your face. too steep and thats when you cut yourself.
An aftershave is nice too, really anything astringent like witch-hazel, but I like taconic bay-rum. (my wife helped pick that one, says it smells like a man in good way. I gotta say ups the amorous triggers)
Treat it like self-care, a spa moment. 20 minutes to focus on yourself.
makes me feel like a million bucks
maybe practice at home before the burn though...
Cheers
Shoe
"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
- Molotov
- Posts: 527
- Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 11:03 am
- Burning Since: 2014
- Camp Name: "The 'Burbs"
- Location: Land of Oz
Re: Shaving at Burning Man
I just bring an (rechargeable) electric razor to knock off the tall stuff. I recharge it in the few times I run my generator. I have BIC razors as backup, Get a good shave when I get home.
- Captain Goddammit
- Posts: 8502
- Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 9:34 am
- Burning Since: 2000
- Camp Name: First Camp
- Location: Seattle, WA
Re: Shaving at Burning Man
Ha, yeah... but then, that’s about how long its been since eplaya was very interesting.
GreyCoyote: "At this rate it wont be long before he is Admiral Fukkit."
Re: Shaving at Burning Man
Post burn report on straight razor shaving at TTITD: It works!
Yes it's actually a compact shavette that I use, so there was no stropping or honing, just a double edge blade from the drug store.
First shave was in a moving car bumping along the playa during early entry. Yes it was fine. No I wasn't driving the car. Subsequent shaves were every three days or so.
I used a bit of shave soap and maybe 20 drops of water for the whole operation. Water kept evaporating off my face so I had to reapply it on the area I was shaving. Mostly I shaved 'with the grain' and didn't dive too deep into trying to get super smooth. I nicked myself a little bit more than usual but a dab with a stypitc pencil took care of that and I was good to go. No pieces of meat fell off my face.
Since this was a straight razor shave, there was no issue with clogging.
The only problem was my mirror. I used a small concave magnifying mirror but its curvature was too aggressive and I couldn't see my whole face properly.
So straight razor = yes!
Mini concave mirror = no.
Yes it's actually a compact shavette that I use, so there was no stropping or honing, just a double edge blade from the drug store.
First shave was in a moving car bumping along the playa during early entry. Yes it was fine. No I wasn't driving the car. Subsequent shaves were every three days or so.
I used a bit of shave soap and maybe 20 drops of water for the whole operation. Water kept evaporating off my face so I had to reapply it on the area I was shaving. Mostly I shaved 'with the grain' and didn't dive too deep into trying to get super smooth. I nicked myself a little bit more than usual but a dab with a stypitc pencil took care of that and I was good to go. No pieces of meat fell off my face.
Since this was a straight razor shave, there was no issue with clogging.
The only problem was my mirror. I used a small concave magnifying mirror but its curvature was too aggressive and I couldn't see my whole face properly.
So straight razor = yes!
Mini concave mirror = no.