Shaving

[Arthur]

I have a thick beard but never enjoyed letting it grow, requiring sun screen.   That mix after a few days of growth looks and feels like a stucco finish on my face.  Feeling a little bit clean in the backcountry is comforting for me.  I will periodically “shave” at the stream with just water, not fun.  I know letting it grow is the obvious solution, but that is my mental/comfort problem.  Any idea on some sort of shaving cream that is not a big can of propellent or weighs a ton?  Any other techniques? Enviro friendly too?  My landscape buddy suggested a beard preemergent!

[Mark Verber]

my facial hair grows slowly… it looks like I a have a five o’clock shadow after around a week :). so most trips I don’t bother shaving. On extended trips (travel and backpacking I will shave).  I found that shaving oil, like what’s sold by Pacific Shaving Company worked well enough. I repackable it on of the tiny dropper that I think BPL sold back in the day.

These days when I am traveling (but not backpacking) I carry 100 sense bar soap because I don’t have to worry about liquids/TSA, and it’s good enough for shaving, my body, and my hair.

 

[Ryan Jordan]

Cut off a small sliver from a “shave puck” (solid form of shaving soap). Lather and mix with a few drops of concentrated castille soap (like Dr. Bronners) or essential oil, this helps glide the razor a bit.

[Jerry Adams]

Put water on your face several times over 10 minutes.  Then you can shave.  It takes a while for the hairs to absorb completely.

That’s what I do at home.  But, it’s with warm water.  Maybe it wouldn’t work as good with cold stream water.

[Monte Masterson]

For a few days growth or less I heat up about 12 oz of water where it’s hot but not scalding. Then I take a small camp rag and dip it into the water. Next I pat my face down with the hot (not too hot) water numerous times over a period of about 5 minutes, continually dipping rag back into the cup so as to make sure it’s saturated and very warm. Finally I take a new Gillette triple blade razor and WITHOUT any shave cream go over my face. As long as all the steps are properly taken it’s not painful and it does a good job. I hate shave cream in the backcountry and one reason is it takes so much rinsing to get all the cream off, very messy. Secondly it’s scummy and environmentally unfriendly to leave foam on the ground near a water source or even away from water. And lastly shaving foam is just more weight I don’t need to pack.

I don’t compromise on the razor though; it has to be a new or almost new Gillette triple blade and no other brand.

Oh, almost forgot, a small camp mirror is an absolute must for shaving.

[Axel J]

My wife shaves her legs with a rechargeable electric shaver that’s not much heavier than a headlamp.

[Haakon R]

One of the perks of backpacking is living like a cave man and it being accepted as normal :)

I usually backpack without shaving, but truth be told, with very few exceptions my trips are only up to a week long these days, with most ticking in at 3-5 days. Not enough time to grow an unmanageable beard.

The few occasions I feel like shaving on or related to a hike, is when I travel in conjunction with my hike. In those scenarios I bring my Merkur 993C travel safety razor and a small tube (Matador flatpack toiletry bottle) of shaving gel. Quite compact and lightweight.

[Nick Gatel]

Everything in your pack weighs something. Razors are barbarous things.

[Terran]

And no prefilter needed.

[Ryan Jordan]

{old Backpacking Light Forum threads here about shaving on the trail for cross reference!}

• Shaving on the Trail
• Safety Razors

[AK Granola]

I’m glad someone pointed out how disgusting it is to come across someone’s shaving leavings. Whether it’s shaving cream or hair everywhere near a water source, yuk. If you must – men or women! – please go far from water sources. As a female, I let all my hair grow when I’m on trail – even the old lady chin hairs! Embrace the inner cave person! You can enjoy the cleanup when you finally get to town.

[Steven M]

A stop at a swimming pool at a city or State Park on the way home with a change into clean  clothes gives us shower , swim, and shave to look almost civilized. The car gets a wash with a fill up. No one suspects that we have spent a week or two in the middle of dusty/dirty nowhere. The buckets of rocks collected sit in the back with the dirty tent, clothes, dusty hammers and boots.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Ya’all shave? Lol. Just grow the Mountain Man Beard and be done. I mean, if you get to Ted Kazinski levels, then go get a trim. It’ll protect your skin and you stay warm in winter. And a lot of women prefer beards. Just saying.

[Michael Schlesselmann]

Definitely do Monte’s suggestion of multiple rounds of warm water/towel. Then for the simplest albeit slightly heavier solution I’d something like the Phillips Oneblade or another travel size electric razor. Another option could be a womens razor like the Gilette Venus Comfortglide that has some lubricant built into the razor itself. No experience with this myself, but its a cheap option to test out.

[Paul Wagner]

No shaving for me. I usually nly shave once every two days in “civilization,” so going a week without a shave is not an issue.

[David D]

Just grow the Mountain Man Beard … and you stay warm in winter.

Been there tried that.   Until its cold enough to freeze your breath to your face.  Reach for the shaver in winter now!

[HkNewman]

On a long trip, I’ll use a superlight disposable razor for first aid if not used for first aid it’s (clean and clear placement for bandaids as not to rip off hair w/follicles later).  A bit of Dr B’s works out pretty well.

Have a hygiene kit back at the auto as well (old black “sun shower” reservoir) for initial cleaning and laundering.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

My husband is a redhead; he has had multiple skin cancers removed off his face- his surgeon made sure to lose as little beard as possible – I mean some very highly skilled work there. The beard covers all but one scar (he has a long one on his neck, but if he wears a full beard, it is not very noticeable. When he was young, he wore only a very trimmed goatee. The full beard is also more protective for his face.

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