Shaving is not such a simple matter

Single or twin-blade? That is the question, possibly. “Shaving is not as simple as you might think, because it is a daily activity, the success of which can put you in either a bad or a good mood.”

Nicola Ciniero, the author of “In barba alla tecnologia. Manuale della rasatura.” (In spite of technology. Shaving handbook) has analysed this daily ritual in 34 pages. But what is there that has to be explained, apart from the dull, mechanical sequence of foam-razor-aftershave? Ciniero explains in his introduction, where he takes up again the idea of “leisure” (in the ancient and positive sense of the word): “…the desire to slow time down time, the need to go back to appreciating the simple things, the need to develop the habit of small, innocent daily treats that enable us also to rediscover ourselves.” (photo: Nicola Ciniero)

According to Ciniero, on the one hand, there is the attention that every man should give his body, on the other, there is the awareness that some jobs, including that of the barber, are vanishing more rapidly than expected. “In most shops,” the author explains, “the barber skilfully wields a cut-throat razor.”

The booklet is a summary of useful information for anyone that has to shave. It begins with general advice: getting the skin and the necessary tools ready, the massaging and density of the shaving foam. There is an analysis of shaving against the beard, “a topic of great discussions among the experts”, then of the products available (from the brush to the shaving foam,  from the aftershave to alum block), with purchasing tips, which are so numerous and varied as keep the author above all “suspicion”.