Q&A: Gabriel Davidov, Master Barber & Men's Specialist

What are the benefits of having a JF Men shaving treatment as apposed to shaving at home? For a proper shaving experience and proper exfoliation of the skin, we use a straight razor. Most people don’t do this at home when they use multi-blades. A straight razor basically plows directly, one plow, one cut, one shave. Using a multi-blade, you need to have 3-5 passes. How does wet shaving compare to using an electric shaver? When you use a straight razor or any type of blade, you need to wet the skin to soften the skin and hair. If you do it dry, the machine is actually breaking the hair. The device whacks the hair like a weed whacker rather than actually having a clean cut to remove the hair. What can someone expect from having a shaving treatment done, who has never had a treatment done at JF Men? We start by using a hot lather and hot towel. If we are talking about the luxury shave we use a hot mask. We start the shave by going with the grain and then pass over again against the grain. The first pass prepares the hair for the second pass. If you do it the other way around, the hair can tear the pores. What is the step-by step process of a shave treatment at JF Men? First step is Preparation by heating up the skin with a hot towel. Second, I use a special concoction of oils that I make. The oils soften the skin and prevent friction. I see on your bio that you have created some post shave products that are available. Can you tell me a little bit about them? It’s actually the same product I was talking about before. I actually just stumbled across it when I was working on a different project. I found that it works perfectly and my colleague loves it as well. He’s a product critic for Men’s Health Magazine and he says there’s nothing like it out there. What are the benefits of using a high quality shaving brush as opposed to applying shaving cream with your hands? There are many different benefits to using a brush. It perfectly distributes the hot lather which keeps the pores open. Then by bushing the hair, there is a fiction that happens that lifts the hair from the skin allowing a perfect shave. You also have more control by whipping the lather yourself. You can control the consistence. I heard you could actually use Julien Farel Restore products to shave with? Can you tell me about it? Yes, anything that has a conditioner or oil properties can be used to shave with. In your opinion, what are the best at home razors to use? I always recommend a double edge razor, but they can be tricky to use. The popular cartridge razors are like TV Dinners in my opinion. They don’t let you have the amount of control as a double edge razor. There is something out there for everyone. I recommend buying a few different brands and seeing what works best for your skin. I’ve heard so many different ways of shaving nowadays, but in your opinion, should you shave with the grain or against the grain? This is a very important question that I get asked a lot. There is no right answer because everyone is different. I always say go with the grain first and then finally with lather go against the grain. Some people can break out easily by doing both so it’s always good to experiment first to see what works for you. What is your favorite thing about working for JF Men? My freedom of creativity! For appointments with Gabriel Davidov click here.