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I’m sure if you ask 100 men if it’s better to shave at night or in the morning you’ll get a wide variety of answers. I personally like to shave at night, but I’ll be the first to admit that there are no hard rules about shaving in the morning or at night. It really boils down to personal preference and what benefits you the most.
Benefits to Shaving at Night
As I mentioned in the first paragraph, I really enjoy shaving at night. Here are the reasons I prefer to shave at night instead of shaving in the morning:
More Time to Shave
Shaving at night allows me to take my time which in turn helps me to avoid nicking myself. When I’m not doing razor reviews and shaving tests I tend to shave with a Japanese Feather Razor, which is basically a straight razor with a disposable blade, which is very easy to nick yourself with if you’re in a rush.
Nowadays, I tend to be a very infrequent shaver. I may go anywhere from a few weeks to a few months before shaving my face or head. This isn’t a big deal with straight razors, feather/shavette razors, or even safety/DE razors, but it can be a pain and take longer to shave longer lengths of hair with a cartridge razor than the types of razors I typically use. To be fair it also takes me longer to shave longer hair with the other types of razors than shorter hair, but it definitely takes me less time than if I was doing it with a cartridge razor
More Time for Your Skin to Recover
Giving my skin time to recover is probably the biggest reason I shave at night. If you shave in the morning and you get skin irritation, nicks, or razor burns, then you are stuck with going to work with it. This can make you self-conscious to walk around with skin irritation and razor burn. I know when I shave my head I tend to get a lot of irritation in the back of it and I try to give it as much time as possible to return to normal before going out.
If you shave at night, then you have time for any irritation, razor burn, or nicks to clear up. You don’t have to worry about trying to stop the bleeding with some toilet paper, styptic pencil, or alum block while being pressed for time run out the door so you’re not late for work.
Not a Morning Person
This is my second biggest reason for shaving at night. I’m definitely more of a night owl than a morning person. Shaving at night reduces the number of things I have to do in the morning before I go to work. It’s nice being able to take a shower and go about doing other things in the morning before I head off to work without having to worry about shaving.
Benefits to Shaving in the Morning
I found it quite a bit harder to come up with reasons why shaving in the morning is better than shaving at night. Here’s what I came up with:
You’re Already a Morning Person
If you’re already a morning person, then it might be a more natural thing for you to do. If you’re a morning person, then you might go to bed earlier than people who are night owls. As such, it gives you one less thing to do at night before you go to bed.
It’s a Part of Your Routine
If shaving in the morning is already part of your routine, then it might not be worth it to switch to shaving at night. If it’s a part of your routine, then you probably aren’t getting razor burn or a very small amount and it’s not enough to bother you.
It’s Required for Your Job.
This is the biggest reason I could come up with for shaving in the morning. Certain job profession might require you to be clean-shaven or frown upon facial hair especially in professions where a clean shave can be an inspectable, such as military basic training.
In these types of situations you aren’t really given much choice about when to shave. Oftentimes, if you shave the night before and show up to work the next morning you might be asked if you shaved that day, especially if you’re the type of guy who gets a 5 o’clock shadow immediately after he shaves.
You’re Dead Tired in the Evening
If you have a physically or mentally demanding job, then you just might be too tired to shave at night
Conclusion – There is No right Answer
Ultimately, there is no right or wrong answer. I recommend doing whatever fits your unique situation and what gives you the most benefits and the least amount of stress. Do you prefer to shave at night or in the morning? What benefits or negatives do you see with shaving either at night or in the morning?