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A straight razor shave is the service barbers are proudest of and the one beginners are most scared of. I watched two tutorials from opposite ends of the craft: Barber Style Directory teaches the 14-stroke shave barber students perform on their state board exam, and Patrick Bryan at The Wet Shaving Academy walks through a luxury hot towel shave as it is done in the chair. What follows is a step-by-step breakdown of both techniques, drawn straight from the two tutorials.
A note on the sources: Barber Style Directory links the beard wash shown in its video to its own Amazon storefront. The Wet Shaving Academy tutorial is from 2015, but the technique it teaches has not changed.
In this article
Prep Is Most of the Shave
Both barbers spend more time on prep than on the razor, and both explain it the same way. Barber Style Directory borrows the old line about spending most of your tree-cutting hour sharpening the axe: you cannot slap gel on a dry face and start shaving, because that is how irritation and cuts happen. The hot towel, the pre-shave wash and the shave gel exist to soften the hair and open the pores.
Bryan explains the mechanics. Hot water and soap strip the thick oily coating that protects beard hairs, which lets the water get into the hair and soften it. His first hot towel is, in his words, a functional one: wrapped tight so the steam, heat and water go into the beard. Barber Style Directory adds two practical details: test every hot towel on the inside of your wrist so you never burn a client, and apply it with pressure for about a minute, leaving space at the nose so the client can breathe.
Bryan also warns that the lather has to be worked all the way down to the skin. If it sits on top of the beard, the razor skips over the hair instead of gliding, and the shave gets uncomfortable. And because lather dries fast, he re-lathers three or four times during a pass rather than letting the prep go to waste.
The 14-Stroke Exam Shave
Barber Style Directory’s tutorial is aimed at students facing the state board practical exam, where, at least in the instructor’s home state of Mississippi, the shave is demonstrated with no blade in the holder. The reason given is simple: nervous students have sweaty, shaky hands, and a live blade would be a disaster. The strokes themselves have names the student has to call out: freehand (a downward stroke), backhand, and reverse freehand, which is used where the grain changes direction at the jaw and neck.
A few of his pointers apply to any shave, exam or not. Keep tension on the skin with your thumb through every stroke. Around the mouth, have the client ball their lip so the skin firms up. The lip area is sensitive, so slow down there. Some strokes, he admits, feel unnatural, but the exam wants them done a set way, and the only cure for the nerves is repetition, on a mannequin if nobody will lend you a face.
Source: Beginner Barber Basics: 14 Stroke Razor Shave, Barber Style Directory.
Quick take
Exam or not, the transferable rules are: skin tension with the thumb, a firmed lip around the mouth, and a grain change at the jaw that calls for a reverse stroke.
The Shop Shave, Step by Step
Bryan’s shave starts before any lather: wet fingers through the beard, feeling for lumps, scar tissue and moles, and asking the client whether any of them cause problems when he shaves himself. Anything raised above the skin is something the razor can catch.
His cutting rules are consistent. Small overlapping strokes, because long strokes make the razor tug. Stretch the skin tight and shave away from the direction you are pulling. Use roughly the first centimeter of the blade, because the less blade you engage, the cleaner it cuts and the less it clogs. On the first pass he shaves with the direction of growth and then across it; the second pass goes across the other way. He avoids going against the grain entirely, and says one careful pass plus touch-ups beats two full passes.
The face is not flat, so he keeps rebuilding flat surfaces for the blade. Around the ear, anchor it out of the way so you never nick it. Along the jaw, a firm pinch lifts the skin into a straight line. Under the chin, the client pops his chin up to stretch the area. At the Adam’s apple, which he calls a bony, vulnerable spot you cannot shave over, he pulls the skin down and off it so the razor works beside it instead. On the collar line, where hair tends to grow upward, he uses a backhand stroke to avoid the irritation most men get there.
His sharpest opinion is about the razor itself: if you are not using it, close it and put it down. Waving an open razor in front of a client is, in his view, the scariest thing a barber can do.
Source: Luxury Hot Towel Wet Shave, The Wet Shaving Academy.
Good to know
Bryan’s blade rule: use about the first centimeter of the edge in small strokes. He says less blade means a cleaner cut and no clogging.
Barber tip: prep is most of the shave. If the lather sits on top of the beard instead of worked down to the skin, the razor skips instead of glides, and no stroke technique saves it.
Where Both Barbers Agree
One video teaches an exam, the other a luxury service, and the overlap is the whole lesson. Prep is most of the work: soften the hair before a blade touches it. Keep the skin stretched so the razor has a flat surface. Know which way the hair grows and choose the stroke to match. Protect the client: test the towel, mind the Adam’s apple, and never gesture with an open razor. And check your work as you go instead of discovering missed spots at the end.
Gear and Next Reads
For the classic setup you need a straight razor or shavette, hot towels, a pre-shave wash and a lather you can build down to the skin. If you want the closeness without the learning curve, a safety razor is the friendlier starting point, and our safety razor guide for beginners covers what to look for. Keeping razors and tools clean between clients matters just as much; see our UV sanitizer vs Barbicide comparison.
Pick this if…
Watch the Barber Style Directory video if you are a student drilling the exam strokes. Watch The Wet Shaving Academy if you want the why behind each move and a shop-ready routine.
Shop note: close the razor whenever it leaves your hand. It is the habit students break first and clients notice last.
Quick Checklist
- Soften the beard first: hot towel, pre-shave wash, then lather worked to the skin.
- Test every hot towel on your wrist before it touches a face.
- Stretch the skin and use small, overlapping strokes.
- Shave with or across the grain; skip against the grain.
- Re-lather whenever the face dries out.
- Close the razor when it is not in your hand.
