TUCKED discreetly in an upstairs lot in Bandar Puchong Jaya is Charmwise, a men’s grooming shop operated by Lee Seng Hoe. Upon entering, it is a blast to the past of old school barbershop scents and walls adorned with shaving razors, soap and more.
The relatively small establishment serves a very niche clientele that Lee says consists – surprisingly – of young Malaysian men, who often drop by with their dads. This is probably to be expected as many would have gotten their first tutorials on whiskers trimming from their fathers.
Lee spoke to theSun on running the nearly four-year-old shop and the art of traditional wet shaving.
Meditation in self-care
Similar to everyone else who shave, Lee started with disposable cartridge razors from the usual brands that occupy the shelves of pharmacies and supermarkets.
“Even though I was in construction, I do go into the office, so I tend to clean myself up like how I currently look,” he explained, further revealing that the razors had a negative impact on his skin.
“I have no idea why, but every time I shaved, it looked like a bloodbath. My whole neck would be red. I thought it was normal and that I simply had sensitive skin.”
The irritation eventually led to him finding out about safety razors, which played a part in him eventually setting up Charmwise.
Affable and warm, the 36-year-old told us that he had quite the temper during his days in construction due to its demanding and fast-paced environment. Switching from cartridge to safety razors calmed him down and it was something his wife Wong Poh Teng, Charmwise’s co-founder, noticed.
“I realised that using safety razors and needing to focus so much on shaving, it made me calm down a lot,” Lee said on the meditative process of prepping and then shaving.
When the first lockdown occurred during the pandemic, all businesses except online operations were required to shut down. Already having a deep interest in wet shaving and its various implements, Lee decided it was time for a career change.
Smooth as a baby’s butt
To the untrained eye, cartridge and safety razors look the same. They are T-shape and they have blades. They both do the same thing, or do they?
Lee says physically, they do have the same structure, but mechanically, the two function differently, with the main selling point of cartridge razors is that they are tools made almost purely for convenience.
“King Camp Gillette designed the old school double-edge safety razor and it was great, but in the industrial age, people wanted something faster, which led to cartridge razors,” he explained.
Lee advocates for wet shaving with safety razors over cartridge razors because the former offers a far superior shaving experience. Despite the claims from advertisements, safety razors offer a much smoother and closer shave than its cartridge counterparts.
“It is basically putting a blade on your skin. That’s how we get the cleanest cut, compared to cartridge razors, where its first time use will leave a clean cut, but the second time and onwards after the blade gets dull, it is just pulling hair from the skin.”
Traditional wet shaving involves water and shaving soap, which will allow the safety razors to efficiently and effectively remove facial hair.
He then points out that the biggest difference between the two is the blade and how close the blade is to the skin.
“The engineering behind the sharpness or edge of the blade in cartridge razors is not as well made as a double edge razor.”
That said, Lee claims that while cartridge and even electric razors work, for people like him that do not want to feel the stubble, safety razor and old school razor blades is the way to go.
“It is also risk over reward. You risk tiny cuts but you get the reward of baby butt smooth skin.”
Cost-effective option
Queried on the cost of safety razors and its entourage of “accessories”, especially compared to cartridge razors, Lee likened it to an inkjet printer.
“They used to sell the printer for a cheap price, but the ink cartridge itself is very expensive. It is similar to cartridge razors. A full set might be sold for RM30, and when it comes to refilling the blade if someone wants it to be always sharp, that is where it gets more expensive as time goes on.”
For comparison, Lee says a safety razor with 10 pieces of blade can cost RM30, with the blades lasting a month.
“Let’s say we use a cartridge razor for the first time. It will definitely be able to cut but if we go long-term, the savings you get between using a cartridge razor and a safety razor is huge. I’m not into the cartridge market, but I believe (a certain brand’s) cartridge razor refill is RM30 for three, four or five cartridges. For safety razors, 100 pieces of the blade can be RM20 to RM30. (Even) if you throw it away after your first shave, most people can use 100 pieces for an entire year”.
Charmwise stocks a whole array of wet shave essentials. These include brushes, shave soaps, pre- and post-shave care products, after shaves and, of course, safety razors and blades. These can range from as low as RM45 for a synthetic shaving brush to hand-crafted straight razors which cost almost a grand.
Of course, Lee is often asked which item in each category is best.
“There is no ‘best’. It is more about which is suitable for you, depending on your skin type, hair type, hair growth, the razor used, and the shaving cream applied. Everything affects the final outcome.”
A first timer or someone interested in a more traditional method of shaving who walks into Charmwise will be given the same advice by Lee.
“Start with a safety razor and shave with whatever you have. Slowly go into getting the other things because the rabbit hole is very deep. Do not think that you must get all of these to have a great shave,” he said.
