Your typical guy (if there is such a thing) has a face. And on said face there are many thousands of whiskers on it which some guys like to keep and others like to shave off. During the many millennia before the advent of the double-edged razor, folks used their ingenuity to find ways to cut them down to size. Clam shells, sharpened animal teeth, pieces of copper—you name it, somebody has shaved with it. So what have we learned from those years of bloodletting?

· For example, they (whoever they are) always tell us to wash with hot water before shaving. Why? ‘Cause whiskers absorb some of the moisture, making it much easier to shave. (Those hot towels at your grandfather's barber shop weren't just some macho torture test.)

· Generally, you should shave in the direction your hair grows in. For an especially close shave, run your razor blade against the grain.

· After shaving, splash on some cold water to close up your poor pores and get your face to chill out.

Some of us have even discovered that shaving can be an indulgence rather than a chore. Not to toot our own horn (hey, we gotta make a few bucks while dispensing these blades of wisdom) by introducing Provence Santé shaving accessories (shaving soap, handcrafted shaving dishes, and finely made shaving brushes) and shaving sets (packaged in a handsome, wooden gift box), we've paved the way for a revival of shaving as a rejuvenating and pleasurable part of personal grooming. Fun, n'est-ce pas?

Actually, half the fun of shaving is lots of lather. The other half is that smooth, soft feeling when you're all done. Provence Santé's master savonnier (that's a soapmaker to those of us who parle anglais) has blended some of both into our shaving soap—using a rich vegetable base with glycerine, shea butter and a bit of Luzenac talcum (trust us, it's really called that) to fight razor irritation. Plus, essential oils of linden and vervain for a wonderful fragrance.

How best to use this marvelous savon a la barbe? With badger hair brushes, mais oui. We go to the other end of the earth (Asia to be precise) to get badger bristles for these beautiful brushes. Why? Because its resiliency and delicate points make badger hair the gold standard in brushmaking. Each brush is hand crafted by skilled artisans, with the luxurious bristles secured in a redware handle specially made for Baudelaire.

So, qu'est-ce que c'est, "redware"? Back in pioneer days, redware pottery was all the rage here in the States—used for dishes, jugs, and containers of all sizes and shapes. So when we asked our favorite pioneering New England potter to throw a shaving soap dish our way, he immediately thought of redware. It's sturdy stuff. The color doesn't fade and, since it's fired at a high temperature, it absorbs little water—an ideal material for a dish designed to last for generations of shavers.

They say that the typical man spends 3,000 hours of his life shaving. Now that you can have the ultimate shaving set from Baudelaire, those precious hours in front of the mirror will be serious quality time. Lather on!