Shaving is one of life's most boring - if regular -rituals for almost 50 percent of the population. Some men perform the ceremony automaton-style: it's their version of sleepwalking. Others, especially those with heavy beards, quite actively hate it. ''I've been shaving since I was 13,'' says one man, now in his mid-40's. ''Once a day every day and twice if I'm going out in the evening. I don't want to even try to work out how many months of my life that adds up to.'' ''To enjoy shaving,'' said another, ''you've got to be the kind of person who loves weeding.''

Many men these days shake a can that expels a ready-made lather and skip what used to be the art of lathering up with a brush. But for men who make shaving an act of tender, loving care, there are still shaving brushes, and those men tend to agree that if there is any pleasure to be got out of shaving, it comes from the sensual touch of a good shaving brush.

To Use With Shaving Soaps

Shaving brushes are designed to be used with a variety of hard shaving soaps, usually contained in a small bowl. The brush can be also used with a cream that comes in tubes and is lathered on to the face after the brush is dampened with water. Some men prefer to wash their faces with warm water and mild soap before shaving, rinsing well and leaving the face wet before the ritual of the brush begins.

It is generally agreed that the best - indeed to experts the only - shaving brush worth having is made out of badger hair, and the best of these are made by hand. Badger hair is the exclusive choice for several reasons. It is one of the few kinds of animal hair that does not mat together when wet, it is the right length to make a substantial brush, and it combines strength with softness. In Britain today, the badger is a protected species, but the best badger hair has always come - as it still does - from two places: Siberia and China.