Recently, I made the mistake of venturing back on to social media. As a result, my attention was drawn to posts in my feed from wet-shaving groups, and to the fact that almost all the requests for help from newbies (and many of the responses from folks that consider themselves knowledgeable) preface their comments by saying “I have coarse hair and sensitive skin.”
I am sure in some cases it is accurate, but I must admit that whenever I see this my first thought is usually, “You probably have average hair / skin and bad technique.”
Why the cynicism? Well, this view seems to be so ubiquitous that I can't believe it is true for everyone that says it! Instead, I think that a lot of people struggle with typical newbie issues and assume that, because they are having problems, they must be dealing with some unusually difficult whiskers or skin. After all, only half of the guys out there will truly have hair that is coarser than average, or skin that is more sensitive than average.
I am curious to know what veteran wet shavers think about this. Do you think shaving is more difficult for you than for other guys because of the properties of your hair or skin? Is that what drew you to wet shaving?
Putting aside folks with genuine dermatological problems, my position is that if your technique and routine are sufficiently developed “coarse hair and sensitive skin” are not a serious impediment to getting a good shave, or even something that imposes serious restrictions on what gear you can successfully use. In fact, the better your technique gets, the less you tend to believe that your hair / skin are a significant factor in the quality of your shave.
That said, I can't put myself in another man's shoes, so I wonder if other experienced wet shavers share this view, or if this simply reflects my own experience?
I am sure in some cases it is accurate, but I must admit that whenever I see this my first thought is usually, “You probably have average hair / skin and bad technique.”
Why the cynicism? Well, this view seems to be so ubiquitous that I can't believe it is true for everyone that says it! Instead, I think that a lot of people struggle with typical newbie issues and assume that, because they are having problems, they must be dealing with some unusually difficult whiskers or skin. After all, only half of the guys out there will truly have hair that is coarser than average, or skin that is more sensitive than average.
I am curious to know what veteran wet shavers think about this. Do you think shaving is more difficult for you than for other guys because of the properties of your hair or skin? Is that what drew you to wet shaving?
Putting aside folks with genuine dermatological problems, my position is that if your technique and routine are sufficiently developed “coarse hair and sensitive skin” are not a serious impediment to getting a good shave, or even something that imposes serious restrictions on what gear you can successfully use. In fact, the better your technique gets, the less you tend to believe that your hair / skin are a significant factor in the quality of your shave.
That said, I can't put myself in another man's shoes, so I wonder if other experienced wet shavers share this view, or if this simply reflects my own experience?