My wife if the kind of person who is always doing things for other people, looking for ways she might be able to help someone, etc. So, for Valentine's Day, she decided that she didn't want anything, she wanted to give to other people. She got heart-shaped balloons and bought cards and candy and even commissioned a baker to make some special cookies, and then she made a list of people that we were going to go visit.
One of the people who made the list was John (his real name), a 94-year-old man in a nursing facility that we know from church years ago. John has had a series of strokes, so it is very hard to understand what he is saying and he is confined to a wheelchair. We go to visit him every once in a while, and she decorates his room seasonally, so we had been there a couple of weeks ago to put up the Valentine's Day decorations.
Anyway, when my wife got there, John was sitting in his wheelchair with his coat on and some lather on his face. He was nowhere near the sink. There were a couple of cheap disposable razors sitting on a Mayo stand next to his bed. I had to work that day, so my wife and I had planned to meet there, and she had arrived a couple of minutes before I did. She ascertained that he wanted to shave, but that he was having a really hard time doing it. She assured him that I was an shaving "expert" and that I could take care of it.
So that was the scene when I arrived. It looked like he probably hadn't shaved in at least a couple of weeks. At 94, his stubble was almost all wiry gray hair, and his skin is wrinkled and sagging. The only tools I had at my disposal were two horrendous disposable two-blade plastic cartridge razors and a tiny container of cheap shaving foam. Luckily, there was also a clean washcloth.
I removed his jacket and pushed his wheelchair a closer to the sink. My wife put a towel around his shoulders. I had my wife soak the washcloth in hot water, and then I held it on the right side of his cheek for about a minute or so. I then applied that horrible foam plus a bit of water to make it better. Then I started to shave him.
I have never shaved somebody else before, so it was interesting. It was also challenging. He can't really move his neck very well, and the loose skin with deep wrinkles is something I haven't yet had to deal with in my own shaving. I am really thankful for all the experience I have with open blade shaving, because I learned a lot about skin stretching. Using techniques I learned from that, I was able to get flat areas and put just the right amount of traction to allow the stubble to be shaved. The little disposable clogged often, so I rinsed frequently. When I finished the right cheek I went to the right neck. When I finished that I moved to the left cheek, and thereafter the right neck, warming and hydrating each area with the washcloth first. My goal was comfort for him. I kept asking if it was hurting or tugging and he said it was not. I used the lightest touch that would actually remove the stubble, using traction and frequently repositioning my left hand to produce a flat-enough area to shave cleanly and painlessly. Eventually the first razor became hopelessly clogged and I had to open up the second one to finish (I was really wishing I had a razor like the Gillette Guard for this task!). He wears a goatee so I only had to do the cheeks and the neck.
Eventually, I got the shave completed. It took about 20 minutes or so. When I finished wiping off the last bit of lather residue from his face he said something I didn't understand. My wife told me that he said, "Thanks a million."
Thank God I found Badger and Blade in 2009 and that I have shaved with cartridges, DEs, SEs, shavettes, and straight razors! I don't think I would've been able to give the man a comfortable shave without all the experience I gained in my own shaving adventures.
One of the people who made the list was John (his real name), a 94-year-old man in a nursing facility that we know from church years ago. John has had a series of strokes, so it is very hard to understand what he is saying and he is confined to a wheelchair. We go to visit him every once in a while, and she decorates his room seasonally, so we had been there a couple of weeks ago to put up the Valentine's Day decorations.
Anyway, when my wife got there, John was sitting in his wheelchair with his coat on and some lather on his face. He was nowhere near the sink. There were a couple of cheap disposable razors sitting on a Mayo stand next to his bed. I had to work that day, so my wife and I had planned to meet there, and she had arrived a couple of minutes before I did. She ascertained that he wanted to shave, but that he was having a really hard time doing it. She assured him that I was an shaving "expert" and that I could take care of it.
So that was the scene when I arrived. It looked like he probably hadn't shaved in at least a couple of weeks. At 94, his stubble was almost all wiry gray hair, and his skin is wrinkled and sagging. The only tools I had at my disposal were two horrendous disposable two-blade plastic cartridge razors and a tiny container of cheap shaving foam. Luckily, there was also a clean washcloth.
I removed his jacket and pushed his wheelchair a closer to the sink. My wife put a towel around his shoulders. I had my wife soak the washcloth in hot water, and then I held it on the right side of his cheek for about a minute or so. I then applied that horrible foam plus a bit of water to make it better. Then I started to shave him.
I have never shaved somebody else before, so it was interesting. It was also challenging. He can't really move his neck very well, and the loose skin with deep wrinkles is something I haven't yet had to deal with in my own shaving. I am really thankful for all the experience I have with open blade shaving, because I learned a lot about skin stretching. Using techniques I learned from that, I was able to get flat areas and put just the right amount of traction to allow the stubble to be shaved. The little disposable clogged often, so I rinsed frequently. When I finished the right cheek I went to the right neck. When I finished that I moved to the left cheek, and thereafter the right neck, warming and hydrating each area with the washcloth first. My goal was comfort for him. I kept asking if it was hurting or tugging and he said it was not. I used the lightest touch that would actually remove the stubble, using traction and frequently repositioning my left hand to produce a flat-enough area to shave cleanly and painlessly. Eventually the first razor became hopelessly clogged and I had to open up the second one to finish (I was really wishing I had a razor like the Gillette Guard for this task!). He wears a goatee so I only had to do the cheeks and the neck.
Eventually, I got the shave completed. It took about 20 minutes or so. When I finished wiping off the last bit of lather residue from his face he said something I didn't understand. My wife told me that he said, "Thanks a million."
Thank God I found Badger and Blade in 2009 and that I have shaved with cartridges, DEs, SEs, shavettes, and straight razors! I don't think I would've been able to give the man a comfortable shave without all the experience I gained in my own shaving adventures.
