So. This is kind of a month check-in during which time I have made some fascinating discoveries. Mainly, that everything that I thought would be good for me and my shaving routine turned out to be wrong. Like, not a little bit. Now, this may not be true for everyone, but this is what I have learned about shaving myself so far. So let's run down the list, shall we...
"If I can get one good pass, I will reduce the possibility of irriation because it will be less time with a blade on my flesh." WRONG. If I try and mow everything down in one pass, I'm cutting WAY more than just whiskers and am cutting into my flesh severely. A few extremely light passes just cut whiskers and don't slice through the skin, and it is much more comfortable.
"If I wait a couple of days in-between shaves my skin will "heal" and be better prepared for the next shave." WRONG. All that does is make a thicker, more dense growth for me to have to shave through. If I shave properly and don't irriate my skin in the first place (see above) then my skin doesn't need to heal from anything. I can shave lightly every day without having to cut through multiple days of growth. The whole process is much more gentle.
"Menthol burns like hell!" WRONG. I was using a shaving cream that had menthol in it and with the damage I was doing to my face every day and with as deeply as I was carving into my flesh, of course it was going to burn and cause all kinds of discomfort. Now, I look forward to my Barbasol aftershave that has menthol in it. It kind of burns a little (probably just the alcohol), but cools and tingles... tough to describe, but it feels reaaaally good.
"I want the least aggressive razor humanly possible." This goes hand-in-hand with my multiple passes statement. I thought if I used a not-so aggressive razor, I would prevent irritation. But, because I had to work so hard at whisker removal that I would irritate myself by using too much pressure in trying to get a close shave. Now, I'm trying a more aggressive razor so that I can use a lighter touch and let the razor do the work, and not me.
"My wife thinks I am rediculous." Wait. That hasn't changed. Her annoyance with my AD's hasn't changed either.
So in summation, I am happy, she is only as annoyed by me as usual, no more, no less, and I am getting much better shaves and am taking better care of myself overall. I call this WINNING!
"If I can get one good pass, I will reduce the possibility of irriation because it will be less time with a blade on my flesh." WRONG. If I try and mow everything down in one pass, I'm cutting WAY more than just whiskers and am cutting into my flesh severely. A few extremely light passes just cut whiskers and don't slice through the skin, and it is much more comfortable.
"If I wait a couple of days in-between shaves my skin will "heal" and be better prepared for the next shave." WRONG. All that does is make a thicker, more dense growth for me to have to shave through. If I shave properly and don't irriate my skin in the first place (see above) then my skin doesn't need to heal from anything. I can shave lightly every day without having to cut through multiple days of growth. The whole process is much more gentle.
"Menthol burns like hell!" WRONG. I was using a shaving cream that had menthol in it and with the damage I was doing to my face every day and with as deeply as I was carving into my flesh, of course it was going to burn and cause all kinds of discomfort. Now, I look forward to my Barbasol aftershave that has menthol in it. It kind of burns a little (probably just the alcohol), but cools and tingles... tough to describe, but it feels reaaaally good.
"I want the least aggressive razor humanly possible." This goes hand-in-hand with my multiple passes statement. I thought if I used a not-so aggressive razor, I would prevent irritation. But, because I had to work so hard at whisker removal that I would irritate myself by using too much pressure in trying to get a close shave. Now, I'm trying a more aggressive razor so that I can use a lighter touch and let the razor do the work, and not me.
"My wife thinks I am rediculous." Wait. That hasn't changed. Her annoyance with my AD's hasn't changed either.
So in summation, I am happy, she is only as annoyed by me as usual, no more, no less, and I am getting much better shaves and am taking better care of myself overall. I call this WINNING!
