In what was almost certainly an act of revenge for my recent purchase of a few (too many) shaving brushes, Mrs. chamm has told me that she really likes it when I grow out some stubble. Keep in mind this is the same woman who has, in the past, professed utter contempt for any hint of facial hair. But now I get some new toys and suddenly my stubble is sexy. I'm not going to complain too much, because if it takes a few hundred dollars worth of shaving supplies for her to find anything about me sexy, then it was money well spent.
Anyhow, after a week of torture looking longingly at that gorgeous new M&F two-band, I managed to convince her that I was suffering from a condition known as itchyface. It was no joke, I was about to go insane because all of the hair on my face grew out about 1/8 of an inch, then did an immediate about-face and started growing right back into my chin and neck.
Yesterday, I prepped my beard and lathered up. Perfect MWF lather. Popped a new Persona blade into my 2013 Mühle R41 and went to town. Now, it's possible I had been hit in the head earlier in the day and didn't remember it, but for some reason, I thought it'd be a good idea to just see what happened if I went ATG on the first pass. I had exactly a week's growth, about 3/8", so it wasn't really stubble any more. The noise the blade made as I dragged the razor across my face was troubling, to say the least. It sounded a lot like ripping fabric, except it was my face. However, I didn't get any tugging, blood gushing or blinding pain, so I kept going.
Boy howdy! I'm not exaggerating when I say, it was a first pass BBS! There were a couple stray hairs that managed to escape the wrath of my blade, but by and large, my whole face just felt like a baby's backside! I cleaned up the stray hairs, touched up a little on my jawline, and I was done! No irritation, very little stinging by the alum block. All day, it was just the most intense smoothness I've ever had in a shave.
So is this experience common? I guess is makes sense that a few days growth will help the hairs to stand up better to be mowed down, but there was a time not all that long ago when I thought a BBS shave would be impossible for my mutant beard, let alone a first pass BBS.
Now, I guess I just need to keep buying stuff so Mrs. chamm will insist I grow it out again...
Anyhow, after a week of torture looking longingly at that gorgeous new M&F two-band, I managed to convince her that I was suffering from a condition known as itchyface. It was no joke, I was about to go insane because all of the hair on my face grew out about 1/8 of an inch, then did an immediate about-face and started growing right back into my chin and neck.
Yesterday, I prepped my beard and lathered up. Perfect MWF lather. Popped a new Persona blade into my 2013 Mühle R41 and went to town. Now, it's possible I had been hit in the head earlier in the day and didn't remember it, but for some reason, I thought it'd be a good idea to just see what happened if I went ATG on the first pass. I had exactly a week's growth, about 3/8", so it wasn't really stubble any more. The noise the blade made as I dragged the razor across my face was troubling, to say the least. It sounded a lot like ripping fabric, except it was my face. However, I didn't get any tugging, blood gushing or blinding pain, so I kept going.
Boy howdy! I'm not exaggerating when I say, it was a first pass BBS! There were a couple stray hairs that managed to escape the wrath of my blade, but by and large, my whole face just felt like a baby's backside! I cleaned up the stray hairs, touched up a little on my jawline, and I was done! No irritation, very little stinging by the alum block. All day, it was just the most intense smoothness I've ever had in a shave.
So is this experience common? I guess is makes sense that a few days growth will help the hairs to stand up better to be mowed down, but there was a time not all that long ago when I thought a BBS shave would be impossible for my mutant beard, let alone a first pass BBS.
Now, I guess I just need to keep buying stuff so Mrs. chamm will insist I grow it out again...
