My face is still healing up from a particularly rough shave. For the first time I can recall, I had a few weepers on my left cheek after I finished knocking down some one-day-old whiskers on Wednesday. No outright bleeders, but a few extra spots outside of the normal ones on the mustache area and the corners of my lips began seeping little red droplets from them.
I let my newfound interest in a neglected boar brush get the better of my routine. It got me all excited and maybe I was overzealous, considering I normally give myself a couple of days between shaves.
But it's funny it's Friday, I'm at work and there's a few hours between now and punch-out. My weekend is cut short because it's my Saturday to fill in at the office. I can't help but notice that while thinking of what to write for Monday's paper, I run my thumb and forefinger over my chin and immediately think of what my setup is going to look like when I get home in a little while.
I'm chomping at the bit to load up a brush, drop in a fresh blade and get a good shave.
I'm downright distracted. The idea of combining the right scents and sensations between the razor, soap, aftershave and blade is taking over my brain. I don't even care that my last experience was lackluster and even unpleasant, that doesn't faze me from the next one.
Maybe my lather was a little on the side of dry two days ago. My Feather, loaded in my Senator, was three shaves old already. Pushing that fourth shave could have done it, or perhaps I used too much pressure.
Or maybe I'm just overthinking it.
There's a difference between identifying a problem in shaving the way we do and thinking about it to the point of discouragement. That's the problem the new guys run into, I think. With all the promise of a more pleasant overall experience [which is largely true], a better shave [subjective, but works for me] and cheaper overhead [proceed with your laughing, AD sufferers], picking everything apart until you're frustrated just doesn't help when you're teaching yourself to shave all over again.
Take it from me I made the switch two years ago and I still have trouble from time to time with lathering, technique and the like. But in spite of it all, I still can't wait for the next time I find myself in front of the bathroom mirror and taking a moment to enjoy the whole experience of an otherwise mundane grooming routine.
Don't shoot for perfect, just enjoy it. Tonight's shave probably won't be the perfect one, either. But I'm still dreamy-eyed just thinking about how the end result is still going to be pretty darned good.
I let my newfound interest in a neglected boar brush get the better of my routine. It got me all excited and maybe I was overzealous, considering I normally give myself a couple of days between shaves.
But it's funny it's Friday, I'm at work and there's a few hours between now and punch-out. My weekend is cut short because it's my Saturday to fill in at the office. I can't help but notice that while thinking of what to write for Monday's paper, I run my thumb and forefinger over my chin and immediately think of what my setup is going to look like when I get home in a little while.
I'm chomping at the bit to load up a brush, drop in a fresh blade and get a good shave.
I'm downright distracted. The idea of combining the right scents and sensations between the razor, soap, aftershave and blade is taking over my brain. I don't even care that my last experience was lackluster and even unpleasant, that doesn't faze me from the next one.
Maybe my lather was a little on the side of dry two days ago. My Feather, loaded in my Senator, was three shaves old already. Pushing that fourth shave could have done it, or perhaps I used too much pressure.
Or maybe I'm just overthinking it.
There's a difference between identifying a problem in shaving the way we do and thinking about it to the point of discouragement. That's the problem the new guys run into, I think. With all the promise of a more pleasant overall experience [which is largely true], a better shave [subjective, but works for me] and cheaper overhead [proceed with your laughing, AD sufferers], picking everything apart until you're frustrated just doesn't help when you're teaching yourself to shave all over again.
Take it from me I made the switch two years ago and I still have trouble from time to time with lathering, technique and the like. But in spite of it all, I still can't wait for the next time I find myself in front of the bathroom mirror and taking a moment to enjoy the whole experience of an otherwise mundane grooming routine.
Don't shoot for perfect, just enjoy it. Tonight's shave probably won't be the perfect one, either. But I'm still dreamy-eyed just thinking about how the end result is still going to be pretty darned good.
