As my Major Readers will recall, I recently threw off the corporate yoke and dumped my beloved Gillette Mach III razor in favor of an old-school double-edged safety razor I picked up at an antique store.
This morning, I cheated and reverted to the Mach III in an attempt to hasten my morning toilette. But my new safety razor is a jealous little guy and somehow induced my Mach III to nick up my face like a piece of tenderized meat.
Fittingly, the first page I open with my browser today contains a Metafilter thread about how shaving cream is a scam and weakens your skin. The post links to a rant entitled “The Shaving Cream Racket,” and the MeFi discussion that ensues reveals all manner of interesting shaving practices I had never been privy to, including a couple references to the hard-core military method of cold water, no shaving cream, and baby oil.
I’ll try anything once. Any other good shaving tips out there in the Mist?
Comments
Grow a beard! But if you must shave, use witch hazel as an aftershave. Heck, use it even if you don't shave. It's great for the skin.
Posted by: arrmac | May 9, 2006 12:17 PM
Yeah, beards are the way to go. I still shave my neck (the bottom of the beard) and a bit on the cheeks (the top) to even things up, just to appear "respectable", but I don't have to do it every day because the shadow isn't as noticable when the rest of my face is bearded. My blades (Mach 3) and shave cream (generic) last about 4x as long as when I had no facial hair, and my skin is much less irritated. Just another small step in simplifying my life and saving a bit of cash.
Posted by: Bill | May 9, 2006 3:48 PM
I have tried to grow facial hair, but I have vast patches that just never grow in at all. Plus, after 4-5 days, I get so itchy that I just want to scrape my face off. I think I will forever be clean-shaven; it's just a matter of deciding how to lubricate my face.
Posted by: majorsteel | May 9, 2006 9:20 PM