I may have gone off the deep end, but

When I first headed off to college, I took with me a Remmington electric shaver. It had a screen that covered an array of blades — arranged like fins on a radiator — the vibrated back and forth. I gave me a quick shave but did a heck of a number to my face.

Toward the end of my overly-long college career, I went back to shaving with foam and disposables. I also read somewhere about shaving with the grain and finishing with a rinse of cold water to close of my pores. This advice and the various Gillette Sensor models have been the mainstay of my shaving kit for fifteen years or more.

I’ve been plagued, however, with in-grown whiskers, and I have been looking for possible problems with my technique. I while back, I caught the Queer Eye suggestion about “double-stroking.” But making a single pass hasn’t made the problem go away.

Then I found Corey Greenberg’s Shaveblog; funny, sometimes bawdy, and very helpful. [note: I’d rate it PG-13]. So I took a leap and got Corey’s recommended shave kit (mostly).

I got a Merkur double-edged razor, proraso cream, Wee Scott brush, and some blades that were available at Lee’s Safety Razors. I’ve been using the rig for a little over a week, and I really like it. I’ve found that I’m looking forward to shaving, ’cause I get to use all my toys. I’m a little unsure about the blades. I thought they were supposed to last for a week’s worth of shaving. But I’ve been getting maybe four days before they start to feel harsh. They have numbers on both surfaces, so I tried flipping the blade and giving it another go, but it didn’t help.

As an after shave moisturizer, I’ve been using a combination of Rosehip and Almond oil, with a few drops of tee tree and lavender essential oils. Beloved Wife loves it for her legs, too. I think I’ll put some of the other products that Corey recommends on my Solstice wish-list. It’s always nice to have options.