Preserving Youth

The opposite of yesterday's shave would be my ideal for youth. I guess being middle aged puts me in a weird place, that I don't mind doing it either way, but usually use toning in a compromise position. Having had my fill of moisturizing yesterday, I felt the need to dry out.

Chemical Barrier

Noxzema turns the lipid of the SC lamellar membrane into something more rubbery, so the soap to follow can't get in. Yet, it's also a great oil cleanse, and has enough moisturizer to keep you from being too tight later. Do rinse it all off.

Physical Barrier

Instead, shaving oil (Shave Secret is very compatible with today's products) fills in your acne holes and keeps blade mishaps from getting out of hand. It also restricts the penetration of what follows.

Williams

Soap. Just soap. Nothing creamy about it, honestly, but you can whip it up good in your palm. You don't shave over and over this stuff: just use the strokes of a young scholar. Squeeze out the crema and take a light ATG pass, whisking shadows off the surface. Don't try to use a low angle, except for skewing. Did you start with the whole VDH setup, with the rebranded Weishi, and this is the second soap you've tried? Perfect.

Tone Last

Witch hazel is the smart play, if you haven't hacked yourself all to hell. Lift the residues off with a damp towel. If you're still learning the value of the stratum corneum, use alum to do that, followed by aftershave or cologne (Florida Water), and seal it with a drop of oil. Here I balked, and used alum followed by rosewater, because my hide is thin and not as supple as most of you kids'.