1. no witch hazel -- skin felt too dry to take it
2. apple juice pectin -- frozen pop
3. Shave Secret (out of homemade at the moment)
4. potassium bicarbonate (pinch dissolved in water in palm)
5. Wet towel soak AND WIPE
6. Williams (no prelather, just whipped it up on face)
Happenstance avoidance of the WH led me down this path, to see what pectin and oil could do alone to defend the dermis. I figured it could give a sort of cushion against insult, if not a distinct chemical barrier. I also expected it to work with oils in the hair to erect stubble. It didn't give that feeling, though, when simply wet down with water. To help the hair softening, I tried the new version of baking soda in this way, as a serum, for the first time.
That was totally effective, and that's when the epiphany hit me, because I felt a little saline sting, like ocean water. Those magical swimming experiences that I hold as ideals of grooming -- stubble breaking off under a fingernail in the ocean, perfect hair condition at the lake. It wasn't just the water, or the sunscreen. The missing ingredient... was APPLE! Yes, I'm sure of it. Those were picnics! I specifically remember my aunt asking, "What's that on your nose?" in a case of spontaneous sebaceous filament ejection at the lake, and enjoying an apple on the same occasion. Also wondering where to dispose of a core, without encouraging seagulls, on a stubble breakage occasion. Could have been some watermelon and potato salad involved, too, I guess... but the fiber. It came from within ME.
Since it's supposed to be poorly absorbed by the digestive tract (giving it its cancer-curing power in the lower intestine), I'm not sure how that happened. I think what the literature means is that, since there is always so much fat in our digestive tract, it tends to gel up and pass through. A confounding fact is the existence of roughage, water-insoluble fiber. But pectin is water soluble. And soaking for prolonged periods, as in swimming, would bring it through the final microns of the skin, to the hair cuticle at the surface, by osmosis. Mystery solved!
This shave was pretty near perfect. No experimental "perfect shave" program will be launched, just got to get pumpkin juice in there again, for a touch of flaking, and probably bring back the WH. Today, the skin was calm on drydown, even before I could get to the closet for balm, so all I did was finish with jojoba oil. Super Speed and the worn Personna Chrome just killed it, super efficient. It was nice to get back to the vintage shelf, I have to say. All of the modern razors have more blade exposure (taking into account the adjustments required to make them shave close) than my Gillettes.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?
The value wet shavers attribute to water has been largely misplaced. It's not just the fluid going in, but the substances coming out that matter, or make the desired effect of hair softening possible. Water soluble fiber is THE CURE FOR WIRY HAIR.
No comments:
Post a Comment