Benchmark

I was awakened from sleep or near-sleep (I can't remember) by little twitchy feelings in the sun-damaged area of my face, and if I recall correctly, from the spot on my cheek as well. My immune system had apparently chosen the low-traffic hours to do some street repair, bringing in the heavy equipment to clear the apoptosis debris from my D3 topical treatment. I awoke to find the largest "senile wart" pretty near flat, reduced to a bit of roughness where the blood vessels had already been broken. Every spot seemed less palpable. So first impression, I think the D3 cure is for real.

Earlier, I also got the impression that my evening shave may have been a little bit more magical than it had first seemed. I had not shaved to complete follicle evacuation, still feeling the pain from the shave prior. Just a good close shave; however, it seemed to grow back extra slowly, if at all. The hair may not have gone down like a submarine periscope during the shave itself, but slowly after the fact, like the Titanic. 18 hours later, there was not enough beard to justify shaving above the jawline.

The skin felt a new kind of oily/dry. Like the "hard" feeling of the seasonal change, yet more pliable. I sensed an opportunity to get back to BBS, despite the worn Rimei blade. I switched it over to my black-handled Super Speed and took three passes, with touchups on rinsewater. Alum was fairly well received, with the burn restricted, not surprisingly, to the area below the jaw, where the hair had been longest.

I see now that the low-angle approach to increased blade traction was a mistake. The low angle and steep angle become the same, moderate angle as a blade breaks in. The Rimei will stay in the Super Speed until it expires.

Today, when I wanted to evaluate the skin independently of shaving variables, I chose no pre-shave and Stirling soap, palm lathered with my boar brush. If the blade had been sharper, I would have used the Rimei razor, but I think today's setup is what I would call a benchmark.