My Mama Never Told Me

"You better shop around." I always got lost in the store! Whenever I'm in Portsmouth, NH, I like to visit the Ocean State Job Lot, a discount store we don't have out here in the boonies. I had half an hour to kill before a family dinner, and before I knew it, an hour had evaporated. But I scored what for me will probably be a lifetime supply of SE blades at $1.99/10.

I found them in the tool department, because modern store clerks of course recognize the SE as a tool blade. They revealed, by their markings, the true identity of my CVS blades: "Treet Super." I moved a couple packages back to the shaving aisle, as my heroic deed for the day. More unlikely, perhaps somebody will ask for them at market, allowing me to play the hero again.

It was so nice to be traveling with a strong, intact stratum corneum, for a change. While away I shaved once with hair conditioner and shower gel, which was kind of like shaving on oil -- no lather, no hair hydration. I got away with it by not shaving close with the Rimei, but it would have been better if I had risked bringing my new Merkur OC.

Today, it was back to Noxzema and Williams. I skipped the baking soda and applied pumpkin juice directly. I didn't feel as protected without it, oddly, and I'm not sure it was just traction due to lost hair hydration. Maybe it's a good thing to macerate the skin that extra bit. Or, maybe it was just yesterday's damage talking.

At any rate, the feeling inspired me to use more shaving oil before the splash, which is a good way to improvise "lotion." It seems oil can be used wherever thin skin would be a liability, generalizing from its barrier role in the perfect shave method. I just wonder how much glycerin I'm stuck with now. It's a bit warm; I'm going to moisturize.

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