Dry Is Not Always Bad

My skin has undergone a second, rather dramatic, winter succession in response to the recent plain soap and alcohol treatment. My face went numb after that Rimei shave, like it does when I shave with Ivory. This, despite using Noxzema as preshave. I think I know what that means, now: the spongy layer dies down to the level of nerve roots, thickening the horny layer at its expense.

And -- I almost can't believe what an idiot I am -- my first instinct was, again, to amputate, moving my Personna Platinum Chrome blade to the Long Feng DF-813 (Chinese Yuma). Thankfully, I know what I'm doing with overexposed edges at this point, and did not do any serious damage. My nerve endings were resuscitated, whether by the exfoliation, or the moisturizing of KMF-VDH croap and less intense Dollar Tree cold cream.

The shaves during this interval were abysmal. I am definitely not holding anything against the Merkur, because the Rimei and Dragonfeng couldn't hit under my jaw, either. Another possibility was that the Isreali Personna might be too sharp for me, after all. But today, normalcy was restored with the same blade installed in my Super Speed, Noxzema preshave, and Dove Expert Shave cream. The buildup of NMF is evidenced as light chapping all over, requiring 3x more moisturizer than normal to conceal/heal. Still no burn, though.

Actually, I think the die-off was a good thing. Not when I was numb, certainly, but now I'm looking at a smoother skin texture. As an oily-skinned, daily-shaving (and recently, twice-daily shaving) dude, I'm terribly jealous of men who look like milk maids after their once-a-week Sunday shave, probably done with an electric. I got a little taste of that. My scars don't look so bad today.

For a second, I thought, (#$%&!) maybe Roberts was right after all, your hair can grow a different direction if you get into a certain habit. But I'm pretty sure it's all about the NMF. More up the "skin therapist" alley. Instead of doing all these harsh peels, exposing the living tissue to air, they ought to be using Williams and Aqua Velva Musk!

There might have been some pumpkin juice in there between shaves, but I haven't been all about the hair softening serum lately. Don't know how that might interact with the (theoretical) process below.

A two-stage process for skin resurfacing

1. Shave with Williams, or, if female who will not shave, wash with Ivory and exfoliate some other way.
2. Splash Aqua Velva Musk all over the area that needs improvement.
3. Repeat 1 and 2 daily or twice daily until the skin goes numb and feels hard. Don't worry about shaving close, which may become difficult. Just lightly smooth the skin.
4. Shave with the most moisturizing prep and lather you can normally tolerate, and resist the temptation to exfoliate severely.
5. Resume normal shaving/cleansing routine, maintaining a high level of mindfulness regarding the stratum corneum.