I was finished with my post-shave inspection of the stratum corneum, lost in my theoretical musings, when THIS appeared. I had seen the lower red spot during the shave, and ignored it, shaving over it repeatedly, and bringing up some friends. I attribute that to going ATG on first pass. The hair was so easy to cut, it just didn't feel any different. But the bump is definitely some kind of immune response. it looks like an elongated bug bite.
Stubble in the area provided a pivotal clue (Not visible, because I dry shaved it.) What I thought was ATG, sort of aligned with the long axis of the bump, was actually XTG. So this area was hit ATG on pass 1 also, then XTG on pass 2. I was already suspicious that similar deviations and aberrations in my stroke pattern were responsible for recent bumps up higher, at the corners of my jaw.
You know how you can skew one way or the other, depending on how aggressive you want the stroke to be? Apparently, these choices make a BIG difference when the stratum corneum is thick. The blade that would normally flick off a macerated bit of skin with ease, sticks in the uncooked spaghetti and refracts deeper.
Keratinocytes sheltered by the the horny layer may be in a better position to signal for inflammation, as well. Urea treatment didn't touch this thing, but I'm confident that it is a less fleshy sort of bump than the earlier ones. Speaking of which, the jaw corners were smooth as porcelain today. This was supposed to be a self-congratulatory article! The shave wasn't super close, and little shreds could be seen on the surface, but it has a very clean look.
In sum, I've recreated my electric shaves of old -- clean cheeks, damaged neck -- only, closer.
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