Hold The Phone

An error in my post earlier today may be the key to my next great epiphany. I referred to today's prep as "perfect," which usually means Noxzema, oil, serum, and old-school shaving soap. Actually, I omitted the pumpkin and baking soda today. I think I figured Arko was enriched enough. And I experienced excellent efficiency ("smoothness").

An idea of how pumpkin juice works suddenly leapt up in my mind. What if the SC is like muscle fiber, with filaments ratcheting against each other to hold tension? And what if pumpkin juice contains the chemical, like ATP, that releases that tension? What if what is commonly termed "exfoliation" is less a slow, columnar succession than a rapid, chemically catalyzed, lamellar reorganization?

Pumpkin juice, not slough-facilitating EdQ, was the key to melting my lumps last night. I now believe that the texture arises from collapse, not swelling, of the substrata, as more granular cells transition to the SC. When the overlying lamina have greater surface area than the underlying, it bunches up at the surface.

We certainly know that the SC is composed of filaments. "Filaggrin" is the protein known to decompose into Natural Moisturizing Factor. And that's pretty much all you read about, because cosmetics is all about women. But for shavers, the mechanical functions are just as relevant. Skin tension is our source of cutting power. (If the catalyst is AHA or vitamin A, as I would guess, we have a lot of common ground with the anti-aging sector, however.)

It now appears that the juice is the weakest link in my presumed "perfect" routine. If I were looking at some texture as I approached the shave, I might use it as estabished, and then, also, not try to shave so close, knowing that every stroke will be underpowered and a hazard to the skin. Day-to-day, though, I want the performance -- the "responsiveness" -- of a well-integrated SC.