Jojoba vs. Last Shave

I don't know what I was thinking this morning, but it didn't work very well. I used the new jojoba as preshave oil, but instead of a hot cloth, I took it off with the residue of an Arko palm lather. The subsequent (first pass) lather seemed extra wet, for Arko, but I think my skin really started out in the hole for moisture.

The Personna blade pooped out on me, too. I got my money's worth, I'm pretty sure, as I've noted its wear before, but it seemed premature considering the way "sliding" and "skewed" strokes were mirroring each other. Chopping and slicing still seemed to be contributing equally to the cut, when cutting began to fail. I would have expected to see steeper angles first.

That's probably just the old two-dimensional thinking, and way too much complaining for a close, comfortable shave. The slight irritation and missed pickups would beat any of my first-year shaves, especially under the jaw corners. I've further optimized my pitch recently, so maybe the 50/50 balance is just the new rule. When hair starts flicking the backside of your blade, at least you know you're killing it, and not your face!

*****

Now Foods' 4-oz. jojoba has a pop-up, lotion-style dispenser cap, which is awkward with my fingertip application method. I applied something like three drops to the beard area, and used the rest of my face to soak up the excess. It took a while to absorb, but after a good half hour of faceturbation, at least, my face was nearly as dry as it is with cocoa butter. Ideal, actually.

As expected, it delivered a nice moisturizing effect, despite my weird prep. This came after drydown, but without the wait of cocoa butter. And notably, compared to 3-in-1 moisturizer, with less redness. I look... whiter. I mean, I don't think of myself as being fair-skinned at all, but since I usually worry about acne scars and turning orange with beta carotene, this is very welcome. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the witch hazel, too, but I hadn't put the necessary volume back into the epidermis until today.

So, despite sub-optimal hardware performance, Witch Hazel Week concludes on a high note. I can't wait to try my hand at cosmetics formulation, with the pumpkin-witch hazel USP mix. I expect a bunch of proteins will precipitate, and then maybe I'll have something that can stand on a shelf instead of in the fridge or freezer.