Something's Been Bugging Me

My recent focus on the tonic beverage kombucha helped me sort out one part of the "lamellar reorganization theory" that I used to characterize the chemical activity of various aftershaves. I don't think I burdened you guys with it, but there was an immunoflourescent micrograph of cadherins in one of the articles I searched, clearly showing them dispersed across the cell membrane in living cells, not concentrated in desmosomes, which hold the stratum corneum together by being anchored to keratin. Google yields many such images. Holding tension seems to be a somewhat specialized function of corneocytes and muscle cells. What about these others?

There are more microbes in our bodies than human cells, currently estimated in a ratio of 1.3:1. Most are in the digestive tract, and just passing through, but you know quite a lot reside on the skin. We are trained from early childhood to fear them all, but a lot of them are good for us. You've heard of the "acid mantle." Like the kombucha SCOBY, our resident microbes work together to exclude other, pathogenic organisms. And all of them produce organic acids. So, what I've come to believe is that the cadherins are less an organizing element, more an accommodation.

If you're not alkalizing, you're too accommodating; any carpetbagging ass germ can settle in you, whether it contributes to the acid mantle or not. So you can see how the modern perspectives in favor of sterilized, commercially processed food and perpetually sanitized kitchens depend very much on where you're coming from... culturally. ;) I encourage you to give Sandor Ellix Katz a listen on YouTube. As a wet shaver, you'll immediately recognize his enthusiasm and authenticity on the subject of fermentation. I think he's generalized even more into politics than I have!

All I want for X-mas is a ra-zor blade...

The Personna started folding over recently, so I finally pitched it from the TTO line. The Wilkinson Sword is also approaching the end of its useful life, I think. The other day, I did a full prep with Humphrey's, pumpkin juice and coconut oil (skipping the alkali, now), and grabbed the BBS ring, using the Slim. But that's not really me, day-to-day. This morning, the Tech easily gave a serviceable shave without preshave. But, I can see the shadow.

This might be a nice time to shave with an open blade, and groove on some real tradition. But I gave myself another nice midline cut with the shavette this week, making me skittish. I think I finally realized the technical problem, at least. I just don't tension the skin enough on my chin. Spoiled rotten by DE!