I am reminded of this movie as i stand in front of the bathroom mirror and look at my shaving ensemble. There is the Merkur Vision razor and matching brush, Proraso "Wheat Germ" shaving cream, Art of shaving alcohol free after shave cream and most importantly, a bar of Alum. I had done my research well, watched all the you tube video's diligently, faced my son making fun of me as i was trying to re-learn shaving. I thought to myself why not. If Tiger Woods can rework his swing even though he was on the top, surely i can learn how to shave the proper way. I was determined. Well now the time had come when the little birdie had to fly, it was time to put the pedal to metal, or in my case the edge of the blade to my face ... yikes ! And i must add i had quite an audience for my big debut, my wife and son were watching closely, ready to rush me to the hospital if need be. I had also planned my adventure during the night, so if i looked like i had been attached by a pitbull i could recover a little before facing the office.
The razor is heavy, almost as heavy as the Panasonic electric i am replacing. The act of putting in an actual blade in the razor was a little intimidating, i must confess. So there i was, rinsed my face well with hot water. Started the process of making a lather in a cup, this was fun and it seemed i was getting some exercise in the process (i have been procrastinating my gym visits so this was a bonus). So with the cup now overflowing with foam, i started applying it to my face. Aah that warm foam felt really good on my skin. I massaged it in nicely with the brush taking my time, covering all the spots i hoped to run the blade over. Now it was time to start shaving, i picked up the razor and CAREFULLY started removing the foam, atleast thats what it seemed like i was doing till i noticed the hair was being cut too. Now this feeling is alien to me, normally i can feel each hair getting pulled whereas now it was like i was anesthetized. I repeated the foam and made another pass to reduce the hair even more, though i didn't dare go against the grain,that i know would have put me in the emergency room.
Like the heading of this post says , there will be blood, there was. I was being as careful as i could but i spotted red in my neck area. Once i washed off the cream the nicks didnt seem that bad and the alum certainly put an end to the blood flow. I dabbed on the after shave and prepared for a night of discomfort on my face. But to my amazement my face was irritation free, not as smooth as a baby's bottom, but not full of rashes. I was pulling my own cheeks in joy and it wasnt hurting. I was so glad i made the move to this and i was very happy with my first wet shave.
Since then i have actually been enjoying my shaving, getting up an additional 15 mins earlier to adjust since my morning routine is a finely choreographed routine with split second efficiency. I had to make room for this longish process of shaving. I liked it so much that i am even shaving on weekends now, something i hardly ever did, though i am not sure how long that will go on.
Isn't it easier to just grow a beard! ;-)
Cheers...Kishore
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Posted by: Kishore | January 21, 2008 at 11:55 AM