End of Week Two Summery

Well I secluded my self from most human contact starting Monday to take my last FAA written test for a while. I passed with an 89, not bad considering the failure rate has quadrupled since January.
But I digress.
I think I was surprised a little in the irritation of the double edge blade. Generally I only shave every other day, especially with the double edge blade becauase its such a close shave. To be fair I feel like maybe if I hadn't try to use the first blade twice it would have been better irritation wise. To eliminate that possibility I will shave starting today for three days with the double edge blade using a new blade each time.

Other than that I found the double edge blade provided a consisant shave and was generally fun to use. The quality was excllent and the price is hard to beat. One set of five Wilkinson sword blades cost $1.19. One blade one day mean $7.14 a month for blades. Mach3, no frills, $11.10 a month. Signifigant savings for a closer shave.

Shave.....deferred.

I went to shower and shave to catch up on lost time, but as I glanced in the mirror I noticed and felt there was not much to shave. In the chance of ruining the results by causing more irritation when none is needed seemed unscientific to me. What do you think? I took pictures so you can judge for your self.


Goes to show the closeness of the shave when there is minimal to no 5 o clock shadow. For experiment number two I will do a longevity test to see how long the shave lasts.

Getting Better

Ok so I waiting a little longer than 24 hours to shave this time, but not by much longer. New Blade, Ranbow brand double edge blade. Shaving seemed better than yesterdays shave. Still had some irritation, although not as many cuts. Was less sensitive after shaving and was able to rub with hand without causing pain. Cheek area was much less sensitive than the last shave and was noticeably different. Under jaw and neck area still was sensitive but was still able to shave multiply time to achieve desired smoothness. Overall smoothness was good, able to get problem areas with out much issue, or left over stubble. I didn't fill out the survey right after the shave so I will not fill it out now. Although I did take pictures.

Better than Expected.

Just finished shave three with the Parker TTO and a NEW Lord Double Edge blade and let me tell you.... it kinda hurt. whilst shaving I noticed that the blade felt like it was dragging more than usual and the second time around it defiantly felt bad. I started to notice little red spots all over my face and thought, Wow it must be hard for those with easily irritable skin to ever get a good shave or at least feel like they did. Also it is very hard to get out of the loop of irritation and razor burn if you had to shave everyday and didn't give you skin time to recover. I hope to find some solutions to these seemingly unbeatable odds and find either products or methods to overcome the terribleness of... razor burn!

Out of the shower I noticed unlike usual the red spot continued to appear. After towel drying I did feel as though my face was smooth, although irritated. After brushing my teeth and continuing to dry off I also found that my face was not as cut up or razor burned as much as I had expected. A good sign.

I have not been a person that has shaved everyday, I was for a short stint while on a job in Arizona and California not too long ago, but I generally didn't care then on the quality nor the satisfaction of the shave. A few quick passes with a disposable 3 blade and out the door.

The survey for today:  Parker TTO and Lord Platinum

 

1.     Smoothness of Shave/Ease: 2 I give a two for the sheer pain encountered due to yesterdays irritation, or what I chalk up to be yesterdays irritation.

2.     # of Strokes per square inch: 2 to 3

3.     Skin smoothness – Upper Lip: 4 smoother today, no missed spots

4.     Skin smoothness – Lower Lip: 3 better, mostly raised skin and razor burn roughness

5.     Skin smoothness – Chin: 3 Some bumps from razor burn, no stubble

6.     Skin smoothness – Cheeks: 3, Missed a few spots, and mild razor burn

7.     Skin smoothness – Jaw Line: 3 feels smooth and only a little irritated.

8.     Skin smoothness – Overall: 3 for what I had expected it turned out much smoother.

9.     Skin Irritation: Yes. Irritation mostly on checks and jaw line while shaving, finding under chin and neck sensitive to touch can rub hand across but does yield pain. 

10. Nicks/Cuts: several small nicks under jaw and neck area couple on chin.

 

Second day same blade = Irritation

As you'll see from the survey the second day did not go as well for the same blade as I might of hoped. Had some irritation when focusing on the problem areas and the places I missed last time. This will be interesting information to use when trying adjuncts to shaving like shave oil and after shaving techniques. 

1.     Smoothness of Shave/Ease: 4 Easy to shave with but found each stroke more irritation then the last, I think with my tough beard 1 razor per shave is enough.

2.     # of Strokes per square inch: 2 to 3

3.     Skin smoothness – Upper Lip: 3 Some roughness near lip corners.

4.     Skin smoothness – Lower Lip:  4 much better than last time, focus more on areas that I seemed to miss last time.

5.     Skin smoothness – Chin: 4 Smooth with some bumps due to razor burn.

6.     Skin smoothness – Cheeks: 3.5 smooth with bumps from razor burn, not sensitive to the touch.

7.     Skin smoothness – Jaw Line: 4 No stubble some bumps from razor burn, somewhat irritated and sensitive to the touch.

8.     Skin smoothness – Overall: 3 Smooth with only some areas bumpy from razor burn, not much stubble if any, deficiency of smoothness due to razor burn not stubble

9.     Skin Irritation: Overall not much, there is some irritation under jaw line and neck areas. I found that during shaving I could feel the irritation from the lack of sharpness of the razor. Could be due to toughness of beard. Skin is sensitive to skin contact, i.e. hand, not as sensitive  to towel rubbing.

10.                         Nicks/Cuts: Small nicks under chin mostly and neck that bled in shower no redness after or bleeding. 

 Girlfriend survey to come later

Week Two! Double Edge Parker & Lord

After the 16th of March I let my face and beard rest and stopped shaving. I took before and after pictures to give a reference.

I used my Parker double edge razor with a Lord super stainless steel blade. I used the same soap and normal procedures for shaving. I will admit when I first starting using the double edge blades I got cramps in my hands, but this time I didn't. It was an easy shave, as quick as the Mach3 but with much fewer overall strokes.

1.     Smoothness of Shave/Ease: 4 easy to shave, nice to hold. Originally I found these razors made my fingers cramp but now it doesn't seem to bother me.

2.     # of Strokes per square inch: one to two strokes

3.     Skin smoothness – Upper Lip: 5 in no direction can I find stubble

4.     Skin smoothness – Lower Lip: 3.5 some stubble but only up and down

5.     Skin smoothness – Chin: 3.5 some stubble but smooth

6.     Skin smoothness – Cheeks:4 excellent very smooth

7.     Skin smoothness – Jaw Line: 4 awesome shave usually a trouble area but now very nice zero irritation and easy to shave st different angles.

8.     Skin smoothness – Overall:  4 great shave nice and smooth fun and quick.

9.     Skin Irritation: small irritation if at all skin feels tight and smooth. Very small irritation under chin but only when rubbed. Pushed when shaving small cut.

Girlfriends Survey

1.     Skin smoothness – Upper Lip: 4 really smooth

2.     Skin smoothness – Lower Lip: 3

Little roughness

3.     Skin smoothness – Chin: 4

4.     Skin smoothness – Cheeks: 5 5'o'clock shadow less apparent with this shave on checks right after

5.     Skin smoothness – Jaw Line: 4 some roughness in trouble areas near ear and jawline

6.     Skin smoothness – Overall: 4

7.     Skin Irritation: much better not as razor burned less bumps, five o clock shadow less visable.

8.      Nicks/Cuts: two under chin and under jaw 

 Until tomorrow.