So, I shaved last night with a new blade. Showered in steamy water, working hard to soften the hairs. Got out of the shower and applied some preshave lotion (also by Nivea). I massaged that into my face and neck noticing how much softer and more pliable the hairs seemed. I was taking the extra time to soften the hair and hydrate my skin as much as possible as advice from my doctor.
I visited with my doctor this past Wednesday (psoriatic arthritis checkup) and I brought up this raised area every time I shave. It is likely that the area is a form of eczema do to the lack of moisture in my skin (a side effect of the psoriasis). Top recommendations: Do not shave everyday (I had already come up with that one on my own), do everything possible to hydrate and lubricate the skin, both before and between shaves, and if needed, apply some triamcinolone ointment on the affected areas.
Which brings me to my most recent effort.
With my hairs soft and pliable, skin hydrated, I then applied my shaving cream. I did a 3 pass attempt this time, using short overlapping strokes.
First Pass - Shaved with the grain, making sure to let the weight of the razor do the work. Now this seems like a no brainer. I make it a practice not to press on my razor...more on that in a bit.
Second Pass - This pass I went across the grain. Again, with short overlapping strokes. First, from my right ear towards my chin, then on the otherside of my goatee, from my chin to my left ear. Then I reversed it...Left ear to chin, chin to right ear. Letting the razor do the work.
Third Pass - On my final pass, I went against the grain. It is worthy to note at this point, that in between each shave pass, I reapplied my cream. I always start with my cheeks, leaving my neck for last so that the shaving cream can really soak into that area.
After I was done, I rinsed with cool water and applied my shaving balm. I did notice a few nicks. It turns out, that with the extra prep I put into the pre shave really did the trick. The pressure I had applied was too much still. It was a habit to apply some pressure, but every time I found myself 'forcing' the razor, I would stop and let the razor just glide over my skin. I marveled at how effortless it really was. I noticed the tiny nicks every place that I 'pushed' on the razor.
I still had that raised area, but it does go away quickly.
Overall I think this is a really good razor that provides a superior shave -especially with extra preparation before the actual shave. However, do I think this razor is any better than a regular Fusion? Marginally so...the roller feature of this blade made it much easier to get into the areas around my adam's apple.
Compared to my ShaveMob razor, the Gillette Fusion ProGlide with FlexBall is a much more superior product. The 6 blades in the ShaveMob razor are nice, but don't clean as well as the Gillette, nor do they seem to be at an optimal angle compared to the Fusion's blades. Sometimes I guess, more is not better! :)
The only negative I have so far with the FlexBall razor system is the life of the first cartridge. I only have one shave on the second, so I will give a few more shaves to see if that was just a fluke or whether these blades don't last as long.
No comments:
Post a Comment