Shaving Problems & Kids

Ooooh eerrr missus. That title sounds a bit suspect doesn't it!

But sorry, I am not that way inclined. I am talking about that daily chore that we men have, scraping the rough hairs off the chin every morning.

By nature and habit I have been an Electric Shaver man for about 20 plus years. The only times I have wet shaved is on holidays when the batteries ran out or for whatever reason I didn’t have my trusty Braun.

I am now in one of those periods when my shaver has broken down and needs to be repaired. As my recollections of wet shaving were of rashes, cuts and pain, I decided to try and make the experience as painless as possible. So I popped down to the supermarket and purchased a BIC dual blade, adjustable head razor with one of those lubricating strips to “make shaving even more of a pleasure” (copyright just about every shaving company) and to make sure, I also bought shaving cream for I think the first time in my life.

The whole idea of using a shaving cream is to provide a foam that will soften the hairs and help the razor blades give you get the closest shave possible without cutting your face or leaving that nasty shaving rash. And to sum it up, that was exactly what I was looking for.

Now which one to choose? Errr Nivea? Wilkinson? Gillette? …… HELP!!!! Too many to choose from!! I quickly became one of those rabbits caught in the headlights of an oncoming car transfixed until its run over. God, which one? Nivea? nah too poncy and gay. Gillette? Yes! A manly product, no doubting I'm a man here. Now which flavour? Original, Lime, Sea Breaze, Pizza? OK, just joking on the last one. Bloody hell. Why does everything come with 15 choices? Cant have a coke now, got to have a caffeine free non diet lemon flavour or a diet caffeine included chery flavour.

Its one of these things in life a man cant admit to. That he cant use a blade razor. Oh bugger, how do I use it? I went straight from bum fluff to electric. I cant ask my mates as thats as good as saying KICK ME, I'M A TOSSSER! Do I go with the grain or against it? Why does shaving the moustache bit and my Adams apple feel so fecking sore ?

So, to the actual first use. Like most foamy things when it comes out the nozzle it is heavily expanded and its only when you first start spreading it over your face you get an idea of how much you actually have. Being the inquisitive and the frankly scared of hurting and cutting myself wimpish type I decided early on to experiment with volumes and time left on the face to see if it made any difference on softening the days growth. I found it didn’t really seem to matter that much how much I put on as it all came off with the first blade stroke. I started off with just one application but towards the end I ended up applying a double application of the foam for the initial sweep and then the following clean up sweeps.

Onto the shaving and the nitty gritty, did it work and make shaving a more pleasurable experience? Well, actually it did. I do have quite a sensitive skin ( no laughing at the back ) as despite the cream and the lubricating strip I still got the shavers rash and the odd cut but it was a definite improvement than trying to shave without. It was only really small patches around the area of my Adams Apple that looked raw. The last time I tried it just with water and soap, I ended up looking like a victim of some deranged machete wielding maniac.

Now whether all the extra ingredients will make any difference in cleansing my pores or moisturizing my skin I have no idea, I don’t really see any difference but who knows. Sounds a bit new age and metrosexual for me.

Why cant they make a smaller size? the smallest I saw was 175g, not only for people like me who are going to use it for only a short time but also for those who want a smaller can for holidays etc or who want to try a new brand without wasting a lot of money for 95% of a product they might never use again?

Now, I hope my Braun will be back soon so I can start using that again. Will I switch to a wet shaving man? Sorry, no. I still prefer the buzz and the shave anywhere convenience of the electric. But, if I need to wet shave I will definitely use the Gillette Foamy to help ease the pain.

Now back to the sad reality. I have managed to make a kid cry again. This time I didnt touch him. Honest! All I did was catch him playing with Blu Tack and I took it off him and for the last 20 minutes of the class he was blubbering away like nobodies business. Jeeeezo!