On a side note: this morning I shampooed and conditioned my brush for the first time (I didn't think to do it when I first got it - just rinsed it really thoroughly), and holy smokes does it lather up AWESOME now. Plus, the bristles were fairly coarse - not uncomfortable - before, but now it's like brushing my face with Angel hair. It's not an expensive brush - $12 on Amazon and the only thing printed on the side of the wooden handle is, "Escali."

Something I thought of today during my shave: when I rub in a little neem or olive oil before lathering up, it feels like the blade it sloughing through mud and pulling harder on the skin. There's no hair pulling, and the blade cuts nice and clean, but there's just a lot more resistance to the edge sliding.

Any suggestions?