Well, took the first step today...
...and, per Lynn's 'Read First' sticky and countless other threads and articles, did the area below my side burn for the first time.
For being little more than a 60 second event it was very educational, exciting, and ironic...
Educational because the blade initially had MUCH more drag due to suction to the lather than I had expected. This lead me to the strong suspicion that I may not have been using enough water in my lathers (although it was my first time using a cut throat, I've been DE shaving for just over two weeks now).
Exciting because it did not feel nearly as uncomfortable or irritating as I expected. In fact, there was no discomfort whatsoever.
And ironic for two reasons:
- While finish the rest of my face with the DE I got a little careless and nicked my lip. Here I was worried about slicing with the straight and I actually end up with my first little slice from a DE instead...
- Even after WTG and a XTG passes on the opposite cheek with the DE, the straight cheek was still the closer shave
All in all it was great - so much so that I did the rest of my cheek as well. (Won't be adventuring beyond those two areas for a while though - sharp jaw line and course beard make my neck a difficult enough area with a DE. Definitely don't want to tackle it with a straight until I'm much more practiced.)
This is bad: I've been an every-other-day-shaver ever since I left the military eight years ago. Now I suddenly find my self wanting to shave daily. As much as I hate to give up the extra sleep time, I may soon find myself getting up earlier every day just to have time to wet shave.