A most humble apology...

[LinacMan]

So... I've been straight shaving for about 2 months. With the help of Obie and others and my obvious innate straight shaving talent , it's been relatively smooth sailing so far.

To be quite frank, as I read through various posts over the past 2 months I wondered what all the fuss was about - the fretting over angles, passes, etc. Last night I joined reality. For the second time in my adult life I shaved of my goatee (the first time doesn't count as I did it with a safety). Wow! All I can say is that I'm glad I didn't attempt the chin on my first day out using a straight razor! There surely would have been blood involved.

Inspecting my goatee before last night, I'd have sworn the hairs all grew from north to south - WRONG! Those suckers must be growing at 15 slightly different angles. I never knew my chin was so complicated! The crazy hair growth pattern coupled with the fact that my chin is fairly pointed and my jawline is relatively sharp, it made for an interesting shaving session. Through sheer will power and determination, in the end I had a nearly BBS shave, fortunately zero blood, and no razor burn. Ironically the one tiny spot that is not BBS was an easy spot to the right of midline just above the jaw line. The reason I missed it is because I was obsessing over the difficult area immediately above the jawline dead center and neglected to inspect my entire face fully before my final rinse.

My initial plan was to shave the goat just once as SWMBO expressed an interest in seeing me without it, then let it grow back. However, last night my face "tossed the gauntlet", and I'm compelled to rise to the challenge. I guess my chin will remain bare at least until I've conquered this new territory. I don't like my looks without it, but SWMBO said she likes it so I'll not argue

I truly and humbly apologize for any unspoken thoughts of superiority over any of you who have been struggling with your own nemesis - chin or otherwise. Head low, tail between the legs...