Closer than you think

I have a Braun electric to use when I travel by air. I haven't used it for a while though.

A couple days ago something happened that pumped me with adrenaline. I was still pumped the next morning so I decided to use the electric for the first time in months instead of taking my chances with the straight. The shave went fast and seemed ok.

I'd been telling everyone that the straight razor shave wasn't that close. The last time I'd compared with an electirc was a few months ago when I was just starting. Things have changed now. When I shaved this morning there was a lot of stubble from my previous electric shave. Significantly more than when I shave with the straight. My straight razor technique has improved a lot and I didn't even know it. I can no longer say the straight razor shave isn't close, because it can be.

I still leave the hairs on my neck longer (just one pass) because that helps me avoid ingrown hairs. I have very few of those with a straight but lots with the modern wonder-multi-blade systems. The straight gives me the control to shave as close, or not close, as I like.

How cool! And I didn't even know it.

A common complaint from new wet shavers (DE and straight) is that the new stuff is making their beard coarser/grow faster/whatever. What really happens is that (a) they start paying attention to their beard (b) their standards for "good shave" get a *lot* higher.

A few weeks after I took up the DE I was stuck in the sophomore slumps. As I came out of the bathroom after a particularly lousy shave, the wife picked that time to see how well the new shaving fad was working. She felt my face and was astonished and pleased at how close it was.

As a test, I layed off the DE for a few days and went back to the electrics and disposables/foam-in-a-can, and discovered that my shaves had indeed improved, but I had gotten a lot pickier over the previous week.

Yesterday I was in a real hurry and didn't have time for a straight so I pulled out the old Eltron which I hadn't used in over a year and the battery was dead but I was able to shave through the mains and after the shave I have to admit it seemed like I had gotten a better shave than with the straight. My entire face was as smooth as a baby's bottom including my neck and all those hard to shave areas. As a matter of fact by 10PM my face was still real smooth but this morning when I shaved again I realized my beard was much heavier than it usually is after a straight shave the next morning. So I guess things aren't always as they appear to be.