Thread: Did I Dull My Razor Already (4th Shave)?

Originally Posted by Swan

It is very cold and very dry where I am at. Would that affect the hair test? Perhaps I am just doing that test wrong.

I will give my face and the blade another day to rest, strop, and shave again to see what happens.

HHT is a misnomer...it is not a TEST it is a GAUGE, and gauges must be calibrated. I will not hash this discussion out any further than to say HECK YES!!! when it is cold and dry, so will be the hair exposed to those conditions...thus the reason we prep our beards before shaving (to make the hairs EASIER to cut).

Not only will a razor that "passes" the HHT on a moist hair potentially "fail" it with a dry one....but your FACE may also be dry and more sensitive resulting in elevated potential for irritation. In the winter, if I work outside for a day, I reach for the Nivea Sensitive aftershave balm....if I work inside where the humidifier is doing its job, I can enjoy my Clubman AS.

Do not sweat it...at 4 shaves in, you have plenty of learning to do probably...and a little AS irritation is NOTHING...heck, it could be that your face is just finally getting around to protesting the new stresses it is encountering with straight shaving.

Take a day or two off, and hit it again. This ain't a race, it is a double marathon If you are not bleeding like a stuck pig, you are doing fine!