Owwww!!

[crouton976]

So, SWMBO said she wanted me to ditch the 'stache, and, well, I... uh... obeyed?

Anywho, I just got two of my Genco razors back from Glen treating them to a fine old time on the Shapton's and figured since they were fresh, I'd give one a go. Since it's the first time I've shaved the 'stache in several years, and since my beard is kinda wiry, I knew the razor needed to be super scary sharp if I stood any chance of success. Also, learning to shave that part of my face with a straight with a freshly honed blade would eliminate a variable if I got a bad shave.

So, of the two, a Genco "Seneca Cheif" and a Geneva Cutlery Co. smiling blade (Pocahontas and Smilin' Sally, respectively) I went for Smilin' Sally. I pulled out my beard trimmer, trimmed the 'stache down to stubble and went through my normal prep routine (shower, preshave oil, lather, hot towel, lather again). I made sure to skip the strop, and also used my staple brush and soap, my reasoning being introducing as few variations as possible from my normal routine. I also ended the shave with alum, aftershave of choice and Nivea Post Shave Sensitive balm, again, just part of the norm.

Well, the rest of the shave went great (Glen, your reputation is well deserved sir!), but my top lip hurts like $##%%%#@! I figured this might be the case, since I haven't shaved it in SOOOOOOOOO long, and I'm also thinking technique played a part as well, along with beard density/toughness. The normal post shave treatment hasn't made a dent in the burn, and I've also tried an ice rub (which did help for a few minutes) and putting on some Lubriderm lotion SWMBO has from her most recent tattoo. It feels slightly better this morning, but still burning like the dickens.

I'm certainly not blaming Glen's work honing it up... like I said, the rest of the shave was an absolute dream! I'm just trying to wrap my head around what the underlying cause(s) may be. I made certain to watch my pressure and angle really, really close and stretched appropriately, too. The only other variable I can think of is that the blade is really hollow, which I seem to recall there's some debate on the grind vs. tough beard where folks say that a wedge gives a better shave (sounds like as good of an excuse as any for me to buy a wedge, eh? ), but am I remembering correctly, or is that all just hogwash?

As of now, I'm 99% certain that the length of time and my skin getting used to being shaved there plays a huge factor in all of this, and I'm maybe 50% sure that technique did, too. In fact, those two things together are most likely 100% of the cause. Still, I'm throwing all of this (huge and rambling post) out there to see if anyone else has any ideas on what I might not be thinking of that could have added to the mix. I know it's just process of elimination to get a comfortable shave... I'd just like to have the most complete list of possibilities.

On the plus side, my lip is BBS!