Last month, November, was a time for many men to stop shaving in support of many men's health issues. I did not participate. For one, I look horrible after a few days of not shaving. I have a few bare spots, while small, that would ruin the overall bearded look. Also, wearing a face mask with a fairly full beard just doesn't look all that good. As well, I am not sure it would offer as full protection with such gaps that a beard provides. So, I just kept my regular look for the month. My mother gave me my first electric razor for my sixteenth birthday, even though I barely had a few whiskers yet. I had been using manicure scissors to trim those few hairs, usually once a week, to take care of what needed to be done. By my senior year, I just barely had enough hair to grow a mustache, although I still didn't need to shave on a daily basis yet. As a side note, I can't remember, but I'm sure many of my male classmates were shaving more regularly. Some already had chest hair before high school, for goodness sakes. They had to be shaving by then. In contrast, my chest hair didn't come fully in until I was twenty or so. In college, I could shave daily, but I didn't. I only had classes every other day, so I only shaved on those days. Besides, I like the two day "dirty" scruff look. Also, I was prone to ingrown hairs, due to their curliness as as well as my total lack of knowledge of shaving. Trust me, it was sometimes bad. Still is. Once I had daily classes, I had to shave daily too. That's when my old razor started to fail, so I had to get a new one. Or at least my mother did. The morning I tried to open the packaging, I was running late, so I couldn't finish the task. When I went to look at it again that night, I noticed that it was only an electric razor, not a rechargeable one like my old one. This meant that I could not use it in a room without an outlet, like my bathroom. This led to many awkward moments, as there weren't many mirrors with outlets near enough for me to shave. Like many young men of the time, I grew a goatee. It was popular everywhere for some reason, so I went along. I helped to make my chin stand out, giving me a "manly" appearance, or whatever. Still, I didn't feel man enough. So, during my four year's of hiatus, I made a change to cartridge razors. The first time I tried it, after consulting a few men's magazines for tips, I developed horrible ingrown hairs within the next day. This could have also been due to shaving with my electric razor barely a day later. For the next few years, I would alternate which to use. Sometime around 2005, I began to use my two-blade cartridge razor exclusively. I guess I just forgot to switch it out. Anyway, a few years ago, the only store that still sold the replacement cartridges for my razor went out of business. Other place may have still carried them, but they weren't as easy to get to. Strangely enough, the same store may have been selling the replacement heads for my electric razor too. I thought I was gong to go back to my electric model, until I realized how long it had been since I had used it. It was no longer in a state where I would use it anywhere near my face. Or anywhere else on my body. So, I bought a new electric razor, and I made sure this one was rechargeable. Unfortunately, while it has such features as being able to be cleaned in water, it is not an electric model. See, it cannot be used while it is recharging, only when it is not plugged in. That its not too big a deal, unless the battery loses power while you shave, like it did to me last week. I was just starting out, when the low power light came on. I had to wash off the pre-shave fluid, and apply shaving gel so I could use my backup cartridge razor. That's right. Although my two-bladed model no longer had easily replaced bladed, I picked up a three-bladed model for such emergencies. I had a free sample one time, and I ultimately picked up the full razor about the same time as the rechargeable. In all honestly, I don't like the three blades as well as my old two-bladed model, but at least it still was easily available. At the moment. I been noticing the influx of five-bladed models over the last year or so, and less space to my current replacement cartridges. My skin can barely take the three blades when I switch out. I don't know if it can take a higher blade count. Not to mention the cost. My current replacement has one less cartridge for the same price as my old two-blade model did. How many would there be in a new model? To add insult to all of this, I am almost out of my favorite aftershave lotion. Trust me, I need the help in caring after I shave. No local store can get it. Since travel is currently a no-go, and I can't/won't/don't shop online, this means I will have to get a substitute, just so that my face and neck doesn't feel like it is burning on the days I shave. Very sensitive skin you know. Helps somewhat with ingrown hairs, too. I would just stop shaving, but you already read my problems with that.
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