Does Your Face Toughen Over Time, Adjusting to DE Shaving?

I have read in several places where DE shavers have suggested that one's face toughens up -- that is, adjusts -- to the process of DE shaving.

This begs the question: is this urban myth, and what is really happening is that one is tuning the process to adjust to one's face?

I think the answer to the preceding question is yes. I think that one's face doesn't adjust. I can sense no calluses, which is the only way I know that skin becomes more abrasion resistant.

Of course, there's no way for me to rewind the clock and devise some kind of experiment to test this, comparing early-shaves skin sensitivity to many-shaves-under-the-belt skin sensitivity.

In my case, I would attribute my more comfortable, less irritating shaves of late as compared to my early DE shaves to the following factors:

• Higher quality shave soap
• Cool-water beard preparation (I long ago abandoned warm-water shaving prep)
• Better matching of razor and blade combinations to my beard and skin requirements
• Better shaving stroke choices during each pass -- including oblique vs. direct strokes, stroke direction, and straight vs. j-hooking strokes
• Better razor-pressure modulation

What do you think? What's your experience?

Happy shaving!