Some Things I've Learned About DE Shaving

• I have sensitive skin, very susceptible to irritation and weepers.
• My beard may not be the toughest, but it's pretty tough and thick, grows on my neck almost to my collar bones, and the grain angle is fairly extreme -- making it tough to get a baby-smooth shave.
• Where my beard has a grain angle that grows most straight out, it's pretty easy to get a baby-smooth shave.
• In razor design, a negative blade exposure and smaller blade-guard span makes for a more face-friendly shave, but makes it more difficult to shave closely.
• In razor design, a smaller blade angle contributes to a lower-irritation shave -- generally speaking.
• Blade-guard gap, though easily measured, doesn't provide much information about the shave character of a razor head.
• Older guys, who have gray in their beard, a bit of wrinkles in their skin, or both, should shave every day or they quickly look like someone down on his luck.
• I value a smooth shave more than I value a completely bloodless shave.
• Cool-water shaves are every bit as effective for me as warm- or hot-water shaves, but the cool-water shaves seem to remove less precious oil from my skin, waste less water, and use less energy.
• Some shave soaps work well when saving and drying clean lather for use the next day. Other soaps seem to grow bacteria or fungus.
• Rinsing, disassembling, and drying razor and blade after every shave keeps things cleaner and likely prolongs the useful life of the blade in the short run, and perhaps the razor in the long run.
• The price one pays for a razor is not a predictor of its effectiveness.
• An inexpensive brush can work as well as the expensive ones.
• In shaving, just like in about every other commercial endeavor, some people will always believe that more expensive means better results.
• The most expensive razor blades aren't necessarily the best value -- and the same can be said for razors, brushes, soaps, lotions, gels, towels, etc.
• With experience, one's shaving skills improve.
• Stretching the skin can improve the results of one's DE shave on challenging facial terrain.

Happy shaving and list making!