Shaving (mainly for the guys)

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EricInLA

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218
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PALS
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01/2020
Country
US
State
CA
City
Los Angeles
I am dealing with slowly progressing weakness of my right hand and arm. I am right-handed, so that makes things more of a challenge. One thing that's going on is that my arm gets tired when I shave (I shave with a razor and shaving cream), and sometimes my hand gets these weird insta-cramps which makes me drop the razor and have to quickly shake out my hand. My doctor says these are actually cramps, just not the charley horse kind. So. . . I've started trying to shave with left hand, which is much stronger. The problem is that hand is less coordinated so it ended up a bloody mess. I suspect this is because my left hand doesn't quite have the muscle memory of my right hand, and doesn't know the curves of my face like the right hand does. I went a lot slower the next time and it got a little better. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this situation, and if so, whether the left hand eventually gains the muscle memory to be able to do the job without making me look like a prizefighter who's just finished 12 rounds. I suspect my left hand/arm will be stronger for some period of time longer than my right.
 
I use an electric razor. I have found one that fits in my hand well enough that I don't need to grip it. I mostly hold the electric razor in one position and move my face around on it. This works well for me now.

In the future, I will return to having a beard.

Steve
 
Hi, Eric. I'm at a similar stage with hand/arm weakness. I agree with Steve that if you want to continue shaving, try an electric shaver. Not to be negative, but I suspect that you will not develop the coordination in your left hand/arm to shave with a blade but you can probably manage a shaver. If you've ever used a shaver, you know there are mainly two types, foil and rotary, and that preference seems to be an individual thing. A shaver will not give you the "clean shave" feel of a blade, but you will not end up bleeding. :)

Like Steve, I've started having a beard but I find it uncomfortable when it gets long, so I keep it pretty short. My wife cuts my hair and she uses the electric hair clippers with the shortest (1/8") attachment on the beard. I also have a battery powered men's grooming trimmer which I use if I feel my beard is getting too long between haircuts or when my mustache needs to be trimmed. (I don't like the "soup strainer" effect when it gets long.)

Regards,
Bill
 
Because of my left arm/hand I have switched over to an electric shaver. I prefer the 3 head rotary type.
For that close shave feeling I found if I hold/pat a warm wet face cloth on my face/neck for a few
moments, pat dry then shave. It seems to soften up the whiskers. Not every time... maybe every other.
My shaver has a flip out trimmer I use for my mustache. :)
 
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Hi guys, I am the same I still use a blade but I don't know how much longer I can do that, now I have to have my wife apply the shaving cream for me, the blade I can still handle but it is getting harder to manage. I have a shaver but I don't like the shave I get from it.
Al
 
Al, I kinda ponder these guys who shave their heads too. To me, just keeping the mug shaved is
enough of a job. Then the ones who shave their heads but grow a beard. ? Whatever.... :)

(With this COVID 19 thing... I'd have doubts about growing a beard, or having a longer beard a
face mask can't cover.)

Don't know about head hair... for me my forehead has grown all the way to the top of my head. :)
 
Ha. . . I've never heard the forehead described that way before.

The bald head + facial hair is an interesting grooming decision. Maybe it's a 'tough guy' look.

Thanks to all for your input on this.
 
“The bald head + facial hair is an interesting grooming decision. Maybe it's a 'tough guy' look.”

Only if you drive a pickup truck.
 
Well, it's shaved head and full beard.

Probably gonna get in trouble with this. Let me describe the pick up truck....

High suspension, big knobby tires, loud exhaust system, rifle rack in the back
window, outside on the back window in the upper left corner a decal of a
Confederate Flag, upper right corner a decal with the name of the current
occupant of the White House, lower left corner an NRA decal, on the lower
right corner a decal that says, "God - Guns - Forever". Sitting in the passenger
seat is a huge pit bull with a spike collar. It did bark so I knew it wasn't his
wife or girl friend.... well. (When he came out of the store he had a big 'ol
hog iron revolver on his belt.) Oh yea, shaved head, long beard.

I've seen so many I was able to compose the above from memory. :)
 
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Eric, this doesn’t answer your immediate question, but it may help you down the road. My husband’s left hand stopped working, then about 18 months later, his right. We tried electric razors, but they didn’t give him the close shave he wanted. I could shave him, but did an awful job. Then I found a new, specialized product on the market: a razor for caregivers. The slant of the blade is perfect when someone else is doing the shaving. It’s “Gillette TRIO razor, designed for caregivers to shave someone else.” I have only found it on Amazon. The handle hold the shaving gel and each razor lasts for 2-3 shaves. Good luck.
 
I'm one of those coastal liberal elites who clings to his brie and chardonnay and scoffs at the flyover people, so your pickup truck guy with the rifle rack is something I've only seen in the movies. :LOL:

Thanks for the info on the Gillette TRIO - I'll keep that one in my back pocket
 
Al, often if it's diesel they'll have the big duel up stacks behind the cab,
If it's a gasser they have the big pipes below the rear bumper or coming
out the side by the rear wheels. :)

I also see a lot of decals of the German Iron Cross... I wonder if they
realize things didn't work out too well for the guys who once wore that
on their uniforms. :)

Igg, that was a good post concerning the Gillette Trio

Eric, you live in Los Angeles... big difference than rural North Carolina.
Many here still haven't got over the Civil War. I came up here from
Clearwater Florida.... it was a culture shock. But, there are good people
here too.

Back to shaving. :)
 
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Welcome to the South. I moved here 32 years ago from New York, so you can imagine my culture shock! I still scratch my head in disbelief. I live outside the city limits so gun toting, flag wielding, big ass trucks are the norm here. :oops:
 
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