h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've always been bemused by the "only with the grain" advice. I can only assume that the people who tell you to shave in this way have:

1) amazingly woosie facial hair which faints and falls out at the sight of the razor

2) laser or atomic razors which remove all hair from any angle (possibly reverse engineered from alien technology - you never see an alien with a beard, do you?)

3) a cruel sense of humour. It's just a lie, isn't it?

I favour option 2.

Oh, and ingrown hairs, I think I've had one or two in my life so far. My facial hair knows where it wants to go, and that's outside.

Re. aliens with beards.

Except for Klingons, obviously.

The shower is the place to do it. I keep an electric razor for those time that I am away from home and would feel embarrassed using signiicantly more than my share of the hot water. As for the mirror - what mirror? You can easily feel all those bits that are not scraped enough yet. After all blind people shave and seem to manage just as well as I do and I don't beleave they all use an electric razor.

As for "not against the grain", it is just a myth. My face is not even as good as an electric shave unless I go against the grain for the second, third etc. pass. How do these hairs get ingrown if you are forever chopping them off - I only got ingrown hairs during my youth when I had a beard.

Hmmm... Yes, it has to be a blade to shave... There are far better things to do with electric shavers...

I use a "Mach 3" and its good enough with the grain except under my chin, for some reason.

But then, good enough is an opinion, and I may well be wrong !
(see "how do I cure snogrash?")

Try using a pumice stone once a week after smothering your face with baby oil and taking a long hot shower. Then gently rub you face with a linen cloth. You should be able to tell the difference between zits and balckheads(even if you are fair skinned). A zit is white or red, a blackhead is a black dot and an ingrown hair is longish. Pull out the hair with tweezers (not pleasant, but it won't kill you). Also Royal Copenhagen has a pre-shave balm that may help. If only my husband had used it , he wouldn't be my 'ex' now.

mmmmmm name them Blue, am I being inocent but electric sahvers seem to only be designed for one thing. Or am I missing the point?

If you did miss the point you wouldn't get much joy out of an electric shaver!
(Think downstairs. Think rapid vibration. Then blush.)

*blush* Is this a well known usage? Is there a market for all those cheap electric razors in second hand shops?

C

Actually, I think this diserves a Guide entry all of its own. "Unconventional Pleasure Devices", listing objects with unplanned secondary uses of this kind. I'm currently aware of the aforementioned electric razors, and electric toothbrushes and a washing machine on the spin cycle. Would anyone be interested in adding others? If so, I'll fire up a new entry.

Please do, Joolsee. Even if it means doing some real research for once (damn shame), I'm sure we'll get enough to make it all worth while!

Blue

Please post all suggestions, with any notes and comments to:
http://www.h2g2.com/A276671
It's a tough job, but somebodies got to do it!

Back to the against-the-grain premise, I noticed last night that on a Gilette mach 3 commercial, the guy using the razor was shaving against the grain under his chin. So, I take it that that is some kind of endorsement of shaving that way (course he was shaving sideways too.)

Having given it a tentative try last night, it seems not to be a problem.
I can only assume that this pearl of wisdom which I have slavishly followed (and quoted) all my adult life actually applies to cut-throat style razors and not safety razors...?

Honestly, I have shaved with everything from a pocket knife to an electric and all points in between. I still have all of my original face parts (mostly), and only have had 1 ingrown hair in my entire life. So I can only assume that it really is just a myth.