My last actual haircut was sometime around March of 1992. (Iāve trimmed the ends occasionally, but otherwise, just let it grow out.) The length has stopped somewhere around the small of my back. Thereās a bit of a joke that Iām not allowed to cut it at this point, as it would make my partners sad, although I know that if I really wanted to, theyād get over it.
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Hmm. That reminds me, I should go try on one of mine to see if Iām wearing it to the opening day of our local RenFaire this weekend ā¦ (Iāve been wearing skirts more often than kilts lately, but I like both for different reasons!)
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I sold my Merkur HD a while ago, so I can only speculate as to why it didnāt work for me. One reason may have been weight and balance. The Feather is h-e-a-v-y. I already knew that DEs required a light touch, but the Feather feels like an accelerated course on this particular aspect of DE shaving.
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I havenāt found my hairās terminal length, but when it was so long that I sat on it, and accidentally peed on it, I figured it was time for a trim.
I did cut it to my shoulders around the time that horrible homophobic county clerk was in the news. The one who would rather go to jail than do her job, remember her? My coloring is similar to hers, my glasses were similar, and my hair was far too similar for me to feel comfortable with the thought that I might look even a little bit like that hate-filled person, so I cut it. And got new glasses. My partner was not pleased, but he understood. Now his hair is longer than mine. Hee hee.
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I canāt and wonāt shave- my skin just wonāt tolerate razors and whatnot.
Iāve got great soap and a badger brush, and Iāve used all manner of razors- no dice. My pale ginger haired skin just isnāt having it. So:
I got myself a Peanut clipper, and Iāve settled on the āruggedā look- I always have stubble. Sometimes itās long enough to call a beard, but usually not. I do that and then hop in the shower. Then witch hazel with aloe and Iām pretty good to go.
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Interesting. The Atlas has the same nice heft and good balance to it. The Edwin Jager is a bit lighter, more comparable to the Merkur from what Iāve been told (though I never tried the Merkur because the consensus seemed to be that the Edwin Jager is more forgiving.
I remember getting half-interested in proper shaving after this post.
But being lazy (see above), I never got around to doing anything.
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I know. And they canāt match foundation for shit because the lighting sucks and the 20-somethings think orangish/tan is better for selfies (I swear that a young woman told me that). Now I know where Trump shops.
I can use glycolic peels, but any type of retinol makes my face swell and get red.
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Thatās been one of the āfunā things about expanding my wardrobe to allow me to present across the gender spectrum better: Iāve been dealing with mostly clothing intended for men for most of my life, so Iāve been finding out about exactly how clothing designed for women is often so very cheaply constructed. Honestly, even some of my favorite outfits feel very flimsy and barely held together. I was intellectually aware of this, of course, as I do go shopping with my female identifying partners, but experiencing it first hand is a whole different matter. Also, donāt get me started on the lack of pockets!
Yes, yes, that is certainly the time to trim it. 
Being queer, yeah, I recall Kim Davis all too well. I canāt say I blame you for changing your look to avoid comparison to her. Hair length between partners is a funny thing, though. I like the look of long hair on my partners, but when it comes down to it, itās their hair and they can cut, style, color, whatever anyway they like it!
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Where are you getting your 16.25 oz denim pants? The strongest pants Iāve found are 13 oz fire hose canvas, and I would happily buy something even stronger. I am pretty hard on clothing.
I tried double-edge for a while and kept nicking my face. Most stores still sell Trac II-compatible cartridges, but I could never find the handle ā then I found one on Amazon, from India (I guess theyāre still sold in other markets). There is usually some kind of deal where I can get 50 or 100 cartridges for the same price that Iād pay for a set of 10 at the supermarket.
I bought a Van Der Hagen brush and bowl set. (Fun fact ā my first job out of college was in a plastics molding shop, and they made the brush handles for these.) When the soap ran out I started buying shaving soap at the local organic market, I think it was $4 for another bar (disc?) but I canāt remember the name.
I use witch hazel as aftershave (and I use it on my nose to prevent acne ā that, and a facial wash I get from Trader Joeās, seem to help as much as anything Iāve ever tried, though Iād hoped that acne would no longer be an issue at all now that Iām in my mid-40s).
I shave twice a week (not completely ā I have a beard).
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I did the badger-brush / bowl / hot lather / alum block / Merkur razor thing for a few years, but got lazy. I switched to a Mach 3, but then I got cheap. So now I use the Dollar Shave Club, who send me more than I need every month for about $5.
I loathe haircuts. Thereās very few things I hate more than sitting in a chair for a half hour and making chitchat, glasses off and the world a blur, waiting to see if my hairās all fucked up or not, and then paying $30-$50 for it. Because my other options are to (a) let my hair grow, which looks pretty gross on me and is hot in the summer, (b) cut it myself, which, no, or (c) go to Supercuts and be guaranteed itāll look lousy.
Iāve often considered shaving off my head of healthy hair to avoid dealing with haircuts, even though Iād end up looking like Moby.
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What put me off about the straight razor wasnāt its liability or learning curve but rather all the damned maintenance and the fact that just one ill-angled fall to the floor could cost you $50 to rehabilitate the damaged blade. That or an even more expensive medical bill* for all the stitches required to sew up your ill-placed foot.
*Applicable to U.S. citizens only because freedom.
@japhroaig: It seems us shavers have taken over this thread. Shall we fork off or keep the conversation going?
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They do disposable-blade straight-razors if you want to try without fully committing.
Anyone have good tips on nails?
ETA: Starting to remind me of some other forums. If yāall start talking about fedoras, head or mouth versions, Iām gonna be real disappointed.
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Note to others on thread: discussion of fedoras will receive swift and heavy carpet bombing of images and GIFs involving neckbeards and George W. Bush.
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keep it going!!! eventually everything shaving related will reach maximum entropy.
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fedoras, no. fascinators, yes. but thatās for a fashion thread.
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If thereās one lesson from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy that everybody in the world should take to heart when it comes to perfumes of any kind itās this: spray, delay, and walk away.
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Iām sure there are specific products, but I have had good results by massaging coconut oil into and around the nail. Then I wash my hands and use tiny little scissors to cut hangnails. Then I file down any rough edges, on the nail or on the fingers.
Iāve done a similar process for my dude, but he needs a lot more filing on the rough edges of his hands. And feet.
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