DIY Grooming Blogging: my trimmer is wiser than an electric shaver!

2017 was cruel in terms of my body reacting to certain prescription drugs and the outset of what seems like a herpetic tendency. During this time, there were repeated outbreaks in and around my mouth. Over a period, the lesions and scarring dissolved, but they also created these small, darkish grey patches around my lips. The road ahead has been difficult as I can no longer shave in the usual way. I have been asked to keep the razor away from these areas that can be very sensitive. The only way ahead was using an electric trimmer or shaver, ensuring that the growth was never shaved away completely. I had to repeatedly trim my beard, and it was getting frustrating to repeatedly visit the men’s salon. The only solution was to buy the shaving or trimming gear for myself – a long-term and definitely smart investment since I was not going to shave for many weeks now. The question was – what suited me more – the shaver or a trimmer?

What makes the electric shaver un-great for me?

I feel that anything that tries to shave close without using a blade falls badly. The close shave domain is about the blade cutting every hair out there, from the root, without nicking the surface underneath. Even if you don't reverse-shave, a bladed shave is necessary for that typically well-groomed, shaven look. The electrically powered shaver comes a close second to this option, but with a major flaw. Electrical shavers aren’t as proficient as their bladed counterparts. Secondly, they tend to pull a bit too much. I have had ingrown hairs before, along my cheekbone area, and the chances of electrical shavers putting harder on each hair is a lot more than what seems acceptable. For someone who has been punished by the Gods with a shave as stoic as Donald Trump’s ego, this is not a great option. You don't want repeated rounds with the electrically rotated blades tugging at a thick, tough-to-cut growth.

Things that make TRIMMER more suited for my SHAVING challenges:

• I can use the trimmer almost regularly, unlike the shaver, which has more of a hair-pulling action
• Trimmer is more agile in terms of being maneuvered under the nostrils
• My Philips trimmer handles my chin challenge rather well, i.e., I have a rounded-in chin that needs an efficient but no-cut blade with the need for repeated strokes
• Less power-consuming, the trimmer can be used with the shortest recharging cycles
• While shavers need a slight dose of skin-caring solutions, gels, etc., my trimmer does not irritate the skin at all
• Shavers find it difficult to scrape away the growth in my upper throat area…something that my trimmer does rather well
• There are days I find white dust after using the trimmer. This is dry, flaky skin, and it tends to fly around
• Trimmer is very safe for working around the edge of lips, nostrils, sideburns, etc.
• Not a big fan of cleaning the trimmer inside-out each time, the usual blowing works
• The most obvious reason - my trimmer gives great styling options where I can literally play around with different beard patterns...also a great way to make the morning routine more fun!!

That slight [Trim + Razor shaping] that works rather good:

I can not use the trimmer as extensively as it should be for keeping on that well-groomed look for a larger part of the working week. The issue is that my skin reacts too much when the trimmer is pressed against the skin. This is inevitable if you are going to use the trimmer regularly, as the growth is not that dense over two days. So, I use some beard-shaping as a means to boost the groomed appearance. This like the most minimal form of beard-scaping where I use a simple Presto razor in the upward, upside-down position to shape the upper, under-the-eye part of the growing beard's expanse. This is like bordering a hedge in your garden or some timely grooming that saves the day and creates a better demarcated, better groomed beard!