Two for one: Avoiding razor bumps and Obama’s baby mama
I have facial hair, as do most men. If I’m feeling lazy I sport a shadow or, if I want to affect a more mature appearance, a goatee. Generally I favour the clean shaven look. I’ve never had razor bumps or discolouration at the bottom of my face or my neck. Earlier this week a colleague asked me how I avoid ingrown facial hair. It’s simple, I explained to him.
I exfoliate daily using a Buf Puf pad and Neutrogena soap, and I only rarely use blades when shaving. The Buf Puf opens my pores and straightens the hair that’s already grown out. For several years I used a pair of Oster adjustable clippers to trim my facial hair, but recently began using a Norelco electric razor with pivoting heads. It gets the job done–quickly.
If I absolutely must use a blade I opt for straight-edge Personas rather than disposable blades. Obviously, shaving with a straight-edge blade can be risky business, but I’ve had roughly 12 years of practice during which I’ve gotten the hang of it–mostly. Aside from nearly slicing off my left thumb six years ago, I haven’t had any accidents. The trick is to shave with the grain and avoid applying pressure, lest you permanently reconfigure your face.
In no case do I shave my facial hair so closely that my face is completely smooth. That can lead to hair bumps, even with men who have straight facial hair. When using a blade, I soak a clean, white towel in hot water and wrap it around my face to open my pores and soften my facial hair. This makes the blade glide across my face. A lot of men use shaving cream or gel but I use Neutrogena soap with a blade and haven’t had any problems.
And finally, I don’t touch my face with my bare hands, nor do I allow anyone else to do so. Hands = bacteria = bumps.
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Several things come to mind when I think about Michelle Obama. She’s Barack Obama’s wife of 16 years. She’s smart, having earned an A.B. in sociology, cum laude, from Princeton, and a J.D. from Harvard. She’s successful, functioning currently as vice president for Community and External Affairs for the University of Chicago Hospitals after beginning her career as an associate at one of Chicago’s blue chip law firms, Sidley Austin. She’s a consistently natty dresser, as the comparisons to Jackie O. and being counted by “Vanity Fair” as among “10 of the World’s Best Dressed People” would suggest. I can’t avoid saying that I think she’s a bit too candid occasionally when discussing her husband’s hygiene and housekeeping habits, but I appreciate her attempts –steeped in arrogance and presumptuousness though they are– to humanise him.
What would never occur to me is that Michelle Obama anyone’s baby mama, which is how the political action committee known to most as Fox News referred to her during an interview of flying monkey right wacko Michelle Malkin. Here’s the clip:
To speculate that Fox did so because Obama is black is to waste time. That’s precisely and solely the reason.
I can’t help but wonder, though, if a good part of the indignation expressed by some blacks –you know, the ones who consider themselves informed– isn’t rooted in a subtle, insidious form of elitism.
To wit: If Mrs. Obama was less accomplished and, goodness forbid a single mother, would their reaction have been the same?
What say you, my dears and good men?