I served in the US military for 20 years, which has a strict clean-shaven policy. No facial hair allowed unless you’re on a temporary medical exemption. You can’t even have stubble; you have to be clean shaven if you’re wearing the military uniform.

Some branches of our military (Army specifically) require you to be clean-shaven 24/7, regardless of whether you’re in uniform or not. I served in the US Air Force, so that was thankfully not a requirement for me.

However, I have another dilemma. I have soft, sensitive skin, but thick, rough facial hair. So shaving is always tough on my face. I would shave 5 days of the week so I could be presentable in uniform, then let it grow out on the weekends so my face can heal. Otherwise, I’d start damaging my skin from daily shaving.

Even worse, my hair grows exceptionally fast. I had to start shaving twice a day to stay within regs; first thing in the morning before I went to work, then again around lunchtime to keep the stubble at bay. I still had a permanent 5-O’clock shadow and would regularly be accused of not shaving.

In those 2 decades, I tried a variety of razors, from electric, manual, safety, disposable, etc. In the end, the only one that truly worked well for me was the Gillette Mach 3. Not the Mach 3 Turbo, which was more expensive but with no visible improvement.

Below is my current razor. I’ve had the handle for about a decade now, so it’s getting worn down.

I used to swap razors weekly when I shaved daily. Now that I’m retired, I shave once every few weeks and swap razors maybe once a month or two. I save a ton of money on razors now.

My wife once bought me a fancy expensive “electric” razor set from The Art of Shaving in New York. Their “Lexington Collection,” specifically. It’s basically a vibrating razor handle that takes Gillette disposable razor heads. I forget what Gillette calls them, but it’s the one with 5 blades. It came with a metal stand that holds the razor and a shaving brush. 5 blades was too much; it didn’t shave as well as the Mach 3 and its three blades. And I didn’t notice a difference whether it was vibrating or not. So I stopped using it.

I also bought a Van Der Hagen shaving brush and soap cup. I used to use it with a Van Der Hagen safety razor, but despite the name, I kept cutting myself every time I used it. So safety razors are out for me.

I used to get skin irritation all the time, or occasionally break out in face acne when shaving, until I learned that “dry shaving” worked best for me. I was spending a fortune on shaving cream, but that seemed to be the problem. Now I just wet my face with hot water, run my razor under hot water and shave with it, then rinse my face with cold water afterwards. No more skin irritation, no more acne, no more problems. Shaving cream is just a waste of money; it’s not necessary.

Here’s an example of how fast my facial hair grows. This is me right now, after 4 days without shaving: