On the shaving thing... Nothing wrong with shaving if you want to, but the itchiness does pass after a week or so.

Like I said all of this is personal preference, though. We all get to decide which things are necessary or important. Most riders probably find that they need less stuff than they thought they did. Also you can buy things along the way or dispose of things or mail them home. Most folks probably do more of the latter. Despite every effort to pack very light I usually wind up mailing something home if the trip is more than 10 days or so.

My personal check on how I am doing is what my panniers weigh (minus water and food which I buy daily when possible). If I am over 35 pounds of gear including panniers, I look at the list long and hard and probably leave something home unless the trip has some special requirement for more gear. If I am at 30-35 pounds I figure that I am at a reasonable gear weight. If I can get to the 25-30 range I figure I am doing great.

My experience is that the surest way to be miserable is to carry too much at least in the mountains or hilly country. We took too much in the beginning of our Trans America and I couldn't believe how much better I felt every time I mailed a few pounds of stuff home. But again it is personal preference, some people carry all kinds of stuff to "be comfortable", that I would be miserable with. You need to figure out what works for you, but I do suggest trying to go light to start with and re-evaluating each item every week or two to decide if you really need it.