Well, the military experience created lifelong habits that people carried over into the workplace. So, military-industrial-commercial culture. And don't forget the glamorous movie stars.
Is the obsession with BBS a new(ish) phenomenon?
- Thread starter gpjoe
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My dear old dad shaved with electric for most of my memory. He got his cheeks unbelievably smooth with a Norelco rotary, something I could never achieve. I don't think he was going for BBS, it just happened for him after many years of using electric razors.
I'm an every-other-day shaver, lately with AC shavettes or DE. I've also got some straight razors, which is a work in progress and I am determined to make it work, though not expecting BBS.
Yes. That is the fast answer.
Nobody brought up BBS. Inspection visually confirmed you had shaved but the sergeant didn't caress your cheek.
My dad's generation, WW2, gave a lot of men experience in the military. And the rest heard about it when the ex-soldiers got back. And we kids heard about it when it was discussed around the boy scout campfire after we kids were all in the tents 'sleeping'.
Nobody brought up BBS. Inspection visually confirmed you had shaved but the sergeant didn't caress your cheek.
BBS feels good.......
Looks good
Can you achieve BBS w 2 passes.....sure, not always.
But if you struggle w irritation or cuts (AVOID).....
And barbers.....well now I have seen videos of many (in every corner of the world) do one pass w a shavette and then they get out their Andis electric and finish it.....NOW that is a deadly sinn!!! (and the irritation that comes with it is unforgettable).
Looks good
Can you achieve BBS w 2 passes.....sure, not always.
But if you struggle w irritation or cuts (AVOID).....
And barbers.....well now I have seen videos of many (in every corner of the world) do one pass w a shavette and then they get out their Andis electric and finish it.....NOW that is a deadly sinn!!! (and the irritation that comes with it is unforgettable).
I don't pay attention to how "it used to be" as a metric for much of anything. For me, it's practicality. As someone who maintains a beard and works predominantly from home, BBS is completely unnecessary. I enjoy keeping my lines clean and the process of shaving. But BBS doesn't factor in at all.
In my cart days, I rarely did a two pass shave. It was usually one pass with a bit of cleanup and out the door I went. Still managed to get ingrowns though.
Now with DEs (or shavette) I generally limit myself to a two pass shave without going ATG. It usually is when I start going for perfection that I over do it and get razor burn.
Since folks were mentioning their fathers, I never saw mine unshaven, except when he was really ill. When I started using DEs, I offered to get him one, but he was emphatically uninterested, total nonsense he said. He did enjoy the soaps, creams, brushes and aftershaves I got him though. When I went through a Clubman aftershave binge where I got maybe 10 varieties, I would decant half of each bottle into glass and and bring him half. I was happy because I used up the Clubman faster, and because it made him happy as well.
Now with DEs (or shavette) I generally limit myself to a two pass shave without going ATG. It usually is when I start going for perfection that I over do it and get razor burn.
Since folks were mentioning their fathers, I never saw mine unshaven, except when he was really ill. When I started using DEs, I offered to get him one, but he was emphatically uninterested, total nonsense he said. He did enjoy the soaps, creams, brushes and aftershaves I got him though. When I went through a Clubman aftershave binge where I got maybe 10 varieties, I would decant half of each bottle into glass and and bring him half. I was happy because I used up the Clubman faster, and because it made him happy as well.
I don't chase BBS with a DE, let alone a straight. In fact, I can't get a BBS on my neck with an SR. If I try I will bleed, as across my neck, as in east west direction. Even when I was active duty I didn't chase BBS.
The BBS thing came when people started shaving as a hobby. For me BBS is the indicator that my technique and honing is on point. I always chase it, because I always chase the best edges I can make.
My father always used an electric in my memory, so I'm sure the shave was never BBS. But he did it every day to look presentable at work, and that's what the old timers cared about. As long as they didn't look scruffy and unshaven the job was done.
I was doing ATG passes long before I found shave forums.
Just seemed like the natural thing to do for a closer shave.
Wasn't an obsession, it just made sense to me.
Just seemed like the natural thing to do for a closer shave.
Wasn't an obsession, it just made sense to me.
I've never chased BBS, not even in the military. I do a 3 pass shave about every 2 days, my job doesn't require to be clean shaven. I always get a DFS though and some times I get BBS on the cheeks.
In the past no, but bbs everyday for me. Mainly due to enjoying the shaving experience on a daily basis. In the past disposable bic with shower soap. That was not a great experience.
I've mentioned this before, my father started shaving around 1959 and grew a beard in 1967, which he's had ever since, except for shaving it once around 1979. He always did an ATG pass, I believe his typical shave was 2 passes plus a cleanup pass on the neck. His only bit of shaving advice for me when I started was "if you don't finish against the grain, you're wasting your time."
Good or bad, that's been my approach since I was 15, except for experimenting with electrics in my 30s. Shaving with a straight makes that a much more pleasant process.
Good or bad, that's been my approach since I was 15, except for experimenting with electrics in my 30s. Shaving with a straight makes that a much more pleasant process.
Well, I chase the BBS primarily because I am very very irritated by feeling the whiskers under my fingers. I mean, if you can still feel it, what's the point of the shave? I can't imagine lathering up, getting everything ready, shaving, and then there are still whiskers that you can clearly feel if you move your hand up and down your face.
As someone said here, I think that in the past they didn't chase it because of the tools they had. I tried to use the shavette for example, and it's impossible to go against the grain, it's impossible to get a close shave on your neck because you can only move it up and down and hairs there grow in all directions.
Another reason for me chasing it is that my wife starts feeling the whiskers on her face after a day and a half, even with the BBS. With one or 2 passes, she would feel them the same evening.
As someone said here, I think that in the past they didn't chase it because of the tools they had. I tried to use the shavette for example, and it's impossible to go against the grain, it's impossible to get a close shave on your neck because you can only move it up and down and hairs there grow in all directions.
Another reason for me chasing it is that my wife starts feeling the whiskers on her face after a day and a half, even with the BBS. With one or 2 passes, she would feel them the same evening.
For over three decades I shaved every workday morning really fast using a cart. No idea how close - was not paying attention - definitely not BBS. When I started using a straight three years ago I started paying too much attention and getting irritation when I over shave an area. My best shaves are quick one pass followed by quick ATG where needed.
This is an excellent string..! Thank you all for building it.
I don't know much about the more historical dimensions of BBS chasing or shaving, but I am curious. It's one of those things that slips under the radar, and it challenges my curiosity.
As for my own experience, I only began to take an interest in "BBS" (terminology aside), once I had started DE and straight razor shaving as a hobby back in early 2016. Before that time, I used a cartridge until they wouldn't shave anymore, and I was nowhere near BBS.
For the first few years of DE shaving, I could not get to BBS if I shaved every day, if I wanted to avoid skin irritation. But I actually also liked having just a faint shade - it made me look forward to my next shave!
I generally prefer shaving every day, over getting a BBS shave, so I settled for that, especially when straight razor shaving. Actually I had a 36 hour cycle (alternating between morning and evening shaves), which was just long enough to avoid irritation.
These days, I exclusively DE shave (until I get better at honing), and in the meantime my technique on all accounts has improved enough that I can easily shave every morning (in a 24 hour cycle), which is my priority, just for pure pleasure, and still get a BBS shave, or very close to (which I certainly also enjoy). ATG does not work for me.
I don't know much about the more historical dimensions of BBS chasing or shaving, but I am curious. It's one of those things that slips under the radar, and it challenges my curiosity.
As for my own experience, I only began to take an interest in "BBS" (terminology aside), once I had started DE and straight razor shaving as a hobby back in early 2016. Before that time, I used a cartridge until they wouldn't shave anymore, and I was nowhere near BBS.
For the first few years of DE shaving, I could not get to BBS if I shaved every day, if I wanted to avoid skin irritation. But I actually also liked having just a faint shade - it made me look forward to my next shave!
I generally prefer shaving every day, over getting a BBS shave, so I settled for that, especially when straight razor shaving. Actually I had a 36 hour cycle (alternating between morning and evening shaves), which was just long enough to avoid irritation.
These days, I exclusively DE shave (until I get better at honing), and in the meantime my technique on all accounts has improved enough that I can easily shave every morning (in a 24 hour cycle), which is my priority, just for pure pleasure, and still get a BBS shave, or very close to (which I certainly also enjoy). ATG does not work for me.
I have a tenacious, painful, disfiguring skin condition with chronic lesions, that can be set off by irritation or in grow hairs. It got better when I dropped the electric and started straight shaving. Regular twin blade wet shaves were a freaking disaster also. Now I have lots of scarring and a very patchy beard. A squared away straight seems to be my only hope to keep it at bay a bit.
I used to when I first started. Mostly BBS apart from some sensitive areas which were DFS which required more time and care. But after about 8 hours or so the BBS areas will feel exactly the same as the DFS parts. So I stopped chasing it. And now enjoy a carefree DFS shave with no nicks every time.
Up until the advent of the DE safety razor straight razors cut the stubble at skin level. Then when DE,SE and later Cartridge razors appeared the safety bar/weight of the head (open comb razors) depressed the level of the skin in front of the blade so that more of the whiskers could be cut below skin level. Hence, greater skin smoothness came into being after shaving, giving birth to BBS.
Hight class barbers still prefer to use SRs albeit shavettes nowadays for shaving their clients because, cutting at skin level, they don't disturb the skin so much causing irritation etc..
Hight class barbers still prefer to use SRs albeit shavettes nowadays for shaving their clients because, cutting at skin level, they don't disturb the skin so much causing irritation etc..
I've never used a DE so I can't say for sure, but my impression is that what the safety bar does is essentially accomplished by judicious stretching of the skin when using a straight. Regardless, I get closer, longer lasting shaves with a straight than I ever did with a cartridge--and I've confirmed that recently as well-- though, it's not that the cartridge *can't* shave that close, it's that it can't do it without irritating my face.
