Is the obsession with BBS a new(ish) phenomenon?
- Thread starter gpjoe
- Start date
I wonder if it's a new wet shaver thin chasing the bbs? At first you want to get the best shaves you've ever had but after time you seem to notice the extra effort and possibilities of discomfort out weigh the couple of hours difference in stubble returning.
Some people are never going to get BBS, because their skin type, or beard thickness. Unless they do electrolysis, to remove facial hair, then the might be able too.
If we were to equate razors to woodworking tools, the straight edge would be like a drawknife and the DE would be like a spoke shave (or a wood plane). The latter’s design limits the amount of bite it can take.
To my eye the razor guard will flatten or smooth the skin in front of the blade, but won’t really stretch it. One does that by actually pulling on the skin or by grimacing.
I do a bbs straight razor shave every morning. It takes 15 mins and my face is smooth as ice all day long.
I personally never liked the gritty, itchy feeling of half cut stubble, that’s mostly the reason I began bb using a straight in the first place.
I could stop after one pass, no one I know would care, but for me the art of it includes as perfect a finish as I can get.
I personally never liked the gritty, itchy feeling of half cut stubble, that’s mostly the reason I began bb using a straight in the first place.
I could stop after one pass, no one I know would care, but for me the art of it includes as perfect a finish as I can get.
Edit: derp, just realized this was in the straight razor sub.
Back when I used carts, I just stumbled upon it naturally, was never taught how to shave so I wondered what would happen if "I shaved this way"? Was pleased with the results, but it was definitely irritating for me with carts. After I discovered safety razors, I then learned it's name.
I'm lucky that going BBS is quick and easy for me, thanks to skin and whisker type +/- equipment +/- technique.
Back when I used carts, I just stumbled upon it naturally, was never taught how to shave so I wondered what would happen if "I shaved this way"? Was pleased with the results, but it was definitely irritating for me with carts. After I discovered safety razors, I then learned it's name.
I'm lucky that going BBS is quick and easy for me, thanks to skin and whisker type +/- equipment +/- technique.
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If you want to see one guys opinions on shaving in 1895,
that guy would be Napoleon Leblanc.
With a little googling, you should be able to find a free version of his pamphlet.
There's another by an anonymous author from 1905,
The Art Of Shaving Or Shaving Made Easy
What The Man Who Shaves Ought To Know.
My usual response to getting slapped is "How's my shave?",
so BBS is important to me that way.
that guy would be Napoleon Leblanc.
With a little googling, you should be able to find a free version of his pamphlet.
There's another by an anonymous author from 1905,
The Art Of Shaving Or Shaving Made Easy
What The Man Who Shaves Ought To Know.
My usual response to getting slapped is "How's my shave?",
so BBS is important to me that way.
Before DE shaving I used cartridge systems like Mach3, Fusion and I never ever got a BBS all I got was ingrown hairs, bad skin, itchy skin. I hated shaving for this reason, the second reason was the price of the blades. I achieved a BBS on my first DE shave which went pretty horrible with a Derby Extra blade. I could never achieve the same results with any cart system. The Astra SP blade was a huge game changer, getting a BBS is a part of the shave and one of the reasons why I shave with a double edge razor. Now I can shave really quick and still get a BBS doing all the three passes without any issues.
If I'm very tired then I just do one quick WTG pass and call it for a day so yeah you really cannot compare the quality of a DE/SE to a cart razor shave. I really have no idea why anyone on this planet still uses those expensive multi cart razor blades.
If I'm very tired then I just do one quick WTG pass and call it for a day so yeah you really cannot compare the quality of a DE/SE to a cart razor shave. I really have no idea why anyone on this planet still uses those expensive multi cart razor blades.
For me going for BBS is just doing the job right. I seem to be able to go for BBS daily without any skin irritation or issues, so why not?
Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
When I started traditional wet shaving folks talked about the different results of shave finishes and BBS for a lot of them was not important from my recall but lots wanted a very close shave DFS++ range.
After learning how to shave properly it is not as hard to get very close to a BBS daily(cotton ball tested when not sure) IMO. I must be blessed for my skin seems to hold up well to daily shaves and my procedure is 2 pass with pickups (WTG + ATG + pickups) with not much buffing works great.
It is a little hard in the neck area for any person & myself included because skin texture is a little bumpy so I have to tension the skin a little + knowing your tools helps a lot for close shaving.
I do cheat a little getting a nice BBs by just using a some skin moisturizer(balm) after all my shaves with some CeraVe moisturizer lotion, not much is needed and it allows the outer skin to moisturize(expand) and the hair follicle root is deeper(sinks a little from surface) so it feels closer. I shave in the morning so skin is slightly dehydrated so a shave that is close will be a BBs usually after a hour after consuming few cups of water and tea has been my experiences (not rocket science).
When I sit down to write SOTD and other treads a quick feel test indicates how the over all shave went. Getting a BBS is attainable but no sure for some folks is worth it for comfort. Six or 7 hours later it is feeling like a DFS anyways!
After learning how to shave properly it is not as hard to get very close to a BBS daily(cotton ball tested when not sure) IMO. I must be blessed for my skin seems to hold up well to daily shaves and my procedure is 2 pass with pickups (WTG + ATG + pickups) with not much buffing works great.
It is a little hard in the neck area for any person & myself included because skin texture is a little bumpy so I have to tension the skin a little + knowing your tools helps a lot for close shaving.
I do cheat a little getting a nice BBs by just using a some skin moisturizer(balm) after all my shaves with some CeraVe moisturizer lotion, not much is needed and it allows the outer skin to moisturize(expand) and the hair follicle root is deeper(sinks a little from surface) so it feels closer. I shave in the morning so skin is slightly dehydrated so a shave that is close will be a BBs usually after a hour after consuming few cups of water and tea has been my experiences (not rocket science).
When I sit down to write SOTD and other treads a quick feel test indicates how the over all shave went. Getting a BBS is attainable but no sure for some folks is worth it for comfort. Six or 7 hours later it is feeling like a DFS anyways!
I agree with you, I always do this shaving in 2 pass
I think that's where it gets for most people...
When I was ranking finishes... I would do a shave through ATG and rank how many hrs I considered myself to look "shaved"... not scruffy. And the best finishers were well over 24 hrs. Even poor finishers EASILY got past 8-12 hrs in most cases (the exceptions were resoundingly insulted by me). So practically; from a being shaved for work perspective; ATG was definitely overkill. But if you can do it, and enjoy it, why not?
That's interesting. I've never considered how shave looks after many hours, but rather how smooth the skin feels during the shave. I hold razor in left hand, and use the right to feel for smooth vs unfinished areas. Right has lather on it that I use to relather as required for repeated passes. I find touch much more revealing than sight while shaving.
Yeah touch is how you check immediately after the shave... especially when the beard is still swelled from the shave and you can get a better feel for it... but when you're ranking two great finishes against eachother... touch might not change much... but there could be an hour or two difference in how long the shave still looks good. Not a perfect metric (assumes beard always grows at same rate which I assume is not true)... but it gave a little more finite look into how close the shave was once we passed BBS.
Steve56
Ask me about shaving naked!
BTW, thanks to all our military guys for their service!
Yea, it’s a thing.
Take a look at (New Honer Progression, it’s not what you think. Honing is easy) post.
The better your edges get the less you have to work at it. But many of us still keep chasing the edge.
I worked with a guy, who swore there were only so many good hits in a set of golf clubs, then you needed to buy a new set. At least that is what he told his wife.
Same guy had a professional putting green installed in his back yard at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars.
Take a look at (New Honer Progression, it’s not what you think. Honing is easy) post.
The better your edges get the less you have to work at it. But many of us still keep chasing the edge.
I worked with a guy, who swore there were only so many good hits in a set of golf clubs, then you needed to buy a new set. At least that is what he told his wife.
Same guy had a professional putting green installed in his back yard at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars.
1. Great thread
2. If I do my part re prep and technique, BBS on the cheeks and DFS+ on the jaw line and neck is a repeatable result without cuts/nicks/weepers or irritation that is not immediately quelled with a lotion/after shave balm.
3. Henson Mlid + an Astra SP (one and done) , 3 pass shave using a quality shave oil/cream/balm is my 1-2-3 and done.
4. I am moving on to free my mind to solve other issues because my shaving “needs” are addressed by the approach outlined above on an every other day basis max.
FWIW/YMMV greatly.
2. If I do my part re prep and technique, BBS on the cheeks and DFS+ on the jaw line and neck is a repeatable result without cuts/nicks/weepers or irritation that is not immediately quelled with a lotion/after shave balm.
3. Henson Mlid + an Astra SP (one and done) , 3 pass shave using a quality shave oil/cream/balm is my 1-2-3 and done.
4. I am moving on to free my mind to solve other issues because my shaving “needs” are addressed by the approach outlined above on an every other day basis max.
FWIW/YMMV greatly.
