- Thread starter
- #61
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Cheers buddy
Thanks for this awesome post, @AimlessWanderer! I'm just getting started on multi-pass shaving and had quite a bit of problems with it. Your post really helped.
I added my personal experience as a beginner below; perhaps it helps someone else who had similar problems as I did
Your article made me realize I had tunnel-vision on the BBS, doing WTG, XTG and ATG passes. It stopped doing that. I now focus on "taking of a little more each pass" and do as many passes as feels pleasant. I go WTG and maybe XTG a bit when it feels right. I enjoy the shaves a lot better now with minimal irritation. The BBS will come naturally once the basics are right, I feel
Consistency improves the shave
It may not yet be BBS, but I found the remaining hair-length is much more consistent across my face, and still a pretty darn close shave, even without the ATG. I never realised that consistency in remaining hair-length greatly improves the satisfaction of the shave! It just feels like a better "quality" shave.
Changes that really made a difference for me:
Result: No burn, much more consistent and a much more pleasant shave. Awesome!
- I now do my multi-pass shaves in the evening, with maybe a single-pass in the morning. As a noob, this removes all the time-pressure while I'm learning and this enhances the enjoyment a lot.
- Secondly, I changed my prep. I found a shower did not soke all my hairs enough, especially on my chin. These changes really helped me:
- I stopped using Shea-butter pre-shave. It was nice, but also blocked the soaking I noticed.
- I make my lather before my shower so it's nice and ready and I make it a bit wetter as you advised.
- I wash my face in the shower with natural soap to remove all oils that block the water from entering the hairs.
- I apply lather immediately after the shower, but do not shave yet. Instead, I do my other things first. This allow the hairs to soke up the moisture of the wetter lather.
- I rinse off after the 5-10 minutes for the rest of my routine. I re-lather and then begin my shave. Even my chin hairs are much softer now
- Thirdly, I set my Gillette Flathead with Feather blades to maximum aggression to make the angles easier. As you mentioned, I cannot use any pressure now, but I need to unlearn that anyway. Amazing how well the razor works without pressure: Improved the consistency by a lot and the angles really are easier.
- Fourthly, I stopped with the small strokes, as I was shaving patches multiple times with the soap (mostly) gone after the first stroke. I now do single, longer passes at a slower speed with no pressure and no repeats and minimal overlap. It is actually a lot quicker to shave this way I noticed
I'm gonna check out your second guide now Thank you so much.
Part One[snip]
Thanks for the link, a very concise guide for beginning shavers that explains terms, ideas, and various concepts that isn't Draconian. i. e. hold the razor at 20 degrees and blah blah blah. Also goes to explain what might be causing various issues a shaver may be having!Do check out The Wanderers Guide To DE Shaving Fred.
There is nothing amiss with meringue peaks in one's lather. We have to fight against settling using one person's opinions and preferences and applying it to shaving in general. I know this was not the OP's intent.After 50+ years of shaving I can say this is one of the best guides I’ve seen; it deserves a Sticky.
Just 1 for instance: debunking the shibboleth that one must aim for meringue-like peaks when making the lather.