Yesterday BBS, today very disappointing

[David P]

First, yes Im a noob, yes I have already checked in, so I thought I should post in the general discussion. Na, this is in hopes I might help other noobs so I consider this my shave clinic by mistakes.


Ok, so yesterdays shave was perfect, BBS. The only thing hat could have improved is if I got to use my Mama Bears almond flavored soap. So today I set out to replicate the perfect shave with the perfect soap. Almost identical scenario as yesterday; variables: only one day of whisker growth instead of three, Gillette blade has been used one day, the soap. Quick play by play; hot shower, Proraso pre, let soak, (added from yesterday) quick rinse of face, whip up lather from shave soap, paint face, let sit a little while, shave, get nicks and weepers on my first "with the grain" pass! Ive never nicked myself on a WTG. Very disappointing, well Im not going anwhere today other than maybe Home Depot, one pass will be enough, Ill just touch up on my rough spots. Nicks galore! 10 for a nickel! WTF?!? Yesterday I just had my best shave ever, today is honestly why worst shave... well I don't have any irritation at least (faceturbate, wait, yeah I do on one spot on my neck). Wow, could the gillette blades only last one day? Could it be that for some horrible reason mama bear soaps just don't work for me? (Anyone have a phone number for Proraso so I can call and ask for almond scent)

[mightemacs]

Sometimes, if I shave again too soon, I get similar results to what you're describing. Usually it's a weeper or two and some minor irritation, nothing too major. And this usually only happens if I go for BBS the same way 2 days in a row.

However, what I've found helps somewhat in controlling this was to dial down my Slim. I start out on 4 for the WTG pass, and I'm down to a 2 for the second XTG and only ATG pass. The slightly less aggressive angle seems to help me keep the weepers at bay.

My theory (that might get shot down shortly) is that the shorter hairs aren't softening as much as when the hair is a little bit longer. This theory holds up well back to my M3 days too -- I used to get my "best" shaves at the time after 3 or 4 days growth. Now, with proper tools and technique, I find that my face only needs about 24 hours between BBS shaves, though I still need to pay some careful attention. If I stretch that out to 30-36 hours between BBS shaves, I can be significantly less careful (though unless I'm in a rush to get to work or something, I'll still be slow and deliberate, since I love the process now).

Some guys have suggested either doing an every-other-day thing, or just trying to tone it down to a 2 pass daily shave that gets you about 95% of the way there.

But you can absolutely still do BBS every day (personally, I prefer BBS to almost-BBS), but you'll need to take a little more care in your preparation, and you'll probably have to go much slower and lighter on the pressure during the shave itself (YMMV).

Good luck, and let us know how it works out. If you're still having this problem after a few more weeks of working on technique, definitely jump back on and seek some more advice.

Best of luck!

[SMOKE]

If you had a stellar shave yesterday, and a crappy shave today with the soap being the only variable...I'm thinking you answered your own question...Not that you have to chuck your beloved MB soap, I'm guessing your lather was just a little on the dry side. Did you have any blade skipping at all??? Did the razor seem to not "glide" nice and smoothly?? Let your skin heal up over the weekend and give 'er another go. Make sure your lather is quite slickery before putting blade to face:wink:

Regards,

[Scorpio]

Sometimes, if I shave again too soon, I get similar results to what you're describing. Usually it's a weeper or two and some minor irritation, nothing too major. And this usually only happens if I go for BBS the same way 2 days in a row.

However, what I've found helps somewhat in controlling this was to dial down my Slim. I start out on 4 for the WTG pass, and I'm down to a 2 for the second XTG and only ATG pass. The slightly less aggressive angle seems to help me keep the weepers at bay.

My theory (that might get shot down shortly) is that the shorter hairs aren't softening as much as when the hair is a little bit longer. This theory holds up well back to my M3 days too -- I used to get my "best" shaves at the time after 3 or 4 days growth. Now, with proper tools and technique, I find that my face only needs about 24 hours between BBS shaves, though I still need to pay some careful attention. If I stretch that out to 30-36 hours between BBS shaves, I can be significantly less careful (though unless I'm in a rush to get to work or something, I'll still be slow and deliberate, since I love the process now).

Some guys have suggested either doing an every-other-day thing, or just trying to tone it down to a 2 pass daily shave that gets you about 95% of the way there.

But you can absolutely still do BBS every day (personally, I prefer BBS to almost-BBS), but you'll need to take a little more care in your preparation, and you'll probably have to go much slower and lighter on the pressure during the shave itself (YMMV).





There you go!!! what he said:wink:

Raf

[mightemacs]

+1 to SMOKE's advice too.

Different soaps and different creams will all have slightly variable reactions to water. Some need a lot of water, some need remarkably little; some like all the water at once, some like a little at a time. You may want to stick with one combination for a while so you can figure out the subtleties of it, and then move on to the next and repeat.

Remember -- sticking with just one combo while learning will make your learning curve a bit less steep since you can (more) easily identify any issues with technique. You'll have the rest of your live for variety. Hell, in 2 months you might even have a closet full of 20 soaps & creams, multiple razors, and a few brushes :blushing:

[Shady24]

Not sure how long you been shaving w/ a DE.. But for me I had to shave every other day for about the first 2 to 3 weeks... then I was able to start shaving everyday after that...

If you have been at it a while... then it's probably what SMOKE said....

[David P]

Well, Ive been at it for just under a month. I guess it could have been just me, but I don't think so. The lather did not seem dry at all, but it might have been. Its been a few hours, and my face feels better, I might give it another shot.....