Too many passes?

pcdad · Feb 2, 2010

I am not sure if its my sensitive coarse skin but i was having a chat with a nice guy on the site who said I might be going for too many passes with my Gem Treet Junior black handle and stainless steel Gem blades...I used for a few months my Merkur 33c handle which to me drove me nuts cause I could never get the right angle for my rightside of my jaw area n always left a "razor mark"

with my SE handle I...

shave2xdown WTG

shave 1x upwards with XTG the grain near jaw area

shave 2x-3x upwards ATG..done

so this sounds like 5-6 passes with 1 palm strop'd blade

again, coarse n sensitive skin...thanx genetics ;-)

Is this normal for my skin type u think guys..should I venture out for a slant with feathers..some nice gents here say I may be happier with less passes..now im confused again

saltypete · Feb 2, 2010

As is always said here YMMV. I started off DE shaving doing 2x passes in each direction. It didn't work for me. My face felt raw and overshaved. I switched to one pass in each direction and a touch up and have never looked back. As my technique improved one pass gave me better results than I used to get with 2 passes.
Basically you will have to find out what works best for you.

Pete

pcdad · Feb 2, 2010

I hear ya man!

I used to go with 1pass downwards..hurt like hell goin back upwards..so I learned to go 2x downwards to save some pain..lol

pal · Feb 2, 2010

I tried a Gem with Gem Blades once and I though it was a very uncomfortable shave. IMHO, the most forgiving razor out there is a good old fashioned vintage Gillette Fat Boy or Slim. The reason I say this is because you can adjust the angle of the blade to fit your particular skin. It is like having nine razors in one. I know some guys who will adjust to a different setting for each pass.

wwp512 · Feb 2, 2010

If I have the time, like on a weekend morning, I would go 2 on each direction , and then touchups. My face gets a bit warm for 4-6 hr. afterward.

BUT I am slowly realizing it is my technique that needs a lot of refinement. I am not bring the DE blade to the area at a consistent angle, so I will always missed a patch.

When I get better, I think I would only need one on each direction.

Gruder · Feb 2, 2010

Sounds like a lot to me. Personally, I'm a one down, one up, one across kind of guy. :smile:

If your angle is right the first time, you shouldn't have to go over the same real estate twice.

mdunn · Feb 2, 2010

Gruder said:
Sounds like a lot to me. Personally, I'm a one down, one up, one across kind of guy. If your angle is right the first time, you shouldn't have to go over the same real estate twice.

my thoughts too. 6 is waaaaay too many passes.

smrex13 · Feb 2, 2010

Seems like it would be pretty rough on your face. I would suggest 1WTG, 2XTG in opposite directions, and then 1ATG if your skin can handle it. This procedure seems to conform to the idea of beard reduction. But again, ymmv.

Good shaves,
Scott

mark2cars · Feb 2, 2010

1 pass each directions is max for my skin....Perhaps try a different blade.

pcdad · Feb 2, 2010

I'm thinking maybe I should be using a new blade more often..umm...but that would reduce irritation if any..or would it help with missed patches too?

Pumpkin · Feb 3, 2010

pcdad said:
I'm thinking maybe I should be using a new blade more often..umm...but that would reduce irritation if any..or would it help with missed patches too?

Are you re-lathering between passes? It took my face about a month to get used to ATG...hard to keep to after years of cartridges! Now I'm just going 2 WTG, 1/2 XTG, 1 ATG with occasional touch up passes if I've missed anything. I'm not trying for BBS and am happy when I get a DFS :thumbup:

LordTyranus · Feb 3, 2010

Everything here is a matter of test. You must try different techniques to find out what is best for you.

When I started, I was doing only 2 passes N-S and S-N. Result was not close enough.

Then I started with 3 passes, N-S, E-W or W-E depending on the side of my face and S-N. Result was better but still not the best.

At some point, I tried a 4-pass technique found here on B&B but it was 1 pass too many for me creating irritations.

Then, I found what works best for me, 3 passes, N-S which is 3/4 WTG and 1/4 XTG, S-N which is 3/4 XTG and 1/4 WTG and finally SE-NW or SW-NE depending on the part/side which is ATG.

Finally, if your beard is very coarse, don't save time on the preparation. One of the other biggest improvement in my shave has been a better preparation. After a shower and during my brush and soap are soaking, I put a mix of hot water and soap, after shave balm... on my face and then wash it off with a lot of hot water. Then I prepare my lather.

pcdad · Feb 3, 2010

BBS is what I always try to get..yes I re-lather before each pass..2x downwards...1xupwards with xtg just above my jawline area on both sides..then upwards again 2more time..basically thats my every 2 day routine..is my handle not aggressive enough..again I have sensitive skin with coarse hair..I shave only after a shower unless im in a rush then once in awhile ill use my norelco arcitec elecric

JPM · Feb 3, 2010

Sounds like a lot to me. I usually do a 2 or 3 pass shave and get a very close shave. Everybody is different, but 5-6 passes seems to me like it will invite irritation.

Go West Young Man · Feb 3, 2010

If you can't get an acceptable shave in 3 passes (WTG/XTG/XTG), you're doing something wrong. It may not be 100% BBS, but those 3 passes should give you a good enough shave to leave the house in the a.m.

Check your prep and lather, try some new blades, refine your technique.

srv524 · Feb 3, 2010

I do 2 wtg, 2 atg, 2 sideways one way, 2 sideways the other. My face is sensitive and course, and I have to shave every 3rd day or else my face becomes red and raw and I replace the blades after 2 shaves. Oh, and I use a Weishi razor and derby extra blades. Why a weishi razor? I don't know. It's my intro razor and I want to get a new one that's a better fit for my face but not sure what to go with.
And yet at the end of my shave, I still have some rough patches; I've used different (dispensed) shaving creams such as Gillette and others and tom's all natural shaving cream.
That being said...I think it's my technique that sucks, yet I keep reviewing techniques on the forums here and on youtube. I should get a better razor, but again, trying to figure out which is best for me.
Just seems like I have a lot of passes to do to get a 90% complete shave whereas with a Gillette plastic razor I can run it over tons of times, get a better shave and not get nicked up as much.

cvac · Feb 3, 2010

The Weishi is mostly likely your problem. 8 passes is insane. By most accounts those Weishis are poorly designed and don't expose enough of the blade edge. You could probably get a really good shave in 2-3 passes with a better razor. Sharper blades help too. Less passes = less irritation.

pcdad · Feb 3, 2010

*cringes at weishi handles*

Go West Young Man · Feb 3, 2010

srv524 said:
I do 2 wtg, 2 atg, 2 sideways one way, 2 sideways the other. My face is sensitive and course, and I have to shave every 3rd day or else my face becomes red and raw and I replace the blades after 2 shaves. Oh, and I use a Weishi razor and derby extra blades. Why a weishi razor? I don't know. It's my intro razor and I want to get a new one that's a better fit for my face but not sure what to go with.
And yet at the end of my shave, I still have some rough patches; I've used different (dispensed) shaving creams such as Gillette and others and tom's all natural shaving cream.
That being said...I think it's my technique that sucks, yet I keep reviewing techniques on the forums here and on youtube. I should get a better razor, but again, trying to figure out which is best for me.
Just seems like I have a lot of passes to do to get a 90% complete shave whereas with a Gillette plastic razor I can run it over tons of times, get a better shave and not get nicked up as much.

Stop stressing and just buy a bunch of different razors off the BST, you can just as easily re-sell any you end up not liking. The Weishi is definitely your number 1 problem, you need something more aggressive.

srv524 · Feb 3, 2010

That was my concensus. I wanted a rookie razor at first but the weishi isn't doin **** for me. Any recommendations for a better razor? I've read the reviews on here and am unsure of how aggressive to go.

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Too many passes?

pcdad

saltypete

pcdad

pal

wwp512

Gruder

mdunn

smrex13

mark2cars

pcdad

Pumpkin

LordTyranus

pcdad

JPM

Go West Young Man

srv524

cvac

pcdad

Go West Young Man

srv524

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