Forgetting about BBS = best shave so far.

Just a few weeks in I've been getting pretty good results with wet shaving thanks almost exclusively to this forum and some youtube vids (mainly geofatboy).

My biggest problem so far has been neck irritation. I have not had any full on cuts but I have had weepers that stop right away. Because I have to shave every day for work the irritation has been.....irritating.

Now that the weekend got here and I was able to give my neck a rest for one day here is what my routine looked like today:

Kyle prep - my fairly close adaptation anyway.
Lather up and let sit for 2 min.
First pas WTG
Second pass XTG
Third pass WTG again.
Lather up and feel for any VERY bad spots but resist the urge to touch up anything but a serious missed spot.
Hot water rinse
Cold water rinse
Witch Hazel
Cold water rinse
AS

How does that look for a newbie routine?

Results : either I've got no irritation of it's so little that I'm too happy to notice.

This is not a BBS shave but I'm wondering if my chasing after one causes me more harm than good as a newbie. ATG on my neck is instant irritation and multiple passes along with touch ups might also be roughing me up.

I'm thinking that forgetting about BBS altogether for about 6 months and just working on comfortable shaves that pass the work acceptable level are going to be me goal.My face is BBS but my neck is not....right about now I don't think it's going to be in 2011 either and that might be ok.

I'm thinking that forgetting about BBS altogether for about 6 months and just working on comfortable shaves that pass the work acceptable level are going to be me goal.My face is BBS but my neck is not....right about now I don't think it's going to be in 2011 either and that might be ok.

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Wow! That is excellent thinking. Your entire shave process will improve greatly if you keep to WTG and XTG passes. Let the BBS find you ... I have no doubt it will, as long as you keep your focus on diminishing irritation and refining your prep, lathering, and razor skills!

Ah, and having fun, so to speak, is part of this process also.

Welcome and congrats! It's nice to see a well thought-out shave process in place. You've obviously done your homework and have a good approach. Now it's time for practice and more practice. With time, your prep, pressure and angle will be right where you need them to be.

Good work!

Codfish

John F said:

This is not a BBS shave but I'm wondering if my chasing after one causes me more harm than good as a newbie.

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Wise words.

Agreed with your statements. I think BBS is a reachable goal but not required for what the general population things of as clean shaven. Keep in mind that a DFS shave for most people LOOKS just as good to anybody else. Our own eyes are the harshest critic because we're typically the only person that A: looks at our faces the most and knows the ins and outs and 2: shaves our faces and knows our facial hair growth. Another post on here a person was worrying about getting BBS on the first through third WTG passes and I found myself thinking why such a thing is so important. Unfortunately, a BBS just isn't possible for a bunch of folks, no matter how bad @$$ your prep and set up is.

Congrats.

I think you're on the right track. The technique will find you as you go along. I'm 3 months in with a straight and now I get very close to BBS on 2 passes due to improved technique over time. Also, I think it may just take a bit of time for your face to get used to a new routine.

OK, a newbie here and I haven't got the lingo yet...help me with the meaning of "BBS" and "DFS". Thanks!

Hah! Found my own answer on the abbreviations page...never mind!

Well I'm a noob that's two weeks in and I'm taking very close to the same approach as you. Frankly I'm very happy that the routine is alleviating all the irritation I was dealing with from an electric and the face comfort means a lot more to me than BBS at this point. I've been getting just as good a shave as I got with the electric from 2 or 3 WTG passes only and no ingrowns or razor burn so I'm good to go at this point.

I think the pacing on this should be like running a marathon and you've got the right pace, take it slow and steady and maybe some lazy weekend morning when you've got plenty of time go for something super smooth. That's my plan anyway.

You are on the right track! I think you'll get way beyond work-acceptable shaves well before 2011 is out. By about the two-three month mark, I bet you'll have your face figured out, it's just like anything else, you get better with it with practice, by doing it. You don't necessarily get better at it simply by thinking about it and willing it to be so.

Go back to Mantic and Geofatboy vids every now and then, too. They still have value after a couple months.

Congrats!

It's strange...once I forgot about trying to get BBS shaves and decided I was going to shave quick and sloppy to achieve a DFS my shaves improvement was dramatic! I can get BBS with two passes on my cheeks, jaw, upper lip, and upper chin. Now if I can just figure out how to get a close shave on my chin without too many passes I'll be VERY happy!!

Just take your time. No rush.