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Which aspect of shaving does "YMMV" effect the most?

To which shaving variable does YMMV apply the most?

  • Razor blades

  • Soap or cream

  • Brush

  • Razor

  • Prep and technique


Results are only viewable after voting.
I'm curious which aspect of shaving BBers think vary the most according to personal preferences.

For me, it's the razor blades. It's not easy for me to hear how one blade can be great for Joe but cuts up Al. But hey, that's just me.

There is no "all of the above" choice because I want responders to opine about which they feel is most important variable. It is clear that all of the above have a dramatic effect on shave quality, but I prefer to have more specific responses.
 
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I believe that it is blades. While some have problems with certain soaps or creams, the blades seem to be the one variable in which there is little consensus. Many love Feathers, I like them in my Tech but find them no better and actually worse than an Astra SP or a Red IP in my other DEs.
 
No all of the above? I realize the question is "most" but I think it really affects them all. It still baffles me how many people don't accept the concept though.
 
I'd say out of the choices, razor blades are the one variable that has the most varied results. I've tried more than my fair share of different brands and for me, it always comes down to the Feather being best for my beard.
 

OldSaw

The wife's investment
Lathering products are most likely to react differently with different water and different skin types. While YMMV may affect preference in the blade category, most of us could muddle through with a blade that we don't prefer, but a bad reaction to a certain lathering product is definitely a deal breaker.
 
Blades. I only have one razor, and with my beard it appears as though I'm confined to the few blades at the sharp end of the blade continuum. A more agressive razor might make it easier to use a wider range.
 
I couldn't vote because there'e no place for "All of the Above."
+1

Of that list, I'd say that probably the least important would be the brush.
The razor and blade are both dependent on technique.
The soap or cream perhaps less so, but there are still variations...
Too much or not enough water?
Not enough brush loading?
Not enough time spent lathering?
Hardness of water?
 
I'm curious which aspect of shaving BBers think vary the most according to personal preferences.

For me, it's the razor blades. It's not easy for me to hear how one blade can be great for Joe but cuts up Al. But hey, that's just me.
.


There's a set of electron microscope pictures of various blade edges on another board out there that shows just different every blade brand really is.
It's actually amazing how different every edge is up close.
 

OldSaw

The wife's investment
I have a hard time believing these results. There's so much debate that goes on about MWF, Williams, and other lathering products. Is there a weekly blade bashing thread with Top Gumby writing cute little ditties? I don't think so, but there is the endless Williams debate threads.
 
I'm reading the OP's question as talking about the YMMV principle, I read that as the "one person loves it, another person hates it", NOT "Which item can affect your shave the most"...

Although I do think the blade can affect the shave more than most other items, I think blades see much more common ground that what the responses indicate. There are exceptions, Derby, for example, but often when blade choices come into question it is more based on price than actual performance. It seems like those who report to like the more controversial blades are looking for the best "value". When the low-priced/less (generally) loved blades get discussed in a positive light it's often more of a "These blades are very good for me, and they are CHEAP" not that the blade is the best they have ever used.

I see soap as being a far more YMMV item. Among just a few variable in the soaps are the local water supply of the person using the soap, the scent, the slickness, the cushion density, the stability of the lather (or lack of it when talking Williams), the person's expectations of how the soap should perform, what kind of brush they are using, are they face lathering or bowl lathering, loading from the puck, or applying directly to the face "shave stick style", certain ingredients that some want to avoid (SLS, parabens), ease of loading, not to mention the same type of people as in the blade example who factor *cost* into the equation when evaluating how good or bad something is... each of these drastically affects the individual's perception of the performance of the soap (or cream).

I have a water softener, so my water is always perfectly soft. The soaps that I get wonderful results from, might be really meh for someone in a hard water area. On the converse of this, a soap that someone else who has terribly hard water just LOVES, will still lather at least as well for me as it does for them, but the ones that do NOT lather well for them in the hard water will (often) lather BETTER than their favorite soap for me.

If we were talking "what affects the shave the most" I would vote blades, but since we are talking what epitomizes YMMV, I've got to vote for soaps/creams.
 
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