Anybody here have the technique and gear for a ONE PASS (2 pass at most), BBS shave??

grndslm · Mar 25, 2012

Pretty self-explanatory title.

My old shaving technique and gear was extremely amateur. I think a Mach 3 was one of my first razors. It was mailed to me for free. I was later mailed a Shick Quattro or something similar for free. And then I managed to score a Fusion Proglide for free. Think I even got a 4-pk of cartridges for it for dirt cheap, too.

My technique consisted of nothing more than hot water and *only* going ATG. I was kinda irritable, but not really. It worked OK.

But now that I'm jumping into DEs, and particularly open comb DEs.... some type of lather is neessary, and since my skin is so "primed" for shaving ATG, I'm able to use my Gillette Old type in pretty much one pass... with a very satisfying sound of facial hair being eradicated below the skin.

Am I a freak? Or are there others like me who shave ATG on first and only pass?? If so, what razor, blades, lather, etc. do you use?

(My college roommate from many years back relayed a message to me from his grandfather... "once you pick a direction (ATG or WTG), you stick with it until you die". For kicks, I remember trying to go WTG, and it burned like hell. Never again!!! I don't see too many people on here who go less than 3 passes, tho... and they're typically in 3 different directions (WTG, XTG, & ATG). Craziness!!)

mdevine · Mar 25, 2012

I could probably get away with one pass but find two passes more comfortable. I do XTG followed by ATG and a quick touch-up and get a BBS shave.

bluesbishop · Mar 25, 2012

Geofat boy has a video up for doing a single pass shave with the R41...I could get away with a single pass atg shave with the R41, but it wouldn't leave me BBS, but acceptable. I have reduced my number of passes with the R41 to two by using short strokes, and almost a buffing/ scrubbing technique on each pass. works good, no irritation, and saves time.

Go West Young Man · Mar 25, 2012

2 questions - are you doing a true ATG, or just South-North? And how thick/wiry is your beard?
If I did that, it would be instant carnage!

dave_36 · Mar 25, 2012

Same here for the carnage. To keep it comfortable I have to go 3 passes minimum plus touch up. If I've skipped a day, 4 passes. I must have a beard on the heavier side as I usually only get 3 shaves (4 max) out of a blade and a lot of guys can go a full week or more...

markewallace · Mar 25, 2012

This is not even remotely a goal for me. I'm perfectly happy with gradual stubble reduction, as comfortably as I can get it.

- Mark

bluesbishop · Mar 25, 2012

Go West Young Man said:
2 questions - are you doing a true ATG, or just South-North? And how thick/wiry is your beard?
If I did that, it would be instant carnage!

I do a TRUE ATG....let me explain my prep and how I map my face.

I use sort of a modified "method" break up of my face..I sport a goatee...so no need to shave chin or above the lips for me...but i break my face into the checks, upper neck left, upper neck right and lower neck left, lower neck right.

After I make my lather, I brush on a small amount and rub that into my beard with my hands. That does two things. It really works all that slick goodness into my stubble, and I can feel the direction of my beard. I thin brush on more lather and begin my shave.

For example, my ATG on my upper neck left..ATG is almost a South eastern V pattern...wtg would be a north western v....

I think face mapping is extremely important....if I did simply N, S, E, style passes my face would look like a tomato

vocalistbob · Mar 25, 2012

A BBS shave takes me about seven minutes, regardless of whether I do it in three (or 3.5) passes with a closed comb razor or in two (or 2.5) CAREFUL passes with an open comb. I really believe there is a Zen aspect to a good shave and that it's that Zen experience that I look forward to each morning. To achieve a BBS shave in one pass sounds to me like wanton scrubbing in every direction, and while it may take less time (no re-lathering), it doesn't sound like a satisfying overall shaving experience to me. So - no thanks.

RevSmoke · Mar 25, 2012

I tried to get a 1 pass or a 2 pass shave with my DE. It wasn't bad, but once I did a thorough face map and began doing 3 pass shave WTG, XTG, and ATG, I cut down irritation and have been getting BBS shaves that last all day - and into the night.

ras120 · Mar 25, 2012

bluesbishop said:
I think face mapping is extremely important....if I did simply N, S, E, style passes my face would look like a tomato

Big +1 on this. It took me a while to map out the swirly nature of some of my growth, but the shaves improved dramatically once I did.

Azarius · Mar 25, 2012

I do not think a BBS is possible for any adult male with only one pass from any razor. If it was, I would not want to attempt it. I can get a DFS with virtually any razor in two passes, which in fine for me.

dundak · Mar 25, 2012

BBS one pass..no.
BBS two pass with touch up ...yes

I rarely go ATG. Never on my upper lip and when I do it is only to touch up certain areas..underside of chin, corner of jaw etc.

It works for me. I have had 2-3 ingrown hairs my whole life ...knock on wood

JoeCool · Mar 25, 2012

Mine is probably closer to 2.5 passes (2 pass with some touch up). I'll do the first pass with the r41 with a new(er) blade (1-2 shaves max) WTG/XTG combo depending on area of face followed by an ATG/cleanup pass with the Merkur HD also with a new(er) sharp blade.

Jr19703 · Mar 25, 2012

2 passes with a touch up with R41.

Jason

Le Buzz · Mar 25, 2012

Two passes, one WTG and one ATG. Edwin Jagger DE89, feather blade, Cade soap. BBS, no irritation, no ingrowns, no worries.

grndslm · Mar 28, 2012

Here's a post of mine that entered another thread. It's all relevant here, tho... and I don't feel like typing the same bit again, so here....

I was more interested in what gear people are using that allows such finesse. But upon further thought, I think that I might actually be taking more than one pass, because I was taking "short strokes" that were overlapping.

Some understandings that have occurred to me in the past few days....

- I think I am "scrubbing", which allows me to do "one" pass ATG w/ touchups. This is why I considered it 1.5 passes in my thread.
- My first shave was with 1 cm of growth. The Gillette Old type (& "DG Body" blade from Dollar Store?) tore it down with barely any needs for touchups. I couldn't feel anything for 4-6 hours afterward.
- My next shave was something like 24 hrs later. Superspeed (& same exact "DG Body" blade) gave me the same shave, but apparently closer. Because I couldn't feel anything for 12 hours or so later.
- My next shave, I decided to go back to the Gillette Old type (& same exact "DG Body" blade). I don't think I wet myself as long as I usually do when shaving. I tried to go without re-lathering again, and I mostly succeeded. But this time I was able to notice my own "scrubbing" motion. It didn't seem to be going as well as I first remembered, so I took an extra scrub or two... without extra lather... which may or may not have been a mistake. The shave was noticeably rougher, which I could have attributed to a dull blade, a poor pre-shave soak, bad angle, or even wrong razor choice altogether for no "real" growth. But it was also a closer shave. I didn't feel anything for OVER 12 hours. *THIS* is, I realize now, what people on the forum call a BBS shave.

Soo... perhaps a BBS shave isn't possible with one pass. But with ONE, REALLY GOOD scrubbing technique... and the right gear... and the right pre-shave soak... PERHAPS!!!

Definitely pay attention to what I said in my thread, tho. If you were brought up shaving ATG-only, you are best sticking with ATG-only. If you were brought up shaving WTG-only, you are best sticking with WTG-only. If you were crazy enough to shave in multiple direction all over your face... do whatever floats your boat.

(I am letting a bit more growth build up now so I can try one of my uncle's SE razors.)

swcarter · Mar 28, 2012

markewallace said:
This is not even remotely a goal for me. I'm perfectly happy with gradual stubble reduction, as comfortably as I can get it.

- Mark

+1

Gordy2 · Mar 28, 2012

I can get pretty close to a two pass BBS with either 1. Feather, SI, Perm(2) in a 2. Sledge, 2010 R41, Fatip or Futur. I either need a long hot shower or a very good face wash w/QCS soap prior to shaving. I've never gotten close to a two pass BBS using pre-shave oils for some odd reason.

RKG · Mar 28, 2012

Since most of us here enjoy shaving, why we would be want to minimize the experience. I enjoy the 3-pass shave. Starts my day just right.

grndslm · Mar 28, 2012

RKG said:
Since most of us here enjoy shaving, why we would be want to minimize the experience. I enjoy the 3-pass shave. Starts my day just right.

So... what you're trying to say is....

"NO!! I do not have the technique and gear for a ONE PASS (2 pass at most), BBS shave."

You really should have just said so. If you want an 8-pass shave, why on earth would you open this thread?

Search

Anybody here have the technique and gear for a ONE PASS (2 pass at most), BBS shave??

grndslm

mdevine

bluesbishop

Go West Young Man

dave_36

markewallace

bluesbishop

vocalistbob

RevSmoke

ras120

Azarius

dundak

JoeCool

Jr19703

Le Buzz

grndslm

swcarter

Gordy2

RKG

grndslm

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