How many passes is too much? Had about 5-6 my first attempt.

I had my first DE shave today and it was an immediate addiction - in a good and bad way.

Good way - I was born for this.

Bad way - I have OCD and couldn't stop going over areas until there was no noise coming from the blade. 5-6 passes later and I have - what appears to be - a really clean shave, but lots of tiny cuts on my neck area.

So how many passes is too much?

If you need more than 3 passes with touch-ups, then you need to call it quits until the next shave.

xxvaleria said:

If you need more than 3 passes with touch-ups, then you need to call it quits until the next shave.

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+1

If you need more than 3 you may be going to fast, and losing angle as you go, missing spots. Focus on technique and BBS will come in time.

To begin with, Welcome to the forum and wet shaving. We're pleased to have you as a member. Everyone is different, for example I can do as many passes as necessary to get a BBS without irritation or razor burn. Others have greater sensitivity and do less.
You'll find with the right razor and blade combination coupled with good technique, a two pass shave with a touch up will work just fine to get that perfect shave. It will simply take time to develop your technique.

I roll with a full 4 for a good BBS. I've found buffing to be a little too painful at times for me. 5-6 times is a little much IMHO

Hello and a warm welcome.

So yeah, 5 is too many, 2-3 is probably the norm for most guys. I usually go 2 passes and then some light blade buffing after another application of lather.

Could be too many but everyone is different. I recommend waiting until you have more experience to go for so many passes. For me 4 passes works to get a BBS and without irritation or blood. In the beginig it was just 3 passes.

most important, enjoy.

I do 3 passes, 2 if I screwed up the day prior but it will cost me in how close the shave is but my face won't feel like I took a razor to it . I can normally get a respectable shave in 3 passes but not always, I am still learning but I am getting better. Hopefully I can bring it down to 2 with no irritation or ingrown hair.

5-6 is too much if you're just starting (who knows if your face can handle it yet), try to refocus your OCD if you can to making sure your angle is right and your technique is in order. If you have to pull out the blade and practice if that helps so you can get your technique down more and build up some muscle memory.

WTG, ATG, touch-ups, done. More than that = too many chances for irritation.

I would do max 3 passes and touch up.

Depends on your skin. I mostly do 3 passes, 2x WTG and one XTG. I also think that 5-6 passes are a lot if you're a beginner. For now I believe it is more important to get a comfortable shave rather than a close one, at least till you get used to the razor.
Besides, as you get used to it, your shaves will become closer.

3 max here. Normally 2 with slight touch ups.

Ultimately your face dictates how many passes is too many. Nicks, cuts, redness, razor bumps and razor burn could be the reminders. If you are doing 5-6 passes, you aren't shaving nearly as efficiently as you should or could be. 2-3 passes plus touch-ups is the norm for most people here. Things got a lot easier for me when I allowed myself not to need a baby butt smooth shave every single time. My shaves will always look good but on occasion when I rub my neck and face, I might feel a little missed stubble on the jawline or on the neck. I might be able to feel it but I can't see it. Concentrate on shaving angle, use small strokes and you'll see your shaves improve with fewer passes.

Bob57913 said:

I do 3 passes, 2 if I screwed up the day prior but it will cost me in how close the shave is but my face won't feel like I took a razor to it . I can normally get a respectable shave in 3 passes but not always, I am still learning but I am getting better. Hopefully I can bring it down to 2 with no irritation or ingrown hair.

5-6 is too much if you're just starting (who knows if your face can handle it yet), try to refocus your OCD if you can to making sure your angle is right and your technique is in order. If you have to pull out the blade and practice if that helps so you can get your technique down more and build up some muscle memory.

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Re-direct your OCD to feed your AD!!

Welcome to the forum.
A few years in and most of my shaves do not yield a BBS. But I'm not really that concerned with it..i just enjoy the process.

Welcome to B&B. It seems we are answering two questions: how many passes for the experienced shaver and how many for the beginner.

5-6 is too many for anybody. I do three, some do two, a few do one or 4. For beginners I generally recommend starting with one or two WTG passes for a couple of days. If these are going great add XTG on the second pass. When that's going great - if you want - add ATG for the third.

You seem to be hell bent on BBS your first day. I admire your determination and you're not wrong - but I like to see new shavers walking away bloodless.

There are usually two ways we all produced blood on the neck as beginners: too much pressure and bad blade angle. They are both ubiquitous in the beginner ranks and we all fix them the same way: keep trying to use less and less pressure and practice.

I'd say if you got through 6 passes on your first day and didn't have to go to the emergency room then you're going to be fine. Maybe try and expect less perfection for the first week.

Shaving daily with an injector, I only do 1 pass XTG/ATG with a bit of touch up as I go. DFS-DFS+. Even when doing multiple passes I tend not to exceed 2-3. Most of the time you'll finish shaving and think you have stubble left...you then go about your business for 30 minutes and that stubble has magically disappeared. Try not to sweat a bit of stubble, it add character.

mikelz777 said:

Ultimately your face dictates how many passes is too many. Nicks, cuts, redness, razor bumps and razor burn could be the reminders. If you are doing 5-6 passes, you aren't shaving nearly as efficiently as you should or could be. 2-3 passes plus touch-ups is the norm for most people here. Things got a lot easier for me when I allowed myself not to need a baby butt smooth shave every single time. My shaves will always look good but on occasion when I rub my neck and face, I might feel a little missed stubble on the jawline or on the neck. I might be able to feel it but I can't see it. Concentrate on shaving angle, use small strokes and you'll see your shaves improve with fewer passes.

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+1

Welcome to the forum !!

I usually do 2 passes followed by a touch-up pass if needed.

If that doesn't get everything I just let it go 'til tomorrow and get it then...

Thank you all for the great tips and warm welcomes. Most old school shavers seems to have an inherent, refined trait of being genuinely cavalier.

With all the talk of "touch ups" I realized now that I didn't really do 5-6 passes. It was more like 2-3 passes with 2-3 touch ups. But how many touch ups are too much? And what exactly does an official touch up entail?

Also, this was obviously my first try so I still have a lot to learn in regards to technique and efficiency. I do however feel like I caught on with the 30 degree angle quite quickly...