I have a confession to make: I'm cheating.

It's been several months now since I made a post here on B&B, but I have (surprisingly, to the wife) kept up with DE shaving. It's been a real relaxation ritual for me, and would be a money saver if I stopped spending money on artisan soaps and aftershaves

The problem is that I still have trouble spots.....no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get it right in a 3 pass shave. The neck and jawline are vexing me to no end.....and my chin always ends up looking like I have a 5 o clock shadow even though it feels smooth. I can fix these areas, but only by making a crazy number of passes that ends up tearing the hell out of my face.

With some regret, I secretly retrieved a 4 blade cartridge razor that I had squirreled away. I tried doing a full shave with it, and ended up having a terrible shave experience....ingrown hairs, irritation, etc....but the shave itself, particularly on those "problem areas" was very good.

The next time I shaved, I tried something different: I did a standard 2 pass wetshave with my Gillette....then lathered up one more time and ran my cartridge blade over it. The results were amazing. Totally BBS across my entire face, jaw, and neck......no irritation whatsoever. Best of all, the cartridge blade doesn't seem to be dulling at all from it's very limited use....been using the same one since the beginning of Jan with no noticeable change in performance. I rinse the blade after use and set it to dry, that's it. When I do finally change it, I expect several months of service from its replacement, which severely reduces the cost factor of using a cartridge.

My wife has commented on it several times, and is quite pleased with the quality of the shaves and the appearance of my skin in general.......and using the other razor hasn't really increased the time or budget required for shaving....but part of me regrets using this trick to get a shave that I feel like I should be getting without it.


Never seen anyone else mention this technique here....am I the only one?

Nothing wrong with incorporating the cart at all. After all, isn't our goal to get the smoothest irritation-free shave we can?
Using it for the final pass and touch-ups should mean that it won't be getting clogged up.

On occassion when im low on patience and a shave isn't finishing up, i'll hit up a pass with a bic 1 or 2 blade fixed disposable. Usually when its an edge that hasn't been honed to my satisfaction.

Cheating? Not really. It is your face, your beard, your routine, and you so what you want. Like you I have to do some crazy number of passes in those areas. I call those extra passes "touch-ups" and I do eventually get it down to where the face feels almost pre-pubescent smooth in the shower. I had not previously known that feeling in 40 years.
Effective fewest-pass shaving of low-level growth is what cartridges do best. Cutting the kind of growth that would clog cartridges is what DE does best. Seeing that you found a way to get the best of the old and the new, power to ya.

If there are no rules, how can you be cheating?

Enjoy your shaves your way.

There is no cheating...because there are no rules. It is just shaving, and how you get the best results is up to you.

I have found a similar routine works best for me. I only shave about every 3rd day, since I am retired. I do a first pass with a DE (using a Gillette Tech now for that) to reduce my beard. Then I do a second and final pass with a Trac II, which gets me either a DFS or BBS shave.

I use Derby blades ($8.45 for 100 on eBay) and Trac II carts I buy at Family Dollar ($2 for 10) so I am spending considerably less than I was spending on Fusion carts, and getting as good shaves as I did with the Fusion.

It's all wet shaving so there''s no cheating involved.

rockviper said:

Nothing wrong with incorporating the cart at all. After all, isn't our goal to get the smoothest irritation-free shave we can?
Using it for the final pass and touch-ups should mean that it won't be getting clogged up.

Click to expand...

+1

My chin is my problem area, to get smooth, too. I just lather it up an hit it from several angles. No added pressure, and its fairly quick.
Another thing I noticed, it sounds like it's not getting smooth, when shaving the chin, but when finished, and when aftershave is applied, it's BBS. Sound isn't a judge of the shave, for me.

I some times use a cart if I miss the very edge of my upper lip. And I always use a cart or a HeadBlade on my head. Don't let anybody make the rules for something that is under your control.

No worries. Do whatever works best for you, not anyone else.

If this is cheating, then i am step above you because i do touch ups in the morning after night shave using, you ready? Electric razor.

I do get fairly good shaves at night with my de razor, but by the time i wake up, i do feel some stubble and somehow i cannot tolerate that(that scratchy feeling when i feel up my face ATG) , even though my face doesnt appear very stubbly.

Areas that i could not get, or did get but not close enough with DE, whether it be due to lack of techniques or due to DE's nature, i go over it with my good ole norelco, and i can hear a lot of stubble cutting and after this touch up, my face feels as smooth as it can be, somethinf that i have yet to achieve with just DE shaving.

Do what works for you.
I too felt a little ashamed at first, but if i can get bbs this way, i will keep doing it until i feel it is unnecessary.

Cheating at shaving? Pah.

I got the popcorn ready and I was hoping for something more emotional and dramatic.

Try a Schick Injector for those trouble spots. They are very smooth shavers, and with the handle/head design similar to the scorned cartridges.

If you were having your mistress do the touch up pass not only on your face but other man-scaping locations then we might consider it cheating. Until then, however, I encourage you to get rid of the guilt and learn to enjoy life.

The idea of using one razor for the primary pass or passes and a different razor for touch up work isn't all that unusual.
On a different shaving site I read a blog from a gentleman who claims that some traditional barbers are taught to do just that.

I think you're actually closer to DE success than it seems. The two functions you have teased apart with different tools, safe exfoliation vs complete reduction, can also be addressed technically.

There's no doubt you should do what works, regardless of what that is.

With respect to the problem areas of the chin, it truly is a matter of using suitable technique. I can match the shave longevity of my previous standard, the Mach 3, using a DE. This requires some ATG on the chin. Saying something that simple is one thing, actual execution and equipment employment is quite another.

I've found the most effect method is using a smooth, sharp blade, effective angle, and pressure sufficient to allow the blade to take the stubble off cleanly without struggling. This is an acquired effort that I've learned which works well for me, but I don't know how well it might translate to another.

But again, if "cheating" leaves you with a smooth, comfortable, long lasting shave, then cheat away. Results are what matter.

I do it every day.
Two passes with my DE, then touch-up of the difficult spots with an Atra or Trac II.
I, too, find that the cartridge lasts a long time when used in this fashion. For me it is about a month.
Enjoy your shaves!