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Why rinse between passes?

From what I understand, it is to keep moisture on your skin. It is called "wetshaving" after all.

Somebody will correct me if I'm wrong. There is some more to it also, I'm sure.
 
I feel that rinsing between passes serves several purposes when I shave. First, it does indeed provide a layer of fluid for the spread of the lather. I do not find that this waters-down the lather. Second, it keeps my face and the hair on my face warm and soft (all the better to shave you, my pretty! heh heh heh). Finally, it allows me to feel how effective the previous pass was in reducing stubble. This is especially important before the final (third, in my case) full pass and the subsequent touch-ups.

As always, YMMV. Cheers,
 
If you have built a good lather, the amount of water on your razor won't hurt(as long as the razor isn't streaming with water).



Marty
 
mrs. chefchris said:
From what I understand, it is to keep moisture on your skin. It is called "wetshaving" after all.

I concur and that freaking anal comment slayed me. Not to be taken the wrong way I'm sure. :biggrin:

The in between pass splash also helps to get rid of any cream you have hanging out in funny places, like ears and such. At least it works for me.
 
Also a good splash of hot water or warm washcloth in addition to adding moisture and wiping off that lather hanging from your earlobe, further heats your skin and preps your beard so your next pass will be closer and with less irritation.
 

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
jduffy said:
I concur and that freaking anal comment slayed me. Not to be taken the wrong way I'm sure. :biggrin:

The in between pass splash also helps to get rid of any cream you have hanging out in funny places, like ears and such. At least it works for me.

I've had that comment taken the wrong way before. Once again, it involved stitches, a stapler, and the intervention of the very polite tokyo police department.
 
I rinse between passes because I want to start with a "clean slate". Get rid of the leftover lather, and replace with nice, hot lather. That is important, but as already mentioned, rinsing between passes allows you to feel the progress that you are making with each pass. That is the road map to a great shave.

Randy
 
dszpiro said:
Finally, it allows me to feel how effective the previous pass was in reducing stubble. This is especially important before the final (third, in my case) full pass and the subsequent touch-ups.
This is one reason I like to rinse. Besides keeping lots of moisture and water on the skin and beard, it lets me know exactly where I need to concentrate my shave efforts. No use over shaving a place with no hair left.
 
I rinse to examine my work. Partly to see how close the shave may have been, but also (since I keep a beard) to see where extra attention may be needed on the following pass.
 
Scotto said:
Plus, who wants little beard bits in your brush? Yuck.

That's right - and it is nice to get those little hairs off of your face - I find that I notice the extra "grit" when/if I don't rinse well enough between passes... though it may be a case of me being absolutely insane.
 
I like the between-pass rinse to clean off my face, wet my beard for the next lathering, and feel how much stubble is left and where. On one recent shave (after a day of no-shave), using the Mocha-Java shave stick and the Futur, I was surprised after rinsing off the remnants of lather from the first pass that there was almost no stubble left, so for the second pass I could go directly to against the grain. First time that's happened in quite a while.

Have the beard wet from the rinse doesn't harm the lather at all. After all, the beard is wet for the first lathering, right?
 
Well, I am obviously in the minority. No rinsing between passes for me (2 passes is all I need for a bbs shave). I dip the tip of my brush in water before going for my second lathering, but don't do anything else to my face. I shave with a straight razor, and this works great for me, and saves a little time in the process.

After almost 3 years of using a straight, I pretty much know that after my usual 2 passes, my face will be smooth as glass. If it's not, it's usually because of a dull razor, as opposed to having just missed a spot.

Different strokes... YMMV... To each his own... Do what works best for you... etc... etc... etc...

Drew
 
i do three passes with a DE and usually on either the second or third pass i'll skip the rinse part, works fine for me. the razor does a good job of getting everything off so i don't really have alot of extra stuff hanging around.
 
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