About 6 months. Then I progressed in small increments for 3 years, every so often, by reading and experiemnting. That took me from 95% up to 99% and sometimes 100% to my satisfaction. I still am learning by little bits. It has been a treck. There is no better accomplishment in honing than to get that BBS shave. Technique is still being worked on. Everyones hair groth is different and requires much study.

Monte