I noticed that we all share experience and advice on how we hone the blades and how we prep for a shave but hardly anyone mentions their beard type: soft, normal, brillo; nor skin type: sensitive, normal, cow hide.

It strikes me that these are crucial pieces of information.

I have a tough beard and sensitive skin. Tough enough that if I get a really, really close shave, like one by going against the grain, the next day my hair burrows right through the skin. The skin is not strong enough to guide the brillo like hair through the pore.

Hence, I cannot go against the grain. Others, with softer beards and/or tougher skins swear by it. The missing factor is beard type and skin type.

I suspect that beard type differences lie in the variation in honing techniques. Some go all the way to .25 micron polishing, others stop much sooner. A tough beard would probably break a really fine edge, while a coarse edge would not shave a fine beard.

When I read someone's experience/advice it would help to know his (or hers, to be politically correct) beard and skin type. That way I can focus more on experience of people who have a beard to similar mine because it will probably be more representative of my situation.

I wonder if it would be possible to add beard type and skin type to the profile settings in the "Additional Information" section.

Do you think this information would be useful?