Thread: Different tecnique for different beard growth?

Today I decided to shave, the last shave was on Christmas day...so a 2 days beard.

The past four shaves I did the following:

• wash face with soap and warm water,
• apply Proraso pre-shave,
• face lathered with Palmolive Classic cream (the Italian red tube) and Proraso brush
• Gillette Tech with Elios blade (new blade every time)
• 3-pass shave
  
  • WTG above jawline/ ATG below jawline
  • ATG above jawline/ XTG (nose-to-ear) at the jawline/ XTG (from right ear to left ear) below the jawline
  • XTG (from left ear to right ear) below jawline
  
  

BBS, no nicks, no weepers, almost no irritation every time

Today I used the same "ritual" and I got the same results above the jawline but I had to stop at DFS below the jawline because my neck was a minefield of weepers.
The only thing different from the previous shaves is that today I had a 2 days worth of beard when usually I shave with a 4-or-above days beard.

Do you use a different technique when you need to shave a 1, 2, 3-or-above days worth of beard?

Sorry for the long post.


TL;DR: 2 days beard, horrible shave....4-or-above days beard, excellent shave. Need to use different technique?

I use the same routine whether I have 1 days growth or several. When you have a heavy growth you need to be careful because you might be applying more pressure without realizing it subconsciously thinking you need to.

Actually, I find shaving a heavier growth to be easier than 1 day.

I don't think a different technique is required, at least not in my experience. The only time I get weepers from a DE blade is when I've used a blade past its best-before-date, or in other words it's dull.

Never heard of that blade brand before so I can't comment on it. What I can say is that with many blades you don't get the best shave until it's been used 2 or 3 times, so throwing it out after one use may not be the best course of action.

kinc I'm thinking the extra days in between shaving is more about your skin healing up than beard length. I think shaving is also easier with a couple three days beard growth but I usually shave every day.

I agree with the people above: the bad shave on the second day was more likely due to a cumulative effect of the two shaves than anything you did in the second shave itself.

I shave every day (I have to), and I don't get irritated skin, but everyone is different. Perhaps your shaves will improve with experience, and you'll be able to shave every day.

One observation I have made over the years: While it is easy to shave with a mild razor like the Tech, to get a good shave with a mild razor requires pretty advanced techniques (blade buffing, guillotine strokes, maybe the Gillette Slide). With mild razors, people lose technique when they try to get a closer shave (use pressure, shave without lather, etc.)

It is actually easier to learn to shave with a medium-aggressive razor. I suggest getting one of the TTO Cadets or the like. They're cheap and they're excellent shavers which are not to hard to get an excellent shave with.

The only time I have trouble is when I've pushed a blade too far as Ryan said, how many shaves did you have on that blade?

Don't have any experience with that particular blade.

Originally Posted by RVShave

The only time I have trouble is when I've pushed a blade too far as Ryan said, how many shaves did you have on that blade?

Don't have any experience with that particular blade.

That was a new blade.

The next shave was on January 1st (new blade, 5 days growth) and got BBS, no irritation...
I think the culprit was too much pressure without realizing it...


Thank you all for your opinions.