every other day

[nickyspaghetti]

Ok, so after spending much time considering why my shaves were not as I wanted, I decided to not shave every other day, to see what the effect was on the quality of the shave.
It's strange, when my face has a rest for a day, the shave afterwards is perfect. Now I don't know why this is, maybe it is that the longer hairs stand up more and are easier to cut? These shaves are also the only ones that I can do with absolutely no razor burn.
Unfortunately my beard is quite aggressive and by the second morning it is fairly unacceptable for work, and also I enjoy shaving so much that I don't want to miss out on half my shaving opportunities!
Anybody else find that this happens to them?
Oh I would do anything to have a shave this close and comfortable every day!
Nick

[Sunsi]

Try the middle ground Nick - shave every 36 hours - ie once in the morning, and then the next day in the early evening. It doesn't look too bad the next day, and your face gets to rest too.

Cheers

Si

[BrianB]

I had to do that when I first started shaving. It was once about every 3 days or else my face would feel like it was being burned off back with the ol' 4-blade contraption. I had to gradually move into shaving every other, then eventually every, day. Some people's faces just can't take being constantly... what's the word... rubbed the wrong way.

[Ron A]

Hey,
I do the every day and a half routine (similar to Si's)
That means shaving in the morning on Monday, before bed on Tuesday, in the morning on Thursday (that's right--no shave needed on Weds.), etc.
I find I'm acceptably clean shaven every day, my face gets its rest, and this routine also adds variety. There's a different atmosphere between shaving before work in the morning and before bed at night.
Have a great week.

[Sunsi]

There's a different atmosphere between shaving before work in the morning and before bed at night.

Yeah too true - shaving the night before means you can really take your time and pamper yourself. It also makes for some nice time in the sack once your wife/gf realises just how shiny smooth your face is...

[texan]

I have noticed the same thing. The longer I go between shaves, the better the shave and less irritation. Part of the reason I now shave my head, also. That way I can let the beard go for a few days and still get my shaving fix on my head.

Philip

[mparker762]

If you think about it, it can't have anything to do with beard growth because after your first pass it's as short as it would have been at the start of your shave the prior day, so the difference it something else. My suspicion is you're using too much pressure, or too steep an angle, or too dull a blade, or insufficient prep, or any number of such errors. The extra day gives your face time to heal up so it can handle the pressure (or whatever) again. At least this is what it was for me.

[xman]

The difference between shaving after the first pass and shaving the very next day is not in the length of the hair, but in how it's cut. After a WTG pass the hairs are cut a slight slant. The second ATG pass comes in at the long side of the slant and gets a decent purchase on those whiskers. When you shave the very next day the hairs have been cut down from different angles and it's not as easy for the edge to get a grip on them. A secondary effect is that more skin is produced after 48 hours and this is also cut away during shaving, leaving you feeling clean and fresh. If your skin is still pretty clean and fresh after only 24 hours, I think you're going to notice the difference in how your face responds.

Just some thoughts.

X

[nickyspaghetti]

It isn't the razor, nor the prep. I don't think it is technique. The only thing I can think is that my skin reacts differently after 2 days than one. I though about the 1.5 day shaving as you described above, I might have to try it.
I'm not unsatisfied with the results from every day shaving at all, Every day I get better,but I just noticed that the shave was better every other day.
Nick

[mparker762]

The difference between shaving after the first pass and shaving the very next day is not in the length of the hair, but in how it's cut.

I don't see how - the razor doesn't care about the end, just about the base. And even after two days growth the end is still the same.