I apologize in advance since I'm sure this has been discussed before, but here it goes.

On my drive to work this morning, I was thinking about why most guys agree that skipping at least day or so between shaves yields a better shave. For myself, the longer my stubble gets, the softer the hair becomes and not every hair grows at the same rate. No matter how good I prep my beard, very short stubble will still be coarse whereas after more than a day's growth, the water and soap will soften the beard more because the hair is longer and the hairs that grow at a slower rate have time to start catching up to the other hairs thus meaning you end up with a closer, more smooth, and overall better shave.

For those of you who have a fast growing beard, obviously this theory would not hold because your one day's growth for others is like a 2-day or 3-day growth. This theory also would not hold if your stubble is soft to begin with.

Another thought is if the stubble is longer, the razor has more to grab onto and thus produces a better shave.

Rob