Define: BBS

I've noticed a few comments regarding BBS shaves lately that have given me the impression we each have different definitions of BBS. So my question is - how do you define BBS.

For me it means being able to rub your hand or finger, with and without pressure over the shaved area of your face, in any direction about an hour after shaving and not be able to detect the slightest presence of hair.

I say an hour after shaving because a hot shower or towel will swell your growth - which will naturally contract when it cools down over time.

Is my definition too rigid/not strict enough?

Cheers,

Rob

Edited to further clarify definition.

I qualify my BBS directionally, and a good razor gives me directional BBS. What I mean here is that I can rub my finger in the direction I shaved and not feel anything. I use the directional part because it is part of how I determine whether or not a razor is shave ready. A razor is shave ready if it gives me directional BBS and cuts cleanly. I'd never considered the time aspect; I usually check immediately after the pass or while applying my AS balm.

Note: A really good razor will give me perpendicular BBS, meaning I can shave WTG and feel BBS when rubbing XTG.

The ultimate test is a fluffy round makeup remover cotton pad thingy. If you rub it across your face, and none of the fibres catch - you're there.

Still waiting for that to happen, though, blasted jawline and all that.

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The ultimate test is a fluffy round makeup remover cotton pad thingy. If you rub it across your face, and none of the fibres catch - you're there.

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Ah, but what direction are you rubbing in? WTG? XTG? ATG? I think this is what Frankenstein may be getting at.

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Originally Posted by BeBerlin

The ultimate test is a fluffy round makeup remover cotton pad thingy. If you rub it across your face, and none of the fibres catch - you're there.

Still waiting for that to happen, though, blasted jawline and all that.

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I use these for applying my witch hazel. My skin is sensitive so I use the pads to make sure I'm sparing with it and it immediately tells me what areas I still need to work on in the future.

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Originally Posted by Jaxx2112

Ah, but what direction are you rubbing in? WTG? XTG? ATG? I think this is what Frankenstein may be getting at.

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Yes, exactly. Thanks for that; I've edited the OP to include that. So I mean in any direction and with pressure.

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Originally Posted by Frankenstein

So I mean in any direction and with pressure.

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Light touch, circular motions. These things catch easily.

You might, in the interest of science, try using a buffer, but I would not recommend it.

If I can rub the back of my hand ATG and not feel any roughness at all, that's BBS for me.

If you've ever touched a BB, then you know

I very rarely get a complete bbs. As Robin said, the jawline or one missed spot or another. Not that the razor isn't capable if I do my part but I am not always as thorough as I could be in QC with my shaves. I focus on getting the two toughest spots, either side of my wind pipe and the tip of my chin to evaluate my shave. It is when I am putting on my after shave splash that I feel the overall result with my fingertips.

This question brings to mind the fellow who was sitting in the barber chair with some regular neighborhood hangers on surrounding him. The fellow was bald on top and would just get a trim on the hair that he had left around his head and over his ears.

The barber figured he would have a little joke at the customer's expense and put his hand on top of the fellow's bald head and said,"That feels just like my wife's bottom." The fellow didn't bat an eye and without hesitation put his own hand on top of his head giving it a squeeze and said."You're right it sure does." :p

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Originally Posted by Allen

If I can rub the back of my hand ATG and not feel any roughness at all, that's BBS for me.

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+1. With my beard, it might feel smooth WTG, but still be visible, so I don't think that counts. I don't want to feel any stubble on my face at all.

I used to shave with my Mach 3 in the shower, sans mirror. My QA was running my hand around my face until I felt a rough patch, determining the grain direction, then running ATG until it was smooth. That's my gold standard. I still do the same QA with the straight, but with a mirror, and at some point saying, "enough". However, having achieved some BBS-ness today (cheeks only), I believe I will be getting bolder...

Fred

For me, BBS is that sticky smooth feeling I get right after I am done shaving and towel off. Next after the after shave and about an hour and the natural oil has come back into my face, that soft silky feeling that you just want to keep feeling for the next couple hours. Some one a few years back called it faceturbating............:)

Lynn

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Originally Posted by Lynn

BBS is that sticky smooth feeling I get right after I am done shaving and towel off. Next after the after shave and about an hour and the natural oil has come back into my face, that soft silky feeling that you just want to keep feeling for the next couple hours. Some one a few years back called it faceturbating............:)

Lynn

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PRICELESS
I would never find out those words to express myself.

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Originally Posted by BeBerlin

The ultimate test is a fluffy round makeup remover cotton pad thingy. If you rub it across your face, and none of the fibres catch - you're there.

Still waiting for that to happen, though, blasted jawline and all that.

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Robin, In the states, the Ladies used to test their shaved legs with a cotton ball, The old cotton ball test.

BBS is awesome. You get such a close shave with a straight razor. My GF can't keep her hands off my face. She said, it's as if you shave below the skin. What I like about it is how long the shave itself lasts...Just awesome.
I was talking to a guy in work, and told him I use a str8, He said, He'd probably cut his own throat....

For me, BBS is smooth skin with I rub with pressure against the grain. I don't really count anything within an hour of the shave since all of the AS balms/lotions might make it feel smoother than it really is. That cotton ball test is pretty effective at finding out if it's BBS, and for me that's a good way of mapping my beard, too.

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Originally Posted by Lynn

For me, BBS is that sticky smooth feeling I get right after I am done shaving and towel off. Next after the after shave and about an hour and the natural oil has come back into my face, that soft silky feeling that you just want to keep feeling for the next couple hours. Some one a few years back called it faceturbating............:)

Lynn

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I agree with -"you just want to keep feeling for the next couple hours".
I have days when I rub my facial skin so much it actually gets a bit raw. I get that super close shave feeling especially when I shave with one of Sham's razors!!!

Jerry
~~~:)

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Originally Posted by BeBerlin

Still waiting for that to happen, though, blasted jawline and all that.

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I hear ya! That jawline is a pain in the butt!

How depressing! Using these def's I have never, using any method of shaving, been able to obtain a BBS shave! Guess I have a long way to go.

Maybe I should let mrsell63 shave me with his Filarmonica:eek:

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I very rarely get a complete bbs. As Robin said, the jawline or one missed spot or another. Not that the razor isn't capable if I do my part but I am not always as thorough as I could be in QC with my shaves. I focus on getting the two toughest spots, either side of my wind pipe and the tip of my chin to evaluate my shave. It is when I am putting on my after shave splash that I feel the overall result with my fingertips.

This question brings to mind the fellow who was sitting in the barber chair with some regular neighborhood hangers on surrounding him. The fellow was bald on top and would just get a trim on the hair that he had left around his head and over his ears.

The barber figured he would have a little joke at the customer's expense and put his hand on top of the fellow's bald head and said,"That feels just like my wife's bottom." The fellow didn't bat an eye and without hesitation put his own hand on top of his head giving it a squeeze and said."You're right it sure does." :p

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LOL!!! :rofl2:

BBS - everyday effort. Light touch, all feels awesome, some time facturbating throughout the day.

Super BBS - When I spend a little more time shaving ATG. Heavy touch in all directions, all feels awesome and a lot more time facturbating.

:D
Pabster

A BBS is defined by me when my gal touches my face and says "Baby... ".
An non-BBS is when she says "too scratchy no smootchie".

I rarely get a BBS shave. I have about 10 to 15 min for the whole shave thing, and that leaves 2 spot that have a unidirectional rough spot, with the grain you can not feel stubble but xtg you can. The chin and the jaw line. If I keep trying different angles I will get them smooth, but this greatly increase the chance of a weeper. My face is no longer 18, so that baby smoothness is long gone, nicks are rare but weeper are common if I keep at it. Which is nother thread is you ask me, how ofter to you get weepers.

Crom

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Originally Posted by BeBerlin

The ultimate test is a fluffy round makeup remover cotton pad thingy. If you rub it across your face, and none of the fibres catch - you're there.

Still waiting for that to happen, though, blasted jawline and all that.

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That would really be the perfect test for a BBS shave.:)

C'mon guys. We're men! Strike a match against your face. If it lights, you're not BBS! :D

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Originally Posted by radaddict

C'mon guys. We're men! Strike a match against your face. If it lights, you're not BBS! :D

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Have ya ever struck a match on glass?
It works, just do not do it on a good window.

From the definitions offered I guess most of you guys don't have kids.

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Originally Posted by welshwizard

From the definitions offered I guess most of you guys don't have kids.

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Hmm... any guy that has a BBS face is odd to say the least.
A BB is soooooooooooo verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr much softer......
Nothing any MAN that shaves can do will ever get close. Nothing.
no how, no way....

This might ruffle some feathers here (it shouldn't), but think that the term BBS is widely overused at SRP. After some reflection over the year-and-a-few-months I've been shaving with a straight I've come to the conclusion that BBS is an approximation of the PERFECT shave. Think about it, Baby Butt Smooth; the very term describes absolute smoothness over the entire face and neck in every possible direction. Sounds like perfection to me, and probably the kind of perfection that only a small fraction of members have ever achieved

One term that is more widely used on other wet shaving forums is DFS (or Damn Fine Shave for the uninitiated), and I'm not sure why it isn't used as commonly here. Is it that we SR shavers strive for the ultimate perfect shave every time? Doubtful. I think it's more likely that our definition of BBS is somewhat lacking. For example, many members claim to get BBS from a combo of WTG and XTG. That's not to say you can't get a fantastic shave with those two passes, however since you will not get absolute smoothness without a complete ATG pass you can not truly say you are BBS.

I don't see why there's shame in a DFS. Isn't it still damn fine? Does your face have to be perfectly smooth every time? Definitely not. Personally I only go for BBS (or at least my closest approximation of it ;)) on very special occasions as I will be tempting the almost-inevitable irritation that comes with it. The rest of the time a DFS sounds just fine to me.

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

One term that is more widely used on other wet shaving forums is DFS (or Damn Fine Shave for the uninitiated), and I'm not sure why it isn't used as commonly here. Is it that we SR shavers strive for the ultimate perfect shave every time? Doubtful. I think it's more likely that our definition of BBS is somewhat lacking. For example, many members claim to get BBS from a combo of WTG and XTG. That's not to say you can't get a fantastic shave with those two passes, however since you will not get absolute smoothness without a complete ATG pass you can not truly say you are BBS.

I don't see why there's shame in a DFS. Isn't it still damn fine? Does your face have to be perfectly smooth every time? Definitely not. Personally I only go for BBS (or at least my closest approximation of it ;)) on very special occasions as I will be tempting the almost-inevitable irritation that comes with it. The rest of the time a DFS sounds just fine to me.

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Well, this is why I started the thread. I noticed some people saying they were getting great shaves - then describing some kind of strange technique that wouldn't give a BBS shave, while some others were saying they got BBS while saying there was still some stubble on certain areas. I suspect if you know the angles, have a soft, light and confidant touch, know the strokes you need to do for each area, have a sharp razor and don't get distracted while you're shaving it's quite easy to get a BBS shave.
Personally, my shaves range between BBS and goddam awful - with either cuts, irritation, or serious razorburn because generally I'm a careless shaver - always have been and will continue, quite happily, to be. However, like most people here, I'm sure, if I want to get a DFS or BBS shave I can - it may just take a little longer, require a little more thought, or a little less forcing the blade.