Thread: How Much Growth Does One Need?

I have enough hair growth on my face--even at the ripe old age of 59--to be able to shave with my str8 razor everyday if I want to.

Of course there have been those times when I skipped a day of shaving. Removing two days beard growth with a freshly stropped str8 razor was real fun.

I shave every day, rarely do I skip a day. When I do it is usually on the weekend and I really do not have the time to shave. My shaves with Str8s will last me a good 24 hours. When I shaved with cartridge I would have a shadow by about noon and if I needed to look clean to go out at night would need to shave again.

Str8s have taken care of that problem once and for all!

Lu

i feel like a heathen after reading this.. i basically shave when i want.. in culinary school i was required to be clean shaven at all times.. so i shaved every morning.. and if i had a class at night.. i shaved before class.. for the most part.. just looking at me.. i could shave every other day and no one would notice unless they touched my face..

as i nanny.. i shave when i want.. i sometimes go 3 days without shaving.. just cause i'm busy.. or i skip a few days if i know i'll be seeing a lady friend on the weekend who fancies stubble.. basically.. i have no set schedule.. although... i will admit.. there is something lovely about a nice routine.. perhaps i will start shaving every night after the kids go to bed.. i could hot towel it and everything.

During the week I shave every day, this works well for me. In weekends, I sometimes skip it.

I am not a pleasant feeling all that hair, so therefore every day.

Originally Posted by wolfcobra

How much hair growth do you need in order to actually shave? If you do a really good shave one morning (including ATG), there might not be a substantial amount of growth the next. I need the practice, but wanted to check that I wasn't breaking any ancient traditions first.

The ancient tradition is to shave when you need to.

Practice on a balloon if you are impatient.

For your face just let it take as much time as it takes.
There is no need to rush a lifetime endeavor.

Lathering... that is different. You can practice building
a lather twenty times a day if you want to. In fact I
recommend practice building a lather with an inexpensive
shave soap like Williams.

Honing and stropping... you can hone and strop twenty
razors and give yourself a presidential shave each morning
testing each one.

The shaving bit... keep it to once a day or less for now.
Shaving does challenge the skin -- give it time to heal
or you will learn why. Now there are occasions where
a clean shave for a hot date makes sense but it makes
more sense to shift your shave from the AM to the PM
rather than doubling up.

Summary:
If you have to ask us then no is likely the answer.
And yes there are exceptions..... And yes it is your
face, it will tell you when enough is enough.

It just depends on how fast your beard grows in. I shave every day and if I dont, I have noticable stubble by mid morning.

But you can shave basically once your skin doesnt feel smooth any more..!

Originally Posted by Ryan82

I would say that the frequency of shaving is less dependant on the actual length of whiskers (although that can affect the quality/closeness of the shave) but whether or not your face can handle it.

I can feel stubble growing back fairly quickly even after the closest of shave, and could technically be possible to shave every day easily based on whisker length alone. But my skin can't take the rigours of daily shaving, so it's every other day or so for me.

Ditto, every other day for me too!

Originally Posted by Englishgent

Ditto, every other day for me too!

It's interesting..... until I discovered shaving forums I thought that everyone but me could shave everyday like a champ and bear no ill effects. It took a while to realize but even with the best prep and the best technique and the sharpest razor there are many others like me who only shave every other day due to skin type or whatever. That's fine by me, as I have a job that allows it.

Everyone is different..

I can actually shave every 3 days or so. If I try sooner, I develope a great deal of ingrown hairs. First day post shave only looks like a 5:00 shadow.

I shave ever 3 or 4 days, sometimes with a straight sometimes with a Rolling Razor. (I expect the straight will become more the rule than the exception now that I have a shutterbug straight) I space out my shaves due to psoriasis. If I shaved every day I would look like a biblical leper. A straight actually aggravates my skin less then most modern razors. More than likely this is because I take better care and preparation with the single edge.

Being ex-Navy I remember having to be SAT every day. I shaved twice a day back then once with an atra then once I got to station with a pocket electric... just to be sure. Passed inspection but did terrible things to my skin.

My advice, do what you need for inspection. Then use your straight and lather for rest, relaxation and time well spent. Getting in a hurry just makes it tedious and creates nicks.

Driney