Thread: Unexpected Discovery

Me too. A while back now I discovered (through irritation) I was doing way too much so simplified everything. Basic prep (Proraso pre/post or splash of water) followed by a two pass shave (the first down the face and the second up the face) and a touch up if needed. A hot towel for a few minutes and then a liberal dash of bay rum and I am good to go for two days.

i only do one pass WTG for everyday shaving. No BBS, but I don't really care.
If I haven't shaved for more than 2 days I usually go 1 WTG and 1 ATG.

I don't pay attention to grain at all. I do one pass superior to inferior, then a second pass inferior to superior.

Originally Posted by LawsonStone

This morning, I just did WTG and then ATG, skipping the XTG. The results of doing WTB/ATG only were just as good as if I'd done all three passes, with a significant savings in time.

Anyone else stumble onto this?

As reccommended by PRORASO

Its a big time saver.

Originally Posted by LawsonStone

This morning, I just did WTG and then ATG, skipping the XTG... The results of doing WTB/ATG only were just as good as if I'd done all three passes, with a significant savings in time.

I've noticed similar performance on my neck. My theory is that in this area my hair grows at a nearly horizontal angle with respect to the skin, making WTG and XTG passes redundant, but equally effective at beard reduction.

I do a third pass, but only on spots I've missed. I find these areas by rinsing my face with warm water after the second pass and then feeling my face. If I'm happy with my two-pass effort, I declare the job done and immediately rinse with cold water. Otherwise, I lather up again.

I also do a two pass, 90% of the time, and feel around with freshly wet fingers for spots that need a touch up. Normally this is every other day.
I do three passes, going for perfect BBS, only for funerals, weddings, and the arrival of a new member to the herd. Three passes is the limit of what my face will tolerate. It usually results in an ingrown hair or two. The avoidance of which, is one of the reasons I have always preferred shaving with a straight.
Ed
quicknicker

Originally Posted by quicknicker

I do three passes, going for perfect BBS, only for funerals, weddings, and the arrival of a new member to the herd.

Very sensible advice indeed, as I could not have said it better myself. Yes, that perfect shave and/or complete ATG pass is unnecessary for day to day presentability. If you can't get a DFS from WTG, XTG (and perhaps some ATG spot touchups) then your technique likely needs some work.

Due to the sharply angled, predominately right-facing hairs of my face, WTG as downwards strokes is more like XTG, and right-to-left is closer to ATG than up. The most difficult part of my face, because of skin-stretching particularities, is often done almost ATG. To get a smooth shave I do about three passes, but downwards and upwards is paradoxically farther from flirting with the drastic nature of ATG, so a shaving video performed by my facial hair pattern is a cheap way to show off, rather than having true skill. Still, Lawson, the most difficult part of my face is easily vanquished by ATG-ish strokes, minimizing irritation by sheer effectiveness of stroke direction. I'm with you on that one, at least for my small patch of albeit densely bearded problem area.

Long live the magical nature of the open razor!