Thread: Is shaving twice a day a bad idea?

Hi
I've been shaving with straight razors for about two weeks now. After the initial disaster of trying to shave with a factory finish Dovo, I sent it to Neil Miller who got it shave ready after some serious honing and stropping. Annoyingly, about 4 days ago, when washing the lather under the tap, i just clipped the edge against the tap and it now has a slight chip although it is so small I've not noticed any reduction in shaving performance. Since my first Dovo, I've purchased one other and a TI.

Since about 5 days ago it has just clicked. I'm getting perfect shaves, using 3 passes and using both hands and rarely any nicks. I've since become addicted at the babies bum feel. I've been shaving at night and in the morning. since there is little growth only two passes have been enough. I've gone WTG then Against the Grain and getting perfect results. But is it good to shave twice or should i resist and leave it to once a day? I've not had much razor burn, just some slight irritation around the upper lip area, but this is probably more to do with me repeating this area with more strokes as it is such a tricky area to get all the whiskers with single strokes.

here is my other question. I'm not that fast at stropping yet and have initially got a few cuts in my Dovo strop, mainly due to the x motion and not mastering the spine flipping. Is it okay to do half the stropping after the shave and do half the stropping before the shave? I have been doinbg a ration of 2/1 i.e. half on linen and twice as much on the leather. This means I've been doing 12 on the linen, 2 doz on the leather. Then the next time I use I repeat this number and order. Is this acceptable or should it be done all at once?
Thanks

Well, most people only shave once a day due to time constraints, irritation issues, or simple tradition. If twice a day works for you, go for it I say. The only caution I would throw up is that irritation can snowball - a little bit this morning can grow to a moderate amount the next day and so on. And particularly if you are shaving twice a day, that can quickly escalate if you are not careful. At that point you might not have a choice but to stop shaving for a day or two to let things settle down. But if that is not happening to you, that is great.

On the stropping issue, I'd suggest you get as much practice as you can. It doesn't matter when you strop in that regard. In terms of having a nice edge for shaving on, you do want to make sure it is stropped properly before the shave, but given you shave twice a day and strop before and after, I'd say you are fine on the quantity issue. Sounds like you just need to work on the quality issue.

Good luck!

James.

I shave once per day and I know how to shave, and I have shave ready razors. Even at that I can only do two passes before I start feeling a bit of burn. Every now and then I skip a day just to give my skin a break. We are all different though so if you've got a tough hide it might be doable. You'll know soon enough if you start to do it.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I shave once per day and I know how to shave, and I have shave ready razors. Even at that I can only do two passes before I start feeling a bit of burn. Every now and then I skip a day just to give my skin a break. We are all different though so if you've got a tough hide it might be doable. You'll know soon enough if you start to do it.

I would echo this.

I think if (note, that is a big "if") you can shave twice a day and not get irritation, it might actually be quite good for you. Shaving strips off dead cells (and sometimes a bit of dermis) which results in the skin constantly rejuvenating itself. I view this like working out in the gym...you tear down the muscles and they grow back stronger. The right amount of stress keeps the body in great shape...but too much will be overdoing it.

Just be prepared to hone a bit more often...and buy more razors so that you can let all your steel rest the requisite 48 hours between shaves

Man if your face can handle 2x a day you have a leather face for sure! lol j/k
My face rebels if I chase the BBS smooth too many days in a week. Currently I am growing a beard to give my face a much needed break. Still shaving the neck and lip, just giving the jawline/cheek/chin areas a rest.

For stropping I used to keep a dulled GD around to practice with so that I wouldnt murder my strops. For as much as I have stropped in the last year+ I still F#@$ up sometimes. Hell the other day I took a tiny circle off the face of my $90 SRP II strop, doesnt affect it's performance just makes me mad as heck. Just remember when stropping never think about how long it has been since you last nicked your leather..... bad mojo.
Good Luck!

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Well, most people only shave once a day due to time constraints, irritation issues, or simple tradition. If twice a day works for you, go for it I say. The only caution I would throw up is that irritation can snowball - a little bit this morning can grow to a moderate amount the next day and so on. And particularly if you are shaving twice a day, that can quickly escalate if you are not careful. At that point you might not have a choice but to stop shaving for a day or two to let things settle down. But if that is not happening to you, that is great.

On the stropping issue, I'd suggest you get as much practice as you can. It doesn't matter when you strop in that regard. In terms of having a nice edge for shaving on, you do want to make sure it is stropped properly before the shave, but given you shave twice a day and strop before and after, I'd say you are fine on the quantity issue. Sounds like you just need to work on the quality issue.

Good luck!

James.

Thanks James. I will probably go to once a day. I think I'm just a bit excited at the fact I can actually do it. I've got this great aftershave cream by taylor of old bond street which works great. I had bought the Harris aftershave milk, but all these milks and balms sting my face and irritate me so I'm avoiding. For years I've used King of shaves k24 moisturiser. It's great and gives you a real shiny look afterwards; annoyingly, they have stopped making it and have something new out which I've not tried yet.

With regards to stropping I'm finding it a lot easier to strop my 11/16 TI. I'm holding the scales as I flip. I'm not sure if its the shape of the scales or simply the 11/16 blade is heavier than the 5/8 and is therefore easier to strop. I suppose a heavier blade means more pressure when stropping too.

I find the jawline the most challenging. Having quite skinny features the jaw is quite angled. This makes it tricky to get right under the jaw and I'm still learning the best way to approach this. I am still quite slow and its taking the best part of half an hour to do 3 full passes and the stropping. I'm not being tempted to rush though, I know I'll speed up naturally. Thanks for all the help, absolutely loving it and have definetely got the bug.

it is possible. one pass in the morning and one pass in the evening.

I did a stint in the Presidential Honor Guard in Washington D.C... I had to shave twice a day to meet the standards... It never effected my skin, if anything it helped..

I have shaved twice a day, both 3 pass, only when I could not wait till the morning to try out a new blade. Never had any irritation from it but I don't know if I would do it on a regular basis. I guess it just depends on your hide and if it can take a prolonged run of twice a day shaves.

Bob