Thread: What is it with shaving 3 day stubble

Originally Posted by mjsorkin

I talked this over with Jeff (MVCrash) not too long ago. We discussed why a beard gets thicker and easier to shave after two or more days.

We pretty much agreed that after 24 hours you are only slicing off the wedge shaped tips of the hairs. It's easier to miss them or make a bad cut. After two days the hairs have grown out and you are cutting across the full width of the hairs. They are more stable, and meet the blade at a better angle which leads to a clean cut at skin level.

This made much sense to me.

Michael

This is most likely exactly why two day and three day old shaves produce great results. My problem is that I need to shave after a day and a half if I want to look clean. I can't quite make it two days between shaves and still feel comfortable. If I shave on a Monday morning, then by Tuesday mid-day I'm feeling real scratchy and definitely showing the shadow. However, I do prefer to wait two full days to shave because the results are much better, three day old shaves and the results are tremendous. If I wait four or five days, I feel like a new man and look like one too.

With one day old shaves, I am prone to get irritation and overall discomfort, but feeling that baby's butt smooth face is almost like a drug addiction. I'll go through the "pain" to get the end result. If I do shave back to back days, I spend extra time on the strop to make sure I have a keen an edge as possible to minimize discomfort.

Originally Posted by Justso

...With one day old shaves, I am prone to get irritation and overall discomfort, but feeling that baby's butt smooth face is almost like a drug addiction. I'll go through the "pain" to get the end result. If I do shave back to back days, I spend extra time on the strop to make sure I have a keen an edge as possible to minimize discomfort.

There is a technique that helps mitigate the irritation problem and something to consider for the future if your technique is still not perfect. One's razor must be at peak keenness with a highly polished bevel. Laying the razor down to the absolutely lowest angle possible, almost to the point that it will not cut, then applying ever so slightly more pressure will cut the hairs not skin, and I do mean very slightly more pressure. What it does is create a slight bulge of skin that presents the part of the hair that is every so slightly below the skin line. I have heard it referred to as "riding the edge". The point where the cutting edge is fractions of millimeters above the skin. This technique is used by the multi-blade razors from the big manufactures and is touted as the reason that multi-blade razors work so well. One does have to be careful that the hair is not cut to far below the skin or you will get ingrown hairs....a very fine balance.


Take Care,
Richard

Only a newb, but i have noticed much better results with three days growth, i just struggle to wait that long, now that i don't nick myself as much.

I find this thread after my first weekend of shaving attempts. It has the opposite logic. I could not get a blade to get 'through' any full hairs. Each hair was a stopping block for the blade. It wasn't until I took an electric razor to my face first and then used a straight that I could even slide across my skin.

I see some other rookies are having luck with longer hairs. My original thinking was that I needed something to actually cut off. My experience now is that I can't actually get through longer hair. What is my problem? I mean besides my newly incurred jealousy...

Originally Posted by hiplainsdrftr

I find this thread after my first weekend of shaving attempts. It has the opposite logic. I could not get a blade to get 'through' any full hairs. Each hair was a stopping block for the blade. It wasn't until I took an electric razor to my face first and then used a straight that I could even slide across my skin.

I see some other rookies are having luck with longer hairs. My original thinking was that I needed something to actually cut off. My experience now is that I can't actually get through longer hair. What is my problem? I mean besides my newly incurred jealousy...

i would say your razor isn't sharp enough, it should carve them down easy, or you have too much angle on blade. A good lather makes alot of difference too.

Well, I don't have a good lather, I assume the blade is sharp, and I have tried each angle from 0-40... I hope lather makes up all the problems I have. I want it to cut the hair pretty badly.

Originally Posted by hiplainsdrftr

Well, I don't have a good lather, I assume the blade is sharp, and I have tried each angle from 0-40... I hope lather makes up all the problems I have. I want it to cut the hair pretty badly.

pretty new to this myself, but, if you make a lather up that looks like whipped cream, and about the same thickness, try that. Also where is your razor from? You may need to have it professionally honed from a member here. The only other thing i can think of is you rolled the edge of your blade when you stropped it, that was one of my first mistakes, hang in there.

You need a wet lather, wetter than with DE or SE razors and you have to stretch the skin well. If you are doing that and have a sharp, well stropped razor, the beard will disappear.

I totally agree that a 3-day (or better still 4-day) growth gives a great shave!
I can't explain it either, but it's definitely one that I am doing more often these days... And the extra growth doesn't scare my razors either. They go through it like a blow torch through butter. Shame that my sink can't cope with the larger hairs getting flushed down it...

You all are missing the most obvious solution. When you wait 3 days it allows the metal in your razor to "rest". Duh. Have we forgotten why we have more than one razor??? Sheesh.