While I enjoy the long, relaxing routine of a straight shave, there are some mornings I just don't have the time and I need to decide if I want a one-pass straight shave or a multi-pass DE. I prefer the former. So I was thinking that if I could reduce the "overhead" of my routine, then I could probably fit in a two-pass straight shave. "Overhead" for me means:


- Wipe off the oil/vaseline
- Pre-shave strop
- Create lather in my bowl
< Lather my face and shave with N passes > Not the overhead!
- Styptic / Alum bar my face
- Clean up my bowl and brush
- Post-shave strop
- Vaseline my blade
- Aftershave


So one thing I'm trying is to see if I truly need to vaseline/oil my blade if I use it every couple days. I'm also going to try stropping only before or after. Here is what I'm going to try on these faster days:

- Create lather in my bowl
< Lather my face and shave with N passes > Not the overhead!
- Styptic / Alum bar my face
- Clean up my bowl and brush
- Post-shave strop (could defer to later if necessary)
- Aftershave



I might try face lathering on these days as well. That's my next step of reducing time.

So do you guys have different routines for your "spa days" (if applicable) versus your daily routine days?