I'm way on board with a two pass shave also. Sometimes I'll add touchups, sometimes not. Either way, I end up with really nice shaves, and my Mystic Water Irish Traveller leaves my face feeling like a million bucks. If I happen to stumble on a BBS then that's great. But that hasn't happened yet and I can't say I expect it to. Just decided a while back I wouldn't bother chasing that white whale lol
2-pass shaves
- Thread starter FireDragon76
- Start date
The expression âsmooth as a babyâs bottomâ has been around at least since the 1930s. It may have first been used in a book by Cecil Scott Forester entitled Marionettes at Home (pub. 1936).
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Looks like I am in good company.. with my two pass shave!!!The irritation just isnt worth the BSBS .
I have always had a hard time doing more passes than two. the third pass always brought irritation. But just recently, instead of doing the third pass against the grain, I did two XTG passes after my initial WTG pass. This has given me no irritation and brought me as close to a BBS shave as I think I am going to get. I think your right BBS is sort of a falsely leading idea of shaving that cause more pain than joy.
I do a three pass shave to get to DFS/BBS. First is WTG (cheekbone to jawline), second is XTG, and then the third is an ATG pass. No irritation. I've tried to skip the ATG pass, but then I still have stubble ATG. I don't do any buffing or touchups, just a straight three pass shave and done.
I find that a three pass shave with a razor in the mid-aggression area works the best for me. I no longer do the touch up pass. I do usually get BBS, or at least BBS on 95% of my face - but I'm no longer worried about it (I take what I get).
When I try a two pass shave I find I'm adding pressure to try and get the same results as the three pass shave. I'm a daily shaver and generally have no irritation from shaving (sometimes from the grandchildren).
But I'm not planning on kissing any of you - so whatever is good for you is good with me.
When I try a two pass shave I find I'm adding pressure to try and get the same results as the three pass shave. I'm a daily shaver and generally have no irritation from shaving (sometimes from the grandchildren).
But I'm not planning on kissing any of you - so whatever is good for you is good with me.
Much of the time I do a third pass, that's what I do, and that works mighty fine for me.
Never do more than 2 passes. 1 WTG, rinse with water and 1 XTG. Never even relather. Really great shave.
I totally agree, my only goal are consistently comfortable shaves of DFS, I start with a good face lather and a relaxing WTG/ XTG, I'm good for 12 hours, and get enough growth for my next shave.
Attempts for BBS, you can risk initial/ additional irritation, nick/ cut, or in-grown hair, especially if you grow it quick, some, like me, don't. After all it's just...............................................................................................................................................
I always 2 pass. WTG pass 1. XTG ear to nose, ATG neck pass 2. DFS. Hair grows back by next day anyway no sense pushing for irritation or burn.
I've been doing two-pass shaves and get an excellent and enjoyable result. NO rash, NO burn or ingrown hairs. I go WTG on first pass, then on the second pass I go XTG from the jawline and UP, then WTG on my neck for a second time... Done. A splash of Clubman and wipe down the sink - 10 minutes total from the time I step up to the sink until I'm smiling at the results in the mirror.
Personally I see no reason to obsess for a BBS. As the OP said only lately do you hear of this. Your grandfather would probably shake his head and ask "What's the point?" if you asked him if he did 3 passes looking for a BBS.
Personally I see no reason to obsess for a BBS. As the OP said only lately do you hear of this. Your grandfather would probably shake his head and ask "What's the point?" if you asked him if he did 3 passes looking for a BBS.
I do not count the passes anymore, as that is not what buys extra closeness with DE. At some elevated risk of irritation, I have been getting the shaves close by doing additional XTG and AGT buffing along the chin and jaw. With use of prep oil, moisturizer, and fresh blades, so far I have avoided the razor burn.
Or in the case of mine, some one for dinner! But not every family is as odd as ours!
Joking, obviously
Anyway, I'm about 2-3 months into this after coming off almost 10 years of never shaving at all (just used an Oster 76 with a #000 clipper once every 2 weeks or so). Before that, I had to shave for my job and used cartridges and HATED shaving. Switching to DE was instantly better than the carts had been, but I was still frustrated trying to achieve this whole BBS BS and, in doing the 3-4 (usually 4) passes to get there was irritating the heck out of my face. About 2 weeks ago I said "The heck with it, it gets 2 passes and that's it". First result is that about 80% of the time I can shave with absolutely zero irritation. Seems my skin cares more about the number of passes than about technique when it comes to irritation. Second result is that, by setting a pass "budget", I've been learning to maximize what I get out of those two passes. For me, dropping the WTG pass was a huge improvement. It basically didn't do anything useful other than add a pass to the irritation count. Now, I'm going either XTG1+XTG2 or XTG2+ATG. XTG1 is 90 degrees to the main hair growth in the direction that has slightly less resistance. XTG2 is 90 degrees to the main hair growth the "other" way from XTG1 and results in more drag/more removal. I'm using a Feather AS-D2 with Astra SP blades. Right now, even coming off 2-3 days of not shaving, XTG1+XTG2 results in a DFS with ZERO irritation except for two patches on my neck with lots of swirling growth that stubbornly remains a CCS. If I'm shaving every day, the XTG2+ATG results in a BBS-minus over about 90% of my face and a DFS in those two stubborn places on my neck and usually a very small amount of irritation in the most difficult places.
Frankly, the sweet spot seems to be the irritation-free 2-pass XTG1+XTG2 DFS. I can have a pretty good shave every day without any penalty. Why obsess about anything more?
I'm happy with a 2 pass, WTG, XTG, with a couple touch up spots. Depending on razor blade combo I get either CCS or DFS. Trying for more leads to some patches of irritation. Besides I like to shave daily and this way it makes it worthwhile.
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Sir
After all of these years do you still think so?
“BBS exists only as a concept to allow you to brag to other nerds on the internet”.
Wet shavers are NERDS? Is that a positive or negative statement? What makes us nerds? Curious.
Have a nice morning.
