3 days with out a shave....best shave yet!

[TenorClef]

Its true, i'd typically shave every day but had a bad dose of flu and did'nt touch a razor for 3 days. Looking at the forest which felt of Amazonian proportions this morning i pulled out my Gillette Fat Boy, put in a new Feather blade which i rarely use and dialled that thing up to 9, a splash of Pen's BB.......BBS.

So my question is, letting the hair follicles grow somewhat seems to make the beard softer which could explain why a lot of guys i know don't shave every day?

 

[global_dev]

All my opinion, but i don't think the hair growth phases of beard areas are that short to change the characteristics of that hair.

i think it may be more about dermal recovery and general memory of a last shave.

glad to hear it was a nice shave!

 

[Mr. Imperial]

So my question is, letting the hair follicles grow somewhat seems to make the beard softer which could explain why a lot of guys i know don't shave every day?

If it isn't actually happening, it sure seems like it is. At first I thought it was just an optical illusion, but I really do get less irritation if I wait 2-3 days between shaves.

 

[Dustinl]

I really do get less irritation if I wait 2-3 days between shaves.

Likewise. I shave Monday night, Wednesday night, Friday night, and Sunday morning. It seems as if I am prone to a little ATG razor burn on my neck if I shave everyday. No irritation on my current schedule.


DL

 

[Rossmeister]

I have to shave every day (if I want to look shaven, that is!), but it's exactly the same with me. If I go about three days without, the shaves are just super smooth, perfect BBS without any irritation.

The shave takes the same amount of effort, but the skin just doesn't seem affected, so I'm voting for dermal recovery.

 

[Beerman]

I asked a question about this a few weeks ago. The general consesus was "dermal recovery" (never heard this term before, but I know what you mean).

My issue was that the perfect time for me to shave (for comfort) is every other day. I can get an almost pain-free shave, if things go well when I shave every day. If I shave every other day, I can bugger things up pretty well, not much attention to technique and still get a pain-free BBS 99% of the time.

If I could, I'd only shave every other day, but I start to look scruffy after about 36 hours.



Beerman

 

[sas71]

i get better shaves with 1.5-2 days growth but i enjoy shaving so much i rarely make it past a day.

 

[Ethan.Bassist.]

I go every other day... if I'm going clean shaven. If I have to shave everyday for some reason (like when I was in a play a few weeks ago) I'll shave my face normally, but just do one light pass on my neck. Otherwise I'll die. lol

I agree with the dermal recovery theory. And that is an excellent name for the issue. Someone should write a wikipedia article on it so we can link to it.

 

[Darth Indiana]

same here. even if my lather isn't perfect i can get a good shave if i let it grow a bit between shaves.

I asked a question about this a few weeks ago. The general consesus was "dermal recovery" (never heard this term before, but I know what you mean).

My issue was that the perfect time for me to shave (for comfort) is every other day. I can get an almost pain-free shave, if things go well when I shave every day. If I shave every other day, I can bugger things up pretty well, not much attention to technique and still get a pain-free BBS 99% of the time.

If I could, I'd only shave every other day, but I start to look scruffy after about 36 hours.



Beerman

why not shave every 36 hours then?

 

[Bulging_Biceps]

I'm the same way. I'm kinda lucky that I have a very slow growing beard. I have crap beard genetics and for me noticable stubble takes 2 days to appear, so I shave every other day and by doing so, It does give a BBS shave

 

[salisburyyates]

I always wait 1 to 2 days. It's better for the skin not to be bothered every single day with shaving, and all those extensive applications. Letting the skin heal is a good thing.

 

[reyrascon]

... I'm kinda lucky that I have a very slow growing beard...

Same here, beard growth is not too fast so I can shave every other day. I was never able to shave daily with cartridges, had so much razor burn, that I just got used to this schedule. Because of cartridges I also became a night shaver. You can sleep off all that razor burn! Beard growth is even slower while you sleep, so I would wake up with only slight razor burn and looking freshly shaven. Plus I could take my time with shaving, no need to rush in the morning.

 

[Sledgehammer39]

Its true, i'd typically shave every day but had a bad dose of flu and did'nt touch a razor for 3 days. Looking at the forest which felt of Amazonian proportions this morning i pulled out my Gillette Fat Boy, put in a new Feather blade which i rarely use and dialled that thing up to 9, a splash of Pen's BB.......BBS.

So my question is, letting the hair follicles grow somewhat seems to make the beard softer which could explain why a lot of guys i know don't shave every day?

I shave everyday but there are times that I let the beard go a few days and the following shave is really awesome.

 

[Bulging_Biceps]

Same here, beard growth is not too fast so I can shave every other day. I was never able to shave daily with cartridges, had so much razor burn, that I just got used to this schedule. Because of cartridges I also became a night shaver. You can sleep off all that razor burn! Beard growth is even slower while you sleep, so I would wake up with only slight razor burn and looking freshly shaven. Plus I could take my time with shaving, no need to rush in the morning.

I always shave right before I go to bed because I never have time in the morning. I'm always rushed in the morning and shaving at night saves me precious time.

 

[wsfarrell]

I've noticed for years that the longer the beard (within reason), the easier the shave. Dermal recovery may account for the lack of irritation, but I don't think it accounts for the closeness. My guess is that hairs that might be just a little bit short on Day 1 can escape the razor. By Day 3, everything is long enough to be mowed down.

 

[chadb97]

I'm in the same boat as most of you. I usually don't shave on the weekends, and my Monday morning shave is BBS after a 3-pass shave. Simply fantastic...super smooth and no trace of any redness on my face. However, if I tried that same 3-pass shave on Tuesday morning I'd have a bit of irritation on my neck. So I do my 3 pass shave (wtg, xtg, atg) on Monday and Friday, then just a 2 pass shave (2 wtg passes) on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. My Friday shave isn't quite as good as my Monday shave, but darn close.

 

[TenorClef]

I've noticed for years that the longer the beard (within reason), the easier the shave. Dermal recovery may account for the lack of irritation, but I don't think it accounts for the closeness. My guess is that hairs that might be just a little bit short on Day 1 can escape the razor. By Day 3, everything is long enough to be mowed down.

This makes sense to me and sounds like you may have hit the nail on the head here!

 

[global_dev]

I've noticed for years that the longer the beard (within reason), the easier the shave. Dermal recovery may account for the lack of irritation, but I don't think it accounts for the closeness. My guess is that hairs that might be just a little bit short on Day 1 can escape the razor. By Day 3, everything is long enough to be mowed down.

I am guessing I must be using a different logic. Assuming your shaves, in technique, are consistent in closeness, hairs that are too short don't interfere with the blade. theoretically hairs that are too short on day 1 "escaping" the blade are cut to that same length of "too short", still "escaping" the blade (just above the skin line) and would still be an issue in the moments after you shave. in that moment, theoretically all the hairs on your face are at similar lengths. maybe some may grow more slowly, but it would only be apparent many hours after the shave as all the hairs, regardless of growth rate, which is when you might need to think about starting to shave again... maybe I am guessing wrong and your technique and angles were spot on.. but you only think I guessed wrong! That's what's so funny! I switched razors when your back was turned! Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia" - but only slightly less well-known is this: "Never go against a B&B'er when death is on the line"!

 

[global_dev]

sorry for my off humor..my analysis was getting over the top and it reminded me of my resistance to iocaine ..

 

[Goggles]

I've noticed for years that the longer the beard (within reason), the easier the shave. Dermal recovery may account for the lack of irritation, but I don't think it accounts for the closeness. My guess is that hairs that might be just a little bit short on Day 1 can escape the razor. By Day 3, everything is long enough to be mowed down.

+1 on quote above. i believe longer hairs stand up more after a good prep, and thus are easier to shave.