Achieving a BBS shave. Let's be honest.

[sternej]

There's been discussion about getting BBS shaves, Is that the goal, how to get it by using certain equipment, software (creams soaps, preshave routines lotions) techniques and water temperature etc. I do not use carts. I use an injector. I love the shaves. I don't chase BBS. I want to open this up for discussion. I'll begin with how I define BBS shave. For me it's realizing 30 minutes or even up to a few hrs post shave the when you touch you face you can't feel any grain of beard at all.. Zero. I have only ever achieved this in two ways: 1. A few times what I used some version of a Gillette Fusion5. One that vibrated a feature that I used one time and learned my lesson like a kid touching a hot stove.I don't think I felt any grain for hrs, but the five incredibly sharp and vibrating blades left me with micro cuts that didn't look irritated, or even bleed. But splashing cold water on my face burned like turpentine. My second experience was wet electric shaving Using a foil head razor and Edge gel (takes some time, it's a long shave for an electric standard). I doubt I'll ever go back to an electric, Just don't dig them anymore. My goal now is to just enjoy shaving and heat a damn comfortable shave and save my skin, which is better shape, less dry no irritation etc. Thoughts on this, or any comments I've made here? Are you chasing BBS? Don't care? Getting there? How?

 

[Sinnbad11]

I don't think I have ever achieved true bbs. I have always defined it as rubbing a cotton ball on my face and it catching nothing.

I can get pretty close but I have never chased a complete bbs.

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

I always feel stubble going against the grain. I learned my lesson long ago about chasing BBS.

So I don't.

 

[Ad Astra]

ATG comes at a price... Usually.


AA

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

My stubble grows back so fast, and certain parts of my face are so sensitive, that going after BBS is completely pointless and a waste of my time. I routinely get DFS results with no drama, so that's good enough for me. Prep and technique trump the rest, just my opinion of course.

 

[Wishoot]

BBS is BS IMO.

Feels great for about 5 minutes. Then my skin gets irritated and uncomfortable no matter what I use as an aftershave.

 

[KW Driver]

I can get it say, 85-90% of my face with straights. Just under my jawline doesn’t get it because of mapping and I’d need a third joint in my arm to get the angles. DE I can with some work and an aggressive razor. A Gem pretty easily.

I get it easily in the easy spots, and under my jaw it’s somewhat irritated after. I don’t chase it, and don’t need it over 100% of my face/neck. And I prefer straights. They’re 99% of my shaves. I’m good with what I get where I get it.

 

[Barbarossa]

I see BBS as something important to know that it’s there, that it exists, that it is achievable for you. It does come at a cost, but sometimes it’s worth it.

 

[WetShaveVet]

in 40+ years I have achieved a true, true BBS maybe 100 times. I can easily get a DFS to DFS+ and that is good enough. Sit back and enjoy the shave.

 

[Njguy1977]

If I can get a shave where I dont get a five o' clock shadow, thats a win in my book. Before I started using a DE monday thru friday, that would happen to me by noon. Since using straights on the weekend I can get closer then what a DE can do. Today tho, its 9pm now and I'm still BBS from shaving at 7am with a Boker King Cutter straight, so thats means the planets have aligned.

Larry

 

[CzechCzar]

I go for BBS every time and achieve it about 25% of the time.



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[Lightcs1776]

I seek a good shave, nothing more. If it is BBS, great. If not, that is OK too. A comfortable shave is a great shave.

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[Ruva]

I don't aim for a BBS shave, but sometimes I will get them. It doesn't matter to me, really. I shave WTG and ATG. Some parts of the face are easier to get BBS than others. My goal is to be clean shaven. Which happens with or without a BBS shave.

 

[Nidan]

I like to stretch out the days between shaves, sometimes as long as a week or more. If I get as close as I can to BBS, then I can go an extra day or two. So that’s what I go for. I guess I never really achieve achieve it 100%, since I limit my passes to 3 + touch ups. The right prep, razor, blade, lather, mood, etc and I get an irritation free shave that is about 90% BBS. I have to say that it’s only fairly recently that I can make this claim and I’ve been wet shaving nearly all my adult life.

 

[Atlantic59]

I think the goal is a close shave without irritation. BBS results happen sometimes, but it's not necessary. You have not "failed" if you did not get a BBS. The beard grows back in a few hours, it's just a question of how many hours.

 

[SharpieB]

I shave with, against and across the grain (3 passes) and then a 4th pass on my neck across the grain the other way. I get BBS maybe 10% of the time. Maybe closer to 5%. I never push it or do any “buffing”.

I know any more passes will just irritate me, so I have stuck to the same 3 1/2 passes for years.

 

[never-stop-learning]

My thoughts on BBS are well documented here on B&B. To reiterate:

• Old, gray, wiry beard.
• Very thick (especially my jawline, goatee and neck areas).
• Grows in chaotic and overlapping patterns.
• Grows really fast.

Chasing BBS with my beard is a frustrating and "irritating" pursuit.

Therefore, I do not do so.

Three passes + touch-up and it is what it is.

YMMV

 

[Eben Stone]

Before my first BBS shave it was my goal, every shave. I might have achieved a total of 2 or 3 BBS shaves. Now that I have passed that milestone in my technique it is no longer my goal every shave. Now my goal every shave is to get as close as possible with zero iritation. And by zero irritation I mean the alum block feels like a popsicle.

 

[FoolishMortal]

My thoughts on BBS are well documented here on B&B. To reiterate:

• Old, gray, wiry beard.
• Very thick (especially my jawline, goatee and neck areas).
• Grows in chaotic and overlapping patterns.
• Grows really fast.

Chasing BBS with my beard is a frustrating and "irritating" pursuit.

Therefore, I do not do so.

Three passes + touch-up and it is what it is.

YMMV

Totally agree.

 

[5whiskey]

I will say I get my cheeks and broad areas of my neck BBS most shaves… unless it’s time to send a straight back to the hone. And that is BBS enough to not catch lint from a cotton ball. I do not get a complete BBS shave. My chin and upper lip aren’t worth the risk to me. XTG passes get me 90% there anyway so I always stop at the XTG pass in those areas.

Some say it’s chasing a unicorn. It is not. It is very doable. Some say their one pass WTG shave is BBS. It is not.