Are there different grades of BBS?

[JanVanDerVoort]

I was just wondering...

On the DE razor forum, plenty of people claim they got a BBS with so and so soap, razor, blade...
On the other hand, there are quite a number of claims that straight razors give a closer shave...
BBS is BBS. I believe that has nothing to do with YMMV. YMMV has to do with how you get to that result, not with the result itself.

So who's delusional? DE shavers or straight/shavette shavers? All BBS shaves are equal, but some are more equal than others???
Does a straight razor really give a more BBS shave?

 

[thombrogan]

All BBS shaves are equal, but some are more equal than others???

I believe that BBS feeling is usually due to having hair below the skin level. That’s not dependent on blade type so much as it is on stretching and/or flattening skin to reveal portions of subcutaneous whisker. It’s the edge knocking through the hair that counts, not the steel behind the edge or anything like that.

If you lightly run the pad of your thumb across some stubble, you’ll likely notice that it’s more apt to catch and slightly move the skin in the against grain direction. That demonstrates lifting whiskers closer to skin surface. It will also barely start bunching skin up ahead of where you touched. Together, those actions show why ATG is both so good at giving that BBS finish and also so easy for razor burn, nicks, cuts, weepers to occur.

In the DE forum, you’ll notice some people going from a 4-6 hour BBS to ones which last longer when they either change their prep or technique or get a shiny, new toy.

In the SR forum, you’ll notice functional a few people who’ve “seen the light” and are getting the best shaves of their lives — whether it’s from a shallower shaving angle, the carefulness that accompanies terror, or a justification of more expensive toys ebbs and flows — but you’ll see that everywhere with any shaving system change.

That’s my take on it and I promise I can and will be wrong.

 

[Brutus]

From most safety razors it is impossible to get what I consider a BBS shave.

It would take a safety razor with generous blade gap and positive blade exposure so that - just like with a straight razor - the edge of the blade is in direct contact with the skin.

Most safety razors have a slightly negative blade exposure, the blade is therefore not in direct contact with the skin and they cannot provide the kind of shave that I define as BBS.
There are some however (e.g. Tatararazors Masamune Nodachi, or Tatararazors Muramasa at one of the higher settings) that do have a positive blade exposure and they can provide outstanding results that closely match a straight razor shave.

What one considers BBS largely depends on one’s personal experience and is therefore highly subjective.
What I would have considered a BBS in my early shaving days (not sure whether that term then existed) I might barely call a DFS nowadays.

Fingertip and fingernail can provide a good tactile and aural feedback when lightly scratching the skin.
If I feel and hear the resistance of stubble, it just cannot be a BBS shave in my book.

But others may read from entirely different books, which is fine by me…


B.

 

[Hercule]

Only in as much as pertains to the ubiquitous adage YMMV. It's whatever you deem it to be, more or less.

 

[Phoenixkh]

YBBSMV

 

[Dapper Gent]

As far as who's delusional about the better shaving method, my answer to you is no one. What works best for you, and what makes you happy is the best method. I shave DE with great results, and have for a very long time. Most times I consider it BBS, sometimes not. Depends. Is a straight shave closer than a DE? Couldn't tell you from personal experience, never used a straight and I have no intention to experiment at this point in my life. I know people who use both and say they find no difference, so which one they use all depends on how they feel that day.
So, who's delusional? No one. Is one method more equal or more BBS than another? No.

My opinion.

 

[Hercule]

YBBSMV

Exactly.

I've long been of the opinion that a BBS shave is a myth. But that's based on my definition of it and the evidence (or lack thereof) I can feel on my face. The assumption is that it is typically defined as complete and utter smoothness of the skin with absolutely no feel of residual stubble regardless of the direction the face is rubbed. (Assuming also the well established facial hair of an adult to begin with.) From my nearly 45+ years of shaving, BBS such as defined is unobtainable. Regardless of how good of a shave I get, there are certain spots where I always can feel, against the grain, residual stubble under the surface - usually the two areas on either side of the chin. In the past I've driven myself crazy trying to get those areas - repeated passes in every-which direction, added pressure (!!!), dry shaving after the fact - but to no avail, and almost always with regrettable injury. (Actually the closest I've come, and I think I've actually achieved it, has been to go over those spots with an electric razor after wet shaving. Haven't done that in years though.) I have since received enlightenment from the shaving gods and I'm happy finish with a "good enough" and to try again next time. There won't be much difference in a few hours anyway.

 

[Ron R]

There might be different levels of BBS and what I have concluded that you can achieve BBS with a DFS++ by just using some balm, maybe cheating to some but a lot easier on the skin. I shave in the morning and most folks will be a little dehydrated and that is when I have a shave. If I have a close shave the last thing I apply is a dollop of CeraVe moisturizing lotion(Scentless so not to conflict with aftershave scent) and it will retain the moisture and being the hair follicle is deeper below the skin surface is sort of buried as the surface skin hydrates(expands) after a glass or 2 of water.
This picture is a old archived photo taken with my UBS microscope (400X) 3 years ago I took of a BBS that has sort of sunken follicles as shown. The DE razor cut the whiskers flush to the surface of the skin with a sharp blade, but why does the follicle's look sunken?
It proves my thought that 1 hr after a shave it looks like this photo and you have a DFS++>BBS shave IMO.
Not sure you have a BBS just use a cotton ball test, cotton will hang up on whiskers protruding.

Have some great shaves!

 

[wulfgar1976]

People seem to obsess about BBS. It's not good for my skin on a regular basis and requires harder work if I shave every day so I don't really worry about it. I doubt anyone can see the difference.

 

[JanVanDerVoort]

There won't be much difference in a few hours anyway.

So it is...

 

[Happy Jack]

I shave with DE razors. I can only get a BBS under my jawline and chin with an aggressive DE razor (Ikon Tek, Merkur Futur wide open, etc.). BBS to me is when I can't feel any stubble at all, in any direction. Sometimes I achieve that, often I just get very close (DFS).

Sometimes an electric razor can improve those stubborn areas, possibly because the rotating heads can catch hair growing in any direction. Often I just think "that's good enough", so long as I can't actually see any hairs still sticking out. I don't see much conflicting opinion in the previous comments.

 

[HazMat Shaver]

I can get BBS where no whiskers are felt by my fingers rubbing in any direction. It lasts about an hour+ with a DE. It might last as much as 3 or 4 hours when shaving with a straight razor. Is there a difference? In my opinion, no. A couple of hours doesn't matter. Be kind to your face!
If I'm going out on a special occasion I will shave before I go out. BBS is nice but not that important as even a DFS is good enough for me as these old gray whiskers are harder to see after a few hours anyway. I shave to my satisfaction. If I don't get it perfect it isn't going to matter anyways in a few hours.

 

[rbscebu]

I very rarely shave with a "safety" razor, almost exclusively with a straight razor, so it is hard for me to compare BBS results between the two. For me BBS is an area where I can't feel any whiskers in any direction.

With SR shaving, I consistently get most areas DFS (roughness can only be felt ATG) and some areas are BBS. I call this DFS+. I normally shave; WTG, XTG+ fool's pass and a second XTG in the opposite direction. The fool's pass is generally the only ATG shaving that I do.

If it was mostly areas of BBS with some DFS areas, I would call that BBS-. I doubt if many who claim a BBS shave result actually get that 100% over their whole face.

Does a SR shave closer than a "safety" razor? I don't know but I certainly very much enjoy my SR shaves more than any other method of shaving. It takes time to learn SR shaving but that is part of the enjoyment, learning and developing a new skill(s).

 

[Titleist]

I don't concern myself with BBS. I normally only conduct a (gasp!) two pass shave with my straights and call it good. For me, the satisfaction of completing another straight razor shave after teaching myself how to use a straight razor more than ten years ago is enough. I don't need a BBS shave result like I thought I did when I first started out.

I too use a little CereVe post shave and before I apply my aftershave splash.

 

[NorthernSoul]

BBS is BBS. I believe that has nothing to do with YMMV. YMMV has to do with how you get to that result, not with the result itself.

So who's delusional?...

There are different grades of BBS, if you want to call it that. How many hours does it take to feel stubble? A closer shave lasts longer.

BBS isn't really necessary to look presentable. It's more a perfectionistic obsession with some. Having a red, irritated face is not a good look, though, so to me the ideal is to get a close enough shave without irritation.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

I was just wondering...

On the DE razor forum, plenty of people claim they got a BBS with so and so soap, razor, blade...
On the other hand, there are quite a number of claims that straight razors give a closer shave...
BBS is BBS. I believe that has nothing to do with YMMV. YMMV has to do with how you get to that result, not with the result itself.

So who's delusional? DE shavers or straight/shavette shavers? All BBS shaves are equal, but some are more equal than others???
Does a straight razor really give a more BBS shave?
View attachment 1428177

I agree, BBS is BBS, its no unicorn dust. You either have a BBS or you don't, simple as that. But I won't get into straight razor talk cause I never used one, and have 0 plans of ever using one. I am happy enough using a DE razor, good enough for me.

Even as a beginner that I am, I have managed to give myself a BBS in some spots on my face, which was a miracle to me. Coming from the fact that I have primarily used cartridge razors and electric razors in the past, it blew my mind when I made my moostash area feel smooth as it was when I was a kid.

My skin hasn't felt that way in years, just saying lol. So ya, BBS, is BBS. You either have a BBS, or you don't. I've heard of DFS though. Some people on the forum agree that a DFS is good enough, no need for a BBS. But let me tell you, once you've given yourself a BBS, you become addicted to that, and wish to repeat it lol.

Speaking of which, guess what I need to do? I need to go shave! HAHA.

 

[silverlifter]

 

[Medivh]

BBS is just as controversial as pretty much anything else related to shaving. Some folks barely have any whiskers on their face and for them 2 pass shave is more than enough to achieve a BBS while others have to do a lot more than that and even then their faces still have a permanent black dots which they can't remove no matter how much they try.

My definiton of BBS is that when i'm done shaving, my face feels around 95% extremely smooth and the 5% is barely noticable mostly in some parts on my neck, chin and moustache. Since I have only one face equiped with one type of skin and whiskers, I can only imagine what others might consider as BBS, but if they feel like they have achieved one, then that's that matters.

There are other definitions like DFS (damn fine shave) and CCS (close, comfortable shave) and lots of folks are happy with them and they don't give a damn about BBS. Keep in mind that people back in the day when DE razors were popular and pretty much everyone was using one, the 3-4-10 pass shaves as well as BBS, DFS, CCS and many other things never existed back then and I bet most folks back then were doing one pass shaves with maybe a little bit of touch up and that's it.

Some folks are even rubbing cotton on their faces as a test if they've achieved a BBS or not. I'm not judging anyone and I really don't care what others are doing. If whatever they are doing it working, then good for them.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

“BBS” is just something that YouTube shavers shout after a shave to tell us how clever they are. It simply means they finished shaving. Even if you can still clearly see dark areas of stubble. Well done, them. Hurrah.

But, yes, we all have different definitions of BBS. I never use the term. Honestly it would be too embarrassing to ever say or type it. It would make me feel like a shaving nerd.

I guess I would define a “smooth” shave as being completely smooth when pressing on my face one hour after the shave. A “really good” shave for me is still completely smooth with pressure after at least 12 hours, and is completely free of any irritation after the shave. But then I don’t shave every day and a long-lasting, smooth, comfortable shave is what I am aiming for.

No baby’s bottom was ever as smooth as my best shaves. Babies bottoms are like sandpaper compared to the shaves I get from my best DE razors. Babies don’t know anything about shaving - always remember that.

Edit: I want to point out that I am not in the habit of stroking babies bottoms. I just know.

 

[NorthernSoul]