I used my Progress twice last week, Tuesday and Thursday, a 48-hour beard both times, keeping other variables constant such as pre-shave and soap. The only change was that I bumped the settings up from 3-2-1 on Tuesday to 4-3-2 on Thursday. The second proved to be one of the closest shaves without irritation that I've ever had. I once thought that upper level settings on my adjustables, the Slim and the Progress, would be a mistake for me. But the Progress was great at 4, and the Slim (which I used to start at 5 and now do 6) is as well.