Tonight's shave had me ponder this!
First I need to emphasize that my typical shave routine is a 2 pass WTG/XTG. I don't ever do ATG and don't aim for BBS.
I usually shave at night and very content with a DFS that lasts through my entire workday.
Since the beginning of my shaving journey, I've focused (from reading here on B&B) on mapping my growth, WTG, XTG, ATG, blah, blah...
And that's what I've done! That's why I've stuck to my shave routine as described above. And it's worked well for me!
But I discovered something:
If I shave by doing 2 passes in the same direction (north to south), I get very good results. Good enough that it also lasts throughout the day.
This lets me "just shave" with the enjoyment of not overthinking WTG, XTG, mapping etc..
And of course, by using that method, I have no clue in what direction the whisker growth is and how the blade is cutting through it. What I definitely do know is that it's never cutting ATG! But the bottom line is the great shave that I end up with.
I don't always do it this way but I'm seeing myself doing it more often. Like I said, it's enjoyable to not have to think while shaving and the result is very good. I'm seriously considering to just do it this way all the time unless I need a more precise shave for a special event or something of the sort.
So does anyone always shave this way, or sometimes or never?
LRod
When I shaved with carts, I shaved as you describe: one or two passes, north to south, and done. I shaved daily for work, in the morning, and always achieved a socially acceptable shave and always looked clean.
When I started DE shaving, I never bothered to map my beard. I do three passes, what I would call WTG, XTG, and ATG, but the reality is that the passes are north-to-south, east-west, and south-north.
In the end I'm hitting my beard from every direction anyway, and it seems to work fine. Anything I miss gets a gentle touchup, usually with the residual lather and a bit of water.