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Do You Go the Whole Nine Yards every single time?

I'm growing my mutton chops out and all I really need is to shave my cheeks and chin. The hair on my cheeks is really thin and takes barely any effort to take off with the straight. Should I always soak the boar hair brush in hot water, strop the blade twenty times, work up the shaving cream lather, fill up the shaving scuttle, put on the aftershave, strop on the linen side and then clean everything up every single time?

Another way of looking at it is what if you miss a spot? Do you go through this whole process every single time you shave?
 
I am clean shaven, and my whiskers are legendary tough.

So, yeah, I do go the whole nine every shave. However, I can well imagine it not being necessary in your situation as well.

I would absolutely soak the boar brush, everything I've read says that will help protect its longevity

Stropping, well, you can tell when the blade is less comfortable. If you're only doing light duty, you could probably get away with stropping between every other shave, instead of both before and after every shave.

Definitely lubricate your skin with something. If you don't want to work up a lather, there are latherless creams like Cremo that you don't even need a brush for. Or gel in a can or somesuch. Just do lubricate your skin!

It's your face man, shave it like you feel it! Personally, I love the ritual of making the shave a self care experience, but heck, if I'm in a hurry and just need to look clean, I'll knock out a quick 1 passer with my EJ DE89 with some basic shower bar soap sorta sudsy on my face, and call it a day.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
I'm growing my mutton chops out and all I really need is to shave my cheeks and chin. The hair on my cheeks is really thin and takes barely any effort to take off with the straight. Should I always soak the boar hair brush in hot water, strop the blade twenty times, work up the shaving cream lather, fill up the shaving scuttle, put on the aftershave, strop on the linen side and then clean everything up every single time?

Another way of looking at it is what if you miss a spot? Do you go through this whole process every single time you shave?
I’m retired and not usually pressed for time so my opinion doesn’t count for much but my routine is to shower then I put hot water on my brush and let it sit for a minute while I decide on a razor. Re-wet my brush and whip up lather, slap it on my face and do two passes and I’m done. The whole shaving process takes less than 15 minutes. I either strop just after my shave or before bed. Never before I shave. Don’t want to put a razor to my precious strop before I’m well awake. Shave takes about 10 minutes and 5 minutes messing around. About the same time as a DE. My Omega boar brush has had 10 years of daily use and none the worse for the wear. Actually it is much improved. I bought two more to break in. Another needless expenditure I suppose.
 
it is very rare that I have a quick shave. The last time was when I was running late for Lodge. Three quick passes with the DX and done.

Otherwise I do a full prep, four passes and half a pass to clean up.
 
If I want quick but very much acceptable, I still use a brush to whip up some lather and a quick 3 pass with my Rockwell 6c. Never fails me. 10 minutes.

I started with straights because my Rockwell was so predictably boring, I wanted to try something with a bit of challenge.

An SR shave is usually in the 20 minute range. I never hurry with a straight as things can go wrong quickly if in a hurry or not paying attention.

If a spot (usually on my neck) isnt quite smooth after a SR, a quick touch up with a DE only takes a few seconds.

Every shave is with brush and soap or cream though.
 
I have a fast growing beard and am clean shaven except for a mustache. Thus, when I shave, I try to get as close as I can without irritating my sensitive skin. That means following the entire process every time.
 
The minute it becomes work, is the second you start thinking maybe the cart in the shower wasn’t all that bad after all. Who cares what we think? If you’re thinking it’s too much work, mix it up. There is no rule saying you need to soak your boar. If it works fine without it, go for it. Or buy a synthetic. There’s all kinds of solutions.

For me, that solution would be a cream or a stick. You can hand lather a little and put it only where you need it. That and a Feather Artist Club. No maintenance needed. I did it that way for two years. Loved it.
 
The minute it becomes work, is the second you start thinking maybe the cart in the shower wasn’t all that bad after all. Who cares what we think? If you’re thinking it’s too much work, mix it up. There is no rule saying you need to soak your boar. If it works fine without it, go for it. Or buy a synthetic. There’s all kinds of solutions.

Yes, definitely.

I've been head shaving for years with cartridges before making the transition to shavette / straight razor shaving. I nearly always find a spot afterwards where I could have gone closer, and I like to get BBS all over. With my dark hair and pale skin I can actually see spots that are less than BBS in a mirror after a few hours, and I don't like that ragged look.

What I do is apply a little moisturiser once I've finished, as well as sorting any razor burn this seems to help me find those non-BBS areas; I just re-shave over the moisturiser. By this point in the shave, the skin / stubble is warm and supple enough to tolerate this with no issues.
 
Being an early riser, my face has 7 hours of growth by noon. I may feel the stubble, but it is not that noticeable unless you are looking for it. So, yes, I need to pay attention more when I shave and do a quality job each time.
 
I'm growing my mutton chops out and all I really need is to shave my cheeks and chin. The hair on my cheeks is really thin and takes barely any effort to take off with the straight. Should I always soak the boar hair brush in hot water, strop the blade twenty times, work up the shaving cream lather, fill up the shaving scuttle, put on the aftershave, strop on the linen side and then clean everything up every single time?
No.

Another way of looking at it is what if you miss a spot? Do you go through this whole process every single time you shave?
No.

Experiment.

A few strops on the hand, dry shaving little bits, a quick rub of handsoap, face lather, cold shave, brushless, oil, cold water splash instead of aftershave. Safety razor or cart for mess-ups, time pressure or general inebriation.

Having a few razors stropped and ready means you can largely avoid stropping for few shaves.

I tend to shave every few weeks, sometimes every few days, and even then can't be bothered with the full works all the time....they've not banned me yet :)
 
No.


No.

Experiment.

A few strops on the hand, dry shaving little bits, a quick rub of handsoap, face lather, cold shave, brushless, oil, cold water splash instead of aftershave. Safety razor or cart for mess-ups, time pressure or general inebriation.

Having a few razors stropped and ready means you can largely avoid stropping for few shaves.

I tend to shave every few weeks, sometimes every few days, and even then can't be bothered with the full works all the time....they've not banned me yet :)

My son and son in law do the same. Corporations are better places to work now than 20 years ago, more tolerant and supportive of individualities. Plus, stubble is the style of manly looks.
 
I'm growing my mutton chops out and all I really need is to shave my cheeks and chin. The hair on my cheeks is really thin and takes barely any effort to take off with the straight. Should I always soak the boar hair brush in hot water, strop the blade twenty times, work up the shaving cream lather, fill up the shaving scuttle, put on the aftershave, strop on the linen side and then clean everything up every single time?

Another way of looking at it is what if you miss a spot? Do you go through this whole process every single time you shave?

Before I start putting things away,
I feel my face to make sure that I didn't miss a spot.
 
Soaking a boar brush before use is a good step, as dry bristles can and will break under stress. When in a hurry I use a synthetic boar.

The rest of the 9 yards is all up to you and what you want to achieve. Sometimes I plan 2-3 passes but end up doing one because it was good enough.

happy shaves
 
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