Phase in the shaving journey

[Dog Whiskerer]

I've gone from daily shaver to this:

And shaving implements have gone from tools to decor...

Oh, I still shave. But not with the same engagement. The nice Edwin Jagger Mach 3 my wife got me for Christmas works admirably after my most beat up Fatboy mows down the rough.

Deliberation over what to use is non-existent.

I've shaved with a disposable.

It's a lot of things. Hybrid work schedule since 2020. Nearing retirement. A new coming of age experience. Old age. Time to settle into comfortable habits and explore new interests.

This is a process.

 

[MrSpeedy]

I get where you are coming from. After I first joined B&B I was all about always getting a great shave, making sure it was as close as possible. I discovered that I could do a three-pass shave every other day. Recently though, I have only been doing a one-pass shave.

It started over the summer (I'm a teacher, so don't need to be clean shaven all the time during the summer). I would do a one-pass shave every few days, just to mow down the scruff. I realized I liked how I looked after that single pass, as well as how quick and easy it is. So I kept doing it. Now I do a one-pass shave every other day, and it's a SAS. Good enough for me.

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

Recently though, I have only been doing a one-pass shave.

I can probably attribute my long and mostly discomfort-free, two score years of shaving to early adoption of not chasing BBS. I had the growth that required multiple passes for what I considered close. But rarely was close needed. Once a member here, I turned to technique and reached the ability to consistently reach DFS. A good two-pass shave technique works for a fair (good enough for the weekend ) one-pass shave. So I do a lot of those when time is a factor.

I celebrate the effortless DFS and always regret when I think that BBS is worth the effort.

 

[Wgg2017]

I celebrate the effortless DFS and always regret when I think that BBS is worth the effort.

I very much agree with this sentiment. I've got a couple spots that won't tolerate a bbs shave. I figured out early on not to chase bbs in those areas. Over the years I've learned how to get dfs, but if I run my fingers over the trouble spots atg after a shave it's clearly not bbs even though it looks as though it is.

Life lesson: bbs isn't for everyone.

 

[amateur]

In my opinion, such stubble looks very sloppy. I shave every day and would feel uncomfortable with a face like that.
This is my personal opinion. And I'm not imposing it on anyone.

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

In my opinion, such stubble looks very sloppy. I shave every day and would feel uncomfortable with a face like that.

I agree, sir! Sloppy and uncomfortable. If I can last another week it will be a beard, or the start of one, and a whole nother journey.

Mrs. Whiskerer's opinion is that I look like a bum.

 

[Lord NSIC]

Back in '07 when I worked on the South-Side, I used to leave home clean-shaven and would have the beginnings of a Van Dyke by the time I got to work; if I tried that now, I'd have a full beard by Willoughby Spit....

 

[EclipseRedRing]

Slightly getting off the point but I am in my late 50s and have worked at home since 2020 when my office was closed during the covid pandemic. I resolved right at the start that I should maintain or even improve my physical standards, including grooming, nutrition, and exercise. I am convinced that, for me, were I to allow any deterioration in my physical standards, a corresponding deterioration in my mental health would surely follow. Pretty soon I would find that I had not showered, gotten dressed, or eaten a proper cooked meal in weeks; I would soon find myself in a rut which I fear would be terminal. For me, shaving is literally good for my health.

 

[BigJ]

I shave daily because I enjoy the experience and LOTH prefers me clean-shaven. Works for me!!

 

[Tinmantoo]

I shave daily because I enjoy the experience and LOTH prefers me clean-shaven. Works for me!!

Happy wife, happy life...................

 

[Hopalong]

I'm finding myself in the same boat. Not because I want to, but because since cataract surgery I can't see close up without glasses. Too many mistakes around my mouth and nose. Either cut myself, or get too cautious and miss spots. Ever notice how many old guys have a beard or goatee? I'm convinced they can't see either. So, I'm growing a beard. Don't know if I'll be able to keep it or not. Now I'm having the same problem with lining it up. Thinking of going to the barber to have him do it, and maybe I can follow it. No way am I having a wild beard.

 

[Old Hippie]

We used to call that the "Yasser Arafat stage" of growing a beard.

I get it. I last went through that stage in 1992, when I started growing a beard because I had a systemic case of poison oak and couldn't shave. Just kept it after that. It's been long and short but never completely gone since.

And I understand the whole life changes thing. I also have the freedom to get up in the morning and decide not to shave that day for some reason. At the same time, I have an appreciation for routines so I actually feel better if I stay on a regular schedule. That can verge on obsession, so sometimes I'll take a break just to annoy myself.

O.H.

 

[Lord NSIC]

Slightly getting off the point but I am in my late 50s and have worked at home since 2020 when my office was closed during the covid pandemic. I resolved right at the start that I should maintain or even improve my physical standards, including grooming, nutrition, and exercise. I am convinced that, for me, were I to allow any deterioration in my physical standards, a corresponding deterioration in my mental health would surely follow. Pretty soon I would find that I had not showered, gotten dressed, or eaten a proper cooked meal in weeks; I would soon find myself in a rut which I fear would be terminal. For me, shaving is literally good for my health.

I'd say that it's the shaving equivalent of the "Broken Windows Theory," concept, however just uttering the name often results in non-productive hot-button rhetoric filled arguments. Like a car, lose a hubcap, replace it because acceptance/tolerance of small degradations become cumulative over time; like a cartoon snowball rolling down hill and triggering an avalanche...

 

[dotKomo]

Slightly getting off the point but I am in my late 50s and have worked at home since 2020 when my office was closed during the covid pandemic. I resolved right at the start that I should maintain or even improve my physical standards, including grooming, nutrition, and exercise. I am convinced that, for me, were I to allow any deterioration in my physical standards, a corresponding deterioration in my mental health would surely follow. Pretty soon I would find that I had not showered, gotten dressed, or eaten a proper cooked meal in weeks; I would soon find myself in a rut which I fear would be terminal. For me, shaving is literally good for my health.

I like this attitude. I will be retiring at the end of the year but want to take that same philosophy - shaving being one component. I see people I know that are in retirement and they are unshaven, dressed sloppy, unkempt hair, etc.

The older I get, the more important that gets.

 

[Frank Shaves]

Good for you!

For decades, I shaved every workday morning. Just before the pandemic, I noticed that many younger men do not shave daily and I started to do things like shave on a Monday morning then on the Tuesday evening. And, then, the pandemic happened.

Mixing it up can be a good thing!

 

[zifnab]

I started in last year and I've decided to simplify.

The hobby is awful. The constant new scents, new bases, new razors etc.

2024, I'm shaving with MdC soaps, using unscented aftershave, maybe some solid colognes on occasions. I'm reduced to 2 razors, Overlander/Apex. That's it. I'm astonished so many people spend 10-30 minutes just lathering their soap with their $450 brush. I spend at most maybe 30-45 seconds lathering and get on with my day.

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

I broke my leg in 2018 and grew a beard because I couldn't stand in front of the mirror and I was home on rehab anyway.

I couldn't get back to shaving fast enough, and with renewed passion.

This time, with the goatee, I'm still able to enjoy the act of shaving. Just a tad less obsessive, perhaps.

 

[Wgg2017]

I started in last year and I've decided to simplify.

The hobby is awful. The constant new scents, new bases, new razors etc.

2024, I'm shaving with MdC soaps, using unscented aftershave, maybe some solid colognes on occasions. I'm reduced to 2 razors, Overlander/Apex. That's it. I'm astonished so many people spend 10-30 minutes just lathering their soap with their $450 brush. I spend at most maybe 30-45 seconds lathering and get on with my day.

First of all, no hobby is awful. A hobby is, by definition, a pleasant activity one enjoys in their liesure time. Shaving can be a hobby for some, while not for others. Just like knitting is a hobby for some, but I certainly wouldn't find it enjoyable.

Second, be very thankful you didn't fall down any of the rabbit holes that so many of us have succumbed to. You will never know the highs and lows of RAD, SAD, or BAD.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I spend at most maybe 30-45 seconds lathering and get on with my day.

Congratulations, for some people having a shave is getting on with their day.

 

[Lane101]

I've always shaved an average of 6 days a week since my first shave. I just look better clean shaven and like it that way. Found taking one day off each week resulted in better long term skin comfort regardless of what I shaved with, electric or DE.