Two-Shave Rule

[GrooveDachshund]

I think YMMV so much on this because of the 'mileage' difference on faces.
I'm of Asian and Hawaiian descent in my mid twenties, so I have virtually no growth on my cheeks or neck. I'd say i have maybe 6 square inches of growth to shave.

On the other hand, some people have over 5 times that amount of area to shave.

The amount of hairs shaved per square inch also varies.

Also the thickness of each individual hair.

Then there's also the number of passes per shave.

Too many variables, so the only way is to try it for yourself.

 

[grampi]

some blades dont come alive until after the 2nd shave.

I haven't experienced that. For me, blades work best when they're new and it goes down from there....

 

[Rorschach69]

As a fairly new DE convert, 2~3 seems optimal to me presently. I have pushed to 5 or so but it seems like diminishing returns. The one Feather I have tried was GREAT but the 3rd shave was not so good.

 

[jgkeegan]

I use a DE 3-times, a SE 4-times. I think someone did a poll on this within the last 6-months.

--james

 

[touchdowntodd]

i go 2-3 shaves so far

for the wife, its 1 shave pits and legs, toss the blade

 

[brigance]

I'm finding it's different for each brand, but two has been a good rule for me. Derby's are a solid two, while Gillette Yellow's can go for four or five - and Merkur's, etc. are somewhere in between.

 

[kingfisher]

I have a combination of bad things: 1) I'm getting older, 2) about half my facial hairs are gray (which makes them much tougher), 3) I have thick beard growth almost everywhere on my face and neck, 4) my beard grows really fast.

I solve this problem by shaving every day. I find that if I can get one good shave with a particular kind of blade, I can certainly get two. Most blades will give me three.

I don't notice the problem until AFTER the shave is completed; i.e., no tugging during the shave, but irritation after the shave is the rule for me.

Therefore, I shave, AT MOST, three times with any blade, and then I toss it into the bin.

 

[mr. s]

I used to toss after 2 or 3, but I found that as my technique became finely tuned, and when I found the right combinations of blades and razors, they just started lasting longer.
I also started getting quicker, closer shaves.

 

[woodfluter]

I used to toss after 2 or 3, but I found that as my technique became finely tuned, and when I found the right combinations of blades and razors, they just started lasting longer.
I also started getting quicker, closer shaves.

I found the same thing.

I just completed runs with two Feather blades in a 1934 Aristocrat. Each gave 8 very good shaves with quality starting to drop off at number 9. I was never getting anywhere near that before, pretty much in line with others' reported 3 good shaves and out.

Too many variables to figure it out yet - because technique probably improved over time and I've gotten more obsessive about cleaning and drying blades after recent TTO acquisitions. But I'm now repeating this with a New Improved razor, to see whether it's related to blade and razor combination.

But here's what I'm wondering.
A number here have said they know the blade is going bad due to irritation.
That was an indicator for me before, but not now.

I found that I was unconsciously increasing pressure to compensate for slightly less than optimal angle and other factors. (Autopilot sez: Not cutting well? Push harder!) After I put a lot of effort into thinking about this, no more razor burn. I know it's time to toss when it takes more strokes to cut effectively, or the blade starts to pull a bit on hairs. But no burn.

Not entirely sure what all that means...but anyhow...