What components contribute to good shave?

[DesertIguana]

Give me you list, see if you agree.

Skill/Technique.

Blades.

Tool/Razor.

Wetting beard with water, soap, or cream.

Was not sleeping much last night, mind was racing. Think shaving is sort of like sports, most skillfull player wins most of time,Tools or Clubs, Rackets, Bats, Sticks, only tune shill or tweet it.

Rather have Tiger Wood skill or game in his prime, then set of Club like Tigers, cause I would still be hack golfer.

 

[SalS]

All of the above points are irrelevant if your skin isn’t in good condition. Rough, bumpy and dry skin will always be more difficult to shave.

Start with the canvas first, then move on. The choice of razor, blade or cream/soap/gel becomes much less important.

And I will prove it to you, take a piece of clear glass and piece of frosted glass, put any cream on both and run your razor on it. What happens?

 

[Old Navy_1]

IMO.
My technique got better after a month with my "Lupo .95 SB.
Hot shower.
Pre-Shave Cream.
Warm shaving Scuttle, brush and razor.
Shave Cream Warm Lather (Scuttle).
Cold H2O rinse between passes.
Couple of spritz of Aftershave.

Voila! A DFS, or better.

b/r

ON_1

 

[Brutus]

Pre-shave routine
It does not have to be a time-consuming, complicated ritual or involve a pre-shave cream or oil, but for best results facial skin and hair need to be softened before the shave and need to absorb some water. (Have you ever noticed that after a long night of having drinks with friends the shave tends to be sub-par? That’s because alcohol dehydrates the skin.)

Razor
Due to the design of a safety razor head, you cannot get the ultimate BBS shave from a razor where blade exposure is negative (blade recessed). Positive or at least neutral blade exposure is required.

Blade
You need a blade that is sharp, smooth and keeps its edge.

Good shaving brush
A shaving brush does not have to be expensive for best results, but a quality shaving brush needs to take up enough shaving soap or cream, should evenly moisture facial skin and hair, generate a lather of the right consistency on the skin or in the shaving mug, and evenly distribute the lather. If it gives the face a gentle massage that would be a bonus.

Shaving soap or cream
A good shaving soap or cream needs to fulfil several functions: moisten facial skin, soften facial hair, provide lubrication and provide a cushion. IMO many shavers underestimate the contribution that a good shaving soap or cream can make. Interestingly, too much lubrication can be bad, as it can make holding the razor difficult.
While I can get a shave with lather made from bath soap (if I have to), it will always be sub-par because bath soap is optimised for a different requirement.


Technique
How do you hold the razor, is the angle and pressure correct?
How well do you know your face? Have you figured out how to best shave the various areas of you face?
For me, the ultimate pass should involve a combination of against the grain and some lateral movement (not everybody’s cup of tea, but that is what old Gillette recommended).


Post-shave Routine
A shave also exfoliates the facial skin. While the perfumery aspect is optional, some cream or balm will recondition the skin and contribute to a pleasant, smooth feel of your facial skin.



That’s my list, feel free to add more…


B.

 

[DesertIguana]

All of the above points are irrelevant if your skin isn’t in good condition. Rough, bumpy and dry skin will always be more difficult to shave.

Start with the canvas first, then move on. The choice of razor, blade or cream/soap/gel becomes much less important.

And I will prove it to you, take a piece of clear glass and piece of frosted glass, put any cream on both and run your razor on it. What happens?

I live in Desert best advice I got about getting skin in good shape was from intern Dermotoligist. She said drink water. One ounce minimum for each 2 pound of body weight.

Other drinks like Coffee, Alcohol, Beer, Tea do not count.

My skin is old, I worked out door a lot, Surfed as kid no wet suit. Sun damages skin.

 

[BigJ]

For me technique is the key! Second is the prep. Other aspects are of tertiary importance.

 

[Ckmaui]

I feel its a all in thing

FOR ME !
there is no ONE thing that stands out over anything else as that ONE thing can make another fail

for me it was just testing a ton and finding what works and still doing that and if I go back to say a blade that is not at the top the shave fails !

use a bad soap and fail for me no technique no prep can make up for that part going down

of course each piece is important so I just feel yeah master your face and technique that works and know your best soaps and razors and blades and of course YMMV where some are fine with any blade or any razor

and really sometimes I can see the fun of trying other things as not everyone needs wants the same thing and can see why some love to have lots of options

 

[Ckmaui]

I live in Desert best advice I got about getting skin in good shape was from intern Dermotoligist. She said drink water. One ounce minimum for each 2 pound of body weight.

Other drinks like Coffee, Alcohol, Beer, Tea do not count.

My skin is old, I worked out door a lot, Surfed as kid no wet suit. Sun damages skin.

59 yr old here taught scuba most my life
the other was time out in the sun for a Swedish by decent guy (red hair etc.) working on boats in the islands with no sunscreen I was insane dark and rarely wore a shirt but posted one with to save all your eyes ahahahahah but all of me was that dark

I was in shape ate good drank water but got out of shape after moving to mainland a while ago and 3+ yrs ago got back into insane shape and eat no sugars no breads no junk only drink water and had radical shift in my skin back to my youth !
the other day at the dentist the hygienist commented how she says I have the best skin out of any one that comes in and she cant believe my age

I do think a lot of it is what we put in our bodies or drink as you mentioned (skin is living) and I do think DE shaving has helped me get better skin on my face over other methods

me in my 30s

 

[know1special]

For me technique is the key! Second is the prep. Other aspects are of tertiary importance.

I don't often disagree with @BigJ but...

I've always felt that prep is of primary importance, technique following closely behind. My reasoning is that technique can be far harder to focus on, much less improve, if the prep is lacking.

In any case, both are massively important and perhaps the truth is somewhere in the middle.

 

[BigJ]

I don't often disagree with @BigJ but...

I've always felt that prep is of primary importance, technique following closely behind. My reasoning is that technique can be far harder to focus on, much less improve, if the prep is lacking.

In any case, both are massively important and perhaps the truth is somewhere in the middle.

At least we agree on the top two items (even if we order them differently)!!

 

[musicman1951]

It all matters. Like many things, the item that's most important to your shave might not be number one on every list.

Technique matters most because no matter how good your prep and products, bad technique produces bad results.

Good prep is pretty easy, but finding the right prep for your face/beard can take a bit of experimenting.

I suspect one of the more difficult (or expensive) things might be finding the perfect marriage of face/beard/razor and blade. Blades are cheap, but a big pile of razors might not be.

 

[sternej]

Of course all components matter but if I were to pick the top two they would be: 1) The Razor itself and 2) Technique

 

[OkieStubble]

Give me you list, see if you agree.

Skill/Technique.

Blades.

Tool/Razor.

Wetting beard with water, soap, or cream.

Was not sleeping much last night, mind was racing. Think shaving is sort of like sports, most skillfull player wins most of time,Tools or Clubs, Rackets, Bats, Sticks, only tune shill or tweet it.

Rather have Tiger Wood skill or game in his prime, then set of Club like Tigers, cause I would still be hack golfer.

This sounds pretty good. But I also gotta have a mirror.