What are you reaching for? Pre-shave, cream/soap, DE Razor and blade? For me it's T&H pre-shave oil, T&H Ultimate Comfort, and a Merkur 23C with a Feather or Iridium Super. Just curious about the thoughts of the general populace....
When you absolutely, positively have to have a BBS Shave....
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Merkur Slant, MWF/TOBS Superlather, stretching techniques. an extra pass for touch ups.
Either a Dorco blade or Bic Platinum Chrome. Seems that the blade is the biggest factor for me when shaving. These blades are generally regarded as bad, and yet, they are the most effective for me. Feathers also work great, but I seem to have the can't-fail BBS with these two in three passes and a touch-up.
Poraso Pre Shave, Momma Bear soap or Omega/Poraso cream or both, Gillette Rocket, Iridium Super(2-4x) or Astras, alum block, Thayers witch hazel astringent (citrus).
Yes, indeed.
But there's a bunch of other stuff to try too, tallow based soap for example.
Yes, indeed.
But there's a bunch of other stuff to try too, tallow based soap for example.
red personna, fat boy at 6, gentlemen's best signature series soap, thayers witch hazel, and either gentlmen's best "chilled" after shave or gentlemen's best aftershave milk.
For me, it would be...
my "pre shave" hot towel routine, Feathers in a aggressive Parker, Santa Maria Novella cream, and last but not least... a "splash" of Kouros....
my "pre shave" hot towel routine, Feathers in a aggressive Parker, Santa Maria Novella cream, and last but not least... a "splash" of Kouros....
This condition never exists for me.
I am happy with a DFS (damn fine shave), as my face won't tolerate an ATG pass.
I might be the only person pointing this out, but NOBODY except for yourself, and possibly your SO is ever going to know you have a BBS shave. The difference is not noticeable without actually feeling the face.
The average person you meet on the street doesn't spend large amounts of time studying your shave; if you have no visible patches of stubble, they will deem your shave to be adequate, and thus not dwell on it.
Proraso Pre shave cream, TOBS, Merkur Futur on 4 with a Feather.
2 passes WTG and XTG.
Finish with the alum block and Thayers Witch Hazel (alcohol free).
In fact I did it today. Sure does feel good.
Most of the time I don't have enough time in the morning to do this. I skip the two passes and settle for a DFS.
2 passes WTG and XTG.
Finish with the alum block and Thayers Witch Hazel (alcohol free).
In fact I did it today. Sure does feel good.
Most of the time I don't have enough time in the morning to do this. I skip the two passes and settle for a DFS.
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Tabac + scrub prep(I like to wash my face with Tabac and scrub with my boar brush then rinse), GEM Junior, stainless steel blade, Tabac again , followed by Alum and WH and a splash of AV whoa nelly!
Agreed. Some of my best looking shaves were not quite BBS.
That said, my go to combo is an HD with either a red Personna or a Super Max Platinum. I can usually get 95% BBS with this and the shaves look great.
Any DE with a reasonable blade would do the job for me at the moment as I have been getting by with ordinary shaves whilst learning to use my new straight. 
I agree that the difference between DFS and BBS is normally only noticeable to yourself and your significant other....... I certainly don't dwell on it.
I agree that the difference between DFS and BBS is normally only noticeable to yourself and your significant other....... I certainly don't dwell on it.
While I won't debate the merits of a DFS shave vs. a BBS shave, I have to disagree and claim that the difference can be noticeable.
When you have dark, dark, hair like I do, you can tell the difference visually. It's subtle, and one is not necessarily better looking than the other, but I can undoubtedly tell the difference on my face, and I can definitely tell the difference on my brother's face.
I agree that if you have lighter hair, you probably wouldn't be able to visually notice a difference.
And here's anecdotal story that illustrates how the closeness of your shave can affect people's perception of you: I teach a photography class to middle-high and high school aged students. I am 40 years old, but have a very youthful looking face with no wrinkles. My hair is salt and pepper, which gives my age away.
I've noticed over a span of time that when I go for BBS before classes (which, I kid you not, makes me look a good number of years younger than I am), the kids relate to me in a much more casual way, as if I were an older brother or a younger uncle. Since I started going BBS before classes, I've noticed that the kids and I have more fun in class.
Before I started DE wet shaving and had more of a shadow after shaves, the students would relate to me as more of a father-figure. That would be better for discipline, but class was a more serious and not nearly as jovial. It's as if the visual cue of noticeable facial hair vs. almost unoticeable facial hair triggers an unconscious association to "father-figure authority figure" vs. "older peer authority figure," respectively. I've thought about it a lot and I'm sure I'm not imagining it.
OK, so that's not a direct comparison of DFS to BBS, but it does, in my mind, show how appearance, which the quality of your facial hair is a part of, can affect the way others perceive you.
K.T.
When you have dark, dark, hair like I do, you can tell the difference visually. It's subtle, and one is not necessarily better looking than the other, but I can undoubtedly tell the difference on my face, and I can definitely tell the difference on my brother's face.
I agree that if you have lighter hair, you probably wouldn't be able to visually notice a difference.
And here's anecdotal story that illustrates how the closeness of your shave can affect people's perception of you: I teach a photography class to middle-high and high school aged students. I am 40 years old, but have a very youthful looking face with no wrinkles. My hair is salt and pepper, which gives my age away.
I've noticed over a span of time that when I go for BBS before classes (which, I kid you not, makes me look a good number of years younger than I am), the kids relate to me in a much more casual way, as if I were an older brother or a younger uncle. Since I started going BBS before classes, I've noticed that the kids and I have more fun in class.
Before I started DE wet shaving and had more of a shadow after shaves, the students would relate to me as more of a father-figure. That would be better for discipline, but class was a more serious and not nearly as jovial. It's as if the visual cue of noticeable facial hair vs. almost unoticeable facial hair triggers an unconscious association to "father-figure authority figure" vs. "older peer authority figure," respectively. I've thought about it a lot and I'm sure I'm not imagining it.
OK, so that's not a direct comparison of DFS to BBS, but it does, in my mind, show how appearance, which the quality of your facial hair is a part of, can affect the way others perceive you.
K.T.
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Well, if BBS is a must then I would condition my face with Proraso pre-shave cream after a hot shower and let it tingle. Then out comes my Truffit & Hill silvertip brush to mix up some My Time Bath & Body tallow based shaving cream to a nice thick, rich lather. My Merkur 39C Sledgehammer slant razor will be loaded up with a Gillette Bleue Extra NOS blade. After 3 passes, I will run an alum block over my face and massage on some Swiss made Pitralon aftershave.
Well for me it's a hot shower for pre shave then Speick shave cream and A Gillette Red Tip with a bluebird blade.
Wilkinson shave stick, BK4, fresh Personna74, '40s Aristocrat, Proraso ASB, Talc finish.
Best of the best.
-- John Gehman
Best of the best.
-- John Gehman
+1 That's reassuring to hear.
Well, that may be true immediately after the shave, but after a work day (10-12 hours after the shave), I and anybody with 20/20 vision can tell the difference; at least on me. I'm always amazed how long an ATG pass lasts compared to a DFS. Mind you, I _live_ at DFS, except for my chin, which requires and can handle ATG.
Steve
Tabac, Edwin Jagger Chatty, Feather - 4 passes: 2 WTG, 2 ATG, 1 touch-up.
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