Why are shaves after more growth (seemingly) better?

[Legacoid]

I've noted that when my routine gets disrupted and I have to wait longer than normal for my next shave (and thus have more growth), that next shave tends to feel particularly close. I've noted from various other posts that I'm not alone in this observation, and I'd like to hear some views on why a shave after heavier growth seems to result in a closer, cleaner result.

I've no doubt there's a psychological component to this; even if (for the sake of argument) we were somehow able to guarantee that each shave produces exactly the same physical result, there could still be a tendency to feel that a shave following heavier growth produces a cleaner result simply because the contrast between pre and post shave is more marked.

However, I really feel that there's more going on than that; that the result of shaving after heavier growth is often genuinely superior. If so, why could this be?

 

[GearNoir]

I think it’s largely psychological as you mention.

The only other things I can think of otherwise are that longer hairs enables better hysteresis the first pass, your skin has longer to normalize between shaves, and the beard is less new-growth.

 

[naughtilus]

I can't get super close shave unless I space it out for minimum of 48h. I don't think it has anything to do with the whiskers, I believe the regenerated and healed skin allows for pushing the envelope towards a closer irritation free shave. Exfoliating your skin daily isn't a healthy thing to do.

If your beard is light, skin is tough, you may get daily 2-pass BBS with a DE89 and Derby Extras, wondering what is this guy talking about. His technique must suck.

 

[John Rose]

I've no doubt there's a psychological component to this; even if (for the sake of argument) we were somehow able to guarantee that each shave produces exactly the same physical result, there could still be a tendency to feel that a shave following heavier growth produces a cleaner result simply because the contrast between pre and post shave is more marked.

I'm convinced that it's all psychological, because of the contrast.
It's certainly more enjoyable.

 

[stone and strop]

I think there is a sweet spot for everyone.
For me every other day is best.
It would not be worth it to shave every day for me as I get a very close shave each time so every other day the hair is not so long that I look too scruffy. The skin has rested and all is good.
If I let it go 4-5 days it is not as pleasant as every other - it just does not feel the same. Hair is much longer so the blade does not glide through the same way.
Find your sweet spot and enjoy.

 

[sneefy]

Daily just doesn't work for me.

I've found that as my whiskers grow they sort of lay in the skin of the follicle until they grow out for a couple days. So, I guess I have a strongly directional grain, primarily on the neck.

I need to scrub with a washcloth against the grain pretty well to get the hair standing out of the skin better or I get lots more irritation and that's a difficult scrub after only a day's growth. It's like velcro after only one day so I generally shave every other or even every 3 days.

So, through this process the hair is standing at attention better, out of the skin better, the shave is more comfortable, and therefore ends up being closer.

Plus my skin is pretty sensitive so every other day gives it more chance to recover from a shave.

 

[EL Alamein]

I've experienced this too. But I've also experienced it with a daily shave routine. I think it may be a combination of things like prep and all.

I think part of it may be psychological as stated above but I have wondered on occasion if some hairs on the beard grow slower than others. The slower growing hairs would have more matter to cut closer perhaps.

In the end who knows? Just enjoy what you can. For me I have to shave nearly every day so I enjoy it as much as I can.

Chris

 

[AshleyC]

No, I agree. A closer, more comfortable shave is possible at the 3 or 4 day mark than every day. It just is. And hang any nonsense explanations to the contrary.

 

[naughtilus]

Daily just doesn't work for me.

I've found that as my whiskers grow they sort of lay in the skin of the follicle until they grow out for a couple days. So, I guess I have a strongly directional grain, primarily on the neck.

I need to scrub with a washcloth against the grain pretty well to get the hair standing out of the skin better or I get lots more irritation and that's a difficult scrub after only a day's growth. It's like velcro after only one day so I generally shave every other or even every 3 days.

So, through this process the hair is standing at attention better, out of the skin better, the shave is more comfortable, and therefore ends up being closer.

Plus my skin is pretty sensitive so every other day gives it more chance to recover from a shave.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing that.

My main issue is under the chin where whiskers seem to lay more parallel to the skin.

 

[PreachTheWord]

My facial hair doesn't grow very fast. I remember earlier this year being sick for about week and couldn't shave. When I did, it was the smoothest shave I can remember having. I don't think that it is all in the mind, the longer I go without shaving the smoother my shave.

 

[andy_k]

When I shave daily I find that I am unable to go against the grain without irritation and I do notice the 5 o’clock shadow earlier in the day. However, when I shave every other day I’m irritation free and no 5 o’clock shadow.

 

[pbrmhl]

No, I agree. A closer, more comfortable shave is possible at the 3 or 4 day mark than every day. It just is. And hang any nonsense explanations to the contrary.

I shave every day, but skip a day a couple of days per month. I never go more than 48 hours between shaves.

In my experience, the daily shave is just as close as the 48-hour shave, but a bit less comfortable. My theory is that with 48 hours of rest, the skin is less sensitive. Simple as that, on my face.

 

[Legacoid]

Interesting seeing the replies so far. This makes a lot of sense to me:

I don't think it has anything to do with the whiskers, I believe the regenerated and healed skin allows for pushing the envelope towards a closer irritation free shave. Exfoliating your skin daily isn't a healthy thing to do.

I wouldn't even have to be consciously thinking "hmm skin's a tiny bit tender, let's not pursue every last bit of stubble" for it to hold me back a little. I also can't discount the idea that it's all psychological due the greater contrast between pre and post shave.

However as I thought about it some more I remembered another curious phenomenon that others may or may not relate to: if I shave straight away in the morning - literally pop out of bed, stagger to the shower and shave - I can come away with what genuinely appears to be a BBS result, but it'll barely last long enough for me to have breakfast, answer a few emails and walk the dogs. Seriously, it feels like my facial hair growth has a turbo mode that engages about 15 minutes after I've got up, but dies out by mid morning.

Now I don't really believe that the hairs are growing at triple speed during that period, but maybe something is happening that makes the hairs more tangible? Skin changes or something? Regardless, that's why I tend to put off my shave/shower a little bit, because doing so produces a longer lasting result. If circumstances force me to to have the shave even later, then it can push the shave fully outside of this curious "turbo" zone and maybe that's part of why the shave result seems better?

Anybody reading this is almost certainly thinking "wow.. this guy is weird and overthinking things way too much." And that's OK because my wife tells me the same thing almost every day

Anyway while surfing on this topic I did come across this paper by some P&G guys from 2016:
(PDF) The male beard hair and facial skin - Challenges for shaving

I'm sure many of you have already seen it, but it does have some interesting observations and is the closest thing I've seen to a pseudo-scientific statement of what we all know intuitively: when it comes to shaving, YMMV always applies.

BTW I'm not trying to solve a problem with any of these musings, it's just pure curiosity.

 

[Suhrim21]

I think it has to do with skin trauma. I cannot shave daily with a straight. I have to do every other day. If I'm using a safety SE or DE I can shave every day but on my neck I can only do ATG every other day. On my cheeks I get smooth skin every day. On my neck the second day WTG pass is not as close as first day. So I think it is all about skin trauma.

 

[BigJ]

I do a 3-pass shave daily and get good-to-great shaves most days.On the weekends or when traveling I may go a bit longer. I have also noticed that with longer whiskers my shaves can appear effortless.

Since the diameter of my hairs is the same, my best guess in that the difference is that my skin has had a bit more time to recover from the last shave! Either that or I may just miss feeling ‘clean cut!’

 

[Raven Koenes]

My shaves are better on days 4-5. I shave 5 days a week. The shave on day one may be slightly closer, but it is not as comfortable on day one with 72 hours of growth. By day five I'm always saddened the week is done. I don't shave on the weekends because my wife likes a little stubble.

 

[kingfisher]

I think it has to do with skin trauma. I cannot shave daily with a straight. I have to do every other day. If I'm using a safety SE or DE I can shave every day but on my neck I can only do ATG every other day. On my cheeks I get smooth skin every day. On my neck the second day WTG pass is not as close as first day. So I think it is all about skin trauma.

When I shaved with straights I actually felt that it was somewhat gentler on my skin than a DE. There were other reasons why I stopped using straights.

But because of my recollection of the straight being gentler, I am currently using a shavette for every other day shaving. Here again, I feel like if I do it right, the shavette (in my case, a Feather SS) is actually gentler. Something about the control I have over a naked blade, I think.