Thread: when to shave the hair growth?

pcdad,

If your whiskers are similar to mine:

1) 1 day growth - whiskers can scratch wood !
2) 2 day growth - ditto
3) 3 day growth - whiskers starting to morph from steel wire into hair
4) 4 day growth - whiskers fully morphed into hair, and are softer

So, after three (3) days, the whiskers put up less of a fight !
I have found that with a straight, unlike a DE, longer whiskers do not present any challenges or problems

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

+1 on Holli4's post, its really down to what your skin can take. When I was using a Mach 3 I only shaved twice a week as its all I could take.

Now, with a straight razor and much better prep and technique, I shave every day without problems.

If you get irritation or razor burn or something, you should give your skin a few days to recover before shaving again.

Good luck!

True - now it's mostly touch up. I'm not moved onto the chin yet, as I say, but other than how darn long it takes me to do the face prep and lather (which is of course related), I just go WTG and then XTG on the cheeks and WTG on the neck so far. A little WTG on the moustache and chin but no 2nd pass yet. That's it.

Phatman..

yea...that description sounds about right..even though I try my best to shave my chin..it still isn't that great yet..does it take time for my face to adjust to the blade or the angle(s) or both?

pcdad

I notice I tend to get a more comfortable shave (regardless of skin sensitivity) if I have a few day's growth. I think part of this might be the longer, thicker hair absorbs more water which would result in a better soap/cream synergy on the skin because there'd be a bit of extra cushion. This is not a scientific result rather an idea.

I think it has more to do with your face getting more rest between shaves than the hair being longer.

This is just a guess though....

Originally Posted by PhatMan

pcdad,

If your whiskers are similar to mine:

1) 1 day growth - whiskers can scratch wood !
2) 2 day growth - ditto
3) 3 day growth - whiskers starting to morph from steel wire into hair
4) 4 day growth - whiskers fully morphed into hair, and are softer

So, after three (3) days, the whiskers put up less of a fight !
I have found that with a straight, unlike a DE, longer whiskers do not present any challenges or problems

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

From what I've read this is because of the way a hair grows. Right after shaving (or when you have stubble) it's rather flat on top and is short. It's fairly wide compared to its height so it's stronger feeling. As it grows out it starts to taper in the end (like a triangular cone) so the hair is thinner at the end as well as the ratio of height to width increasing. The cone idea I've read about, the ratio idea I just came up with. It makes sense, though.

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

I think it has more to do with your face getting more rest between shaves than the hair being longer.

This is just a guess though....

That's why I said regardless of skin sensitivity. Imagine if you had no irritation at all either way you shaved (every week, every day, every hour). Would the longer hair be more comfortable? Why/why not? That's what I was talking about.