SMF

how long should a shave last?
i get 12-18 hrs. from my ej 89L or 24hrs from my progess. thing is, my ej gives an irritation free shave and no weepers. if i use a more aggressive razor i'll get a closer shave but at the expense of a little discomfort after the shave. so, should i be happy with the less close shave or should i expect a shave to last 24hrs.?

Gil I don't get anywhere near 24 hours on any shave - not matter what razor, soap or cream I use. If I shave at 7:00 in the morning I won't have any stubble until 9:00 or 10:00 that evening, and truthfully I don't feel that prickly the next morning, but stubble is for sure there.

Hmmm -- I have never really thought about how long I get out of a shave. There are several gents on this forum who are 2-a-day shavers -- Squire comes to mind --- but 1-a-day does me just fine. But then I also don't check my stubble situation throughout the day either. ymmv.

gil ..when i first joined smf i believe one of my first posts was the same as this one..

many whom posted in the thread said 6 to 8 hours before they could feel some signs of stubble starting..

i was kinda surprised because i thought most would say much longer..
anyway,,after all the reponces i felt pretty good about the lengh of time my shave lasts..which is normally in the 10 hour area..

i have had shaves that lasts 18 hrs or so,, i'm quite happy when my shaves last in the 10 to 12 hour area..

so your doing good,, actually rreal good,, i tend to be on the side of not as long lasting as you can get and not of any ill effects like weepers and etc etc..

marc

this question is a very much ymmv and not only depends on the quality of the shav, but also your beard and natural rate of hair growth, heck maybe even your diet!

Chris Moss has pointed out (in an old thread, not that long ago actually but I'm too lazy to search for it) that beard growth through the day can be very uneven, and specifically that a lot of men will have a short period of rapid beard growth in the early-to-mid-morning (specific time depends on the person). Shaving just after or just before that time would give the late-day impression of a better or worse quality shave, when in fact the shave was about the same in both cases.

notthesharpest im so glad you mentioned this about rapid beard growth at certain times of the day...

i have experienced that...maybe times after i wake up my beard feels still good and very little stubble, even though i may have not shaved for 18 or 20 hours.

then a couple of hours later i go thru the dr jeckle/mr hyde thing

now it all makes sense

marc

i guess it's not an issue if you shave in the morning. you can make it thru a work day and the evening. however, until recently i was shaving around 7pm and not shaving again for 24hrs. this was ok while i used the merkur razors. if i shave with the ej 89L i would need to shave again in the morning. the shave feels just as close right after shaving but obviously it's not as close. i was shaving in the evenings cause i wanted to savor the experience but now that i can wet shave with a de in a relatively short period of time without blood letting morning shaves are realistic.

Until the hair grows back

cadfael_tex wrote:Until the hair grows back

there's one in every crowd

You can skip a day and maybe this bum like look appears. 2 days and you are definatlely a moron as some girls think. For me one day is as long as i can take.

Jarmo

Even though it's not particularly visible, I have to shave every day or get a gnarly itch from the stubble that comes back in the mid-evening hours. My beard is not thick, but it grows quickly.

Most mornings I shave between 10:30 and noon. Whiskers are back within ten hours.

If I could grow a beard, I would. As much fun as shaving has now become I'd still rather not do it. Heresy, I know, but there you have it.

JarmoP wrote:You can skip a day and maybe this bum like look appears. 2 days and you are definatlely a moron as some girls think. For me one day is as long as i can take.

Jarmo

I need to move to Finland..sounds like the girls appreciate clean-shaved men more there. Trust me..here in US makes no difference, and maybe the more stubbly or have some weird beard the better off you are. Chicks here dig the crappy unkempt look as far as I can tell.

Gil, IMO, skin irritation, let alone weepers, are never acceptable. They are signs of a poorly done shave, or at the least, inappropriate kit ( for that individual ). They are way more unsightly than a wee bit of stubble appearing a couple of hours earlier.
Regards,
Gordon

I enjoy and look forward to the shaving process every morning, so I would be disappointed if I didn't have some whiskers that needed shaving.

There is a surge in beard growth about 8am, related to the surge in blood cortisol. Shave after this and the shave will seem fantastic, even the next morning. Shave after and welcome to the world of stubble. I know. I leave for work at 6.30am.

Chris

I also find that certain razors/blades will change the way the stubble feels. As an example:
A feather in my slant razor shaves me super close but the whiskers are sharper as they come in and if I run my hand across my face later in the day the first stubble is like sandpaper. Even though the world doesn't see anything I feel it and am more self conscious of it perhaps.
My straight razor shave whiskers come in "softer" but I suppose if measured with a micrometre would be longer at any given time after the shave compared to the DE.
If I go by looks then it doesn't matter as they both run out of gas later in the day if I want that smooth shaven look.
My ultimate test is the "kiss test" and the love of my life says she prefers kissing my straight razored face later in the day even if those whiskers are marginally more visible than those produced by a DE shave.

As Gordon told, we should always aim for a most gentle shave. Instead the of the closest and the longest lasting. I like to go gainst the grain with my DE but stay away from Feathers that are too sharp.

Our straight razor members have posted their experience and their words are valued much by me. Their razors are not sure as sharp as Feathers, but give them a good shave. Also the middle of the road DE blades can be more gentle that the sharpest ones.

With DE I have been lately using Super Iridiums, and though they are sharp, the stubble does not come back as sharp as with Feathers.

You should apply some alcohol containing AS after the shave to see if your shave was gentle enough. Feel free to apply some balm after if you want in winter times and watch if any red bumbs.

I personally cannot get any as close irritationless shaves with a cartridge razor as I can with a DE.

Jarmo

drmoss_ca wrote:There is a surge in beard growth about 8am, related to the surge in blood cortisol. Shave after this and the shave will seem fantastic, even the next morning. Shave after and welcome to the world of stubble. I know. I leave for work at 6.30am.

Chris

I've put this information to work recently in scheduling my daily shaving schedule, and it's turned out to be my single best technique for achieving smooth, long lasting shaves. Since I work from a home office, I'm able to head to the gym first thing in the morning for a workout, go home and work a bit, followed by a shave shortly after 8 a.m.

Late in the evening, my face remains smooth and stubble-free. My afternoon stubble now doesn't make an appearance until morning, just in time for my next shave.

Thanks for the great information, Chris.

Regards,

Well I only shave once a day but I must shave everyday. If I don't I fray my shirt collars in short order.