Is a very smooth or BBS shave obtained when you feel extreme smoothness WTG or ATG? I am fairly new to DE and although my shave is very smooth WTG it is a bit stubbly ATG.
Not everybody can get a BBS, I can usually 3 passes and the odd touch-up, may take awhile finding a blade,razor and/or soap that helps you get a BBS for me its important to get a comfy shave, if its a BBS also then
Soph Gent, BBS to me means that I can rub my face and neck in any direction and not feel any stubble. As Steve said, the term belongs to you and what your definition of Baby Butt Smooth to You.
Just remember, there is nothing saying that you need to shoot for a 4 pass BBS. When I do more then two passes, I start getting irritation. Because of that, I rarely do more then a very nice two pass shave.
to me as well, which means I'll have to disagree with the "it is whatever it is to you" crowd. "BBS" is exactly what it says... you ever rubbed a baby's butt and felt how smooth it is, regardless of which direction you rub? It's smooth, all over. Can't feel anything else. That's BBS. If you rub and feel total smoothness in one direction but stubble in another direction, that's what I'd consider to be "DFS" - damn fine shave. And if you feel stubble regardless of which direction you rub, that's "NANDB" - "need a new damn blade"!
Smooth is smooth. Stubble is not. BBS by definition is complete smoothness as Jody mentioned above. What you have to do before defining what level your shave is, is to determine what your shave goal is. I'll tell you that if you try for BBS every shave that you'll not only be disappointed, but you might not be very presentable either. I can achieve a DFS regularly with zero irritation (which is the most important factor to me and my sensitive skin). Occasionally my DFS effort will transcend into a BBS result. Those days I just enjoy it, but I must consciously tell myself not to overdo it the next day trying to achieve the same thing. Shoot for a CCS (close, comfortable shave) and as your technique improves and you pinpoint which hardware/software combos are best for you, then you'll see a BBS soon enough. You may be even lucky enough to get them regularly. If so, then I'll be envious!
Sounds like my shave routine. The reason I'm of the "it is whatever it is to you" crowd is because I've heard much discussion over what is and what isn't. Just a battle I choose not to participate in.
I for one cannot achieve a BBS unless I go wtg, atg, and xtg, with considerable touching up, but it comes at too great a cost: razor burn and bumps. If I go wtg and xtg with only a few touchups, I get a DFS. If I go two passes wtg, I also get what I think to be a DFS, meaning, to me, its smooth rubbing my face downward, but still stubbly while going up. At a small distance, I'm not sure if one could tell unless you had a very heavy beard with dark hair. I've never been in the Military, but from what I've read here and from a buddy who was in the Navy for six years, I guess you can get "Busted" for not having a close enough shave. For a brief while I worked as a security officer and was supposed to be clean shaven for work, but was never inspected personally. For me, the fine whiskers under the nose and right under my lower lip and the culprits that get me from time to time.
BBS for me, without bringing babies into the discussion, means that after you shave, you can drag a cotton ball against the grain and no part of the cotton ball hangs up on a whisker.
First of all I have a very hard beard. During the work week, I'd say that usually I don't get BBS, because I only do 2 passes - my 1st pass is WTG, and the 2nd pass is ATG with a little XTG touching up. On Saturday and Sunday is when I take more time and I'll do a 3rd pass and do some extra touching up to make sure that I have a really stubble-free and true BBS shave. However: my beard growth is also fast and very dark colored, (although the gray is starting to show more and more) so the BBS look doesn't last as long as on somebody with lighter coloring.
Thanks to all for the replies. Great comments. I have to agree with the "if you feel no stubble in any direction than you have achieved a BBS". I had felt that this was the "true" meaning but wanted to verify for future questions/comments. But I especially like the comments regarding not trying to get a BBS every time. Since just getting back into 'the old style', I have been trying everyday to get a BBS and have been experiencing the burn & irritation that results from that quest. It's nice to hear verification that you just can't do that and that you are setting yourself up for trouble. As Brian and others have mentioned, a CCS and DFS is the way to go with the occasional BBS.
I think these two quotes sum it up very nicely. I don't usually get BBS, from a normal shave its usually DFS since there is always a spot or two that has a bit of stuble when you go against the grain. When I first started wet shaving, I tried to push every shave to get a BBS with sloppy technicque and too much pressure and ended up with lots of irritation and weepers. I backed off that kind of stuff, and reverted to two pass WTG and XTG passes only for awhile until my technicque improved and I was almost always getting a DFS. There is no rule saying every shave has to be BBS. Even my worst shaves wet shaving are better than my best shaves with goo and carts. Take your time and enjoy the process, the results will follow in time. I look forward to my shave every day now.
I agree with most of the others. BBS means BBS. If you can feel stubble it's not BBS. Since, with my uber tough beard, a true BBS takes wtg, xtg, atg, atg, HEAVY touch up ( including a log of buffing) I don't go for it a lot, and tend to stop at a 3 pass ccs.
For me. I get BBS after WTG then XTG on my face and WTG then ATG on my neck. Two passes does it. If I really want to make sure I am smooth and didnt miss a single hair for a super special event I will do another ATG pass over my whole face and neck.
