Ok, I see posts all the time talking about people's 3-pass BBS this, BBS that, 1-pass BBS here or there, blah blah blah... This thread is for all of you guys out there like me- that have yet to catch the baby! Come on in, grab a chair, and share... Surely there are more of you out there, right? I mean, it isn't just me, is it? Can't be, can it?!?!
Fear not, my good friend Spanish Car 1—you're not alone! Unless that particular baby's bottom happens to be slightly rough in patches, particularly when feeling against the grain. In that case, yes, I have experienced a BBS shave.
I've never gotten a BBS shave (since I stopped using cartridges). I can't shave ATG, so I always have a slight bit of roughness to my manly cheeks. On the flip side, I can shave twice a day. The closest I've been to BBS is when I use a straight razor.
Can't even get one with a cartridge and 10 passes. Slight exaggeration but not by much, 2 pass de is dfs most of the time
The line between BBS and irritation is very fine for me. I have gotten what I would call a BBS shave with several different razor/ blade combos- but it was a one time deal. The next shave gave me irritation and ingrowns. I could continue to tinker with blades and razors and fine tune my technique in the hopes of eventually arriving at BBS every shave. But you know what? No matter how close my morning shave, I need to do it again the next morning. And if I get irritation instead of BBS then I *can't* shave then next morning and I look horrible. So I do a single pass with buff ups to achieve a close enough shave every morning. It works for me.
You're not alone mate. I never got a BBS after I started DE and SE shaving in April. Used to get them with Gillette Fusion carts. At a price of strong irritation though.
My best friend (who I recently converted to traditional wetshaving) has a tougher beard than I do, (and that's tough!) and he is trying so hard to get BBS, but he would need to do a minimum of 6 passes and to go WTG, XTG, ATG twice in each direction. I don't even have to do so many passes.
BBS is fine if that's what's important in life to you. Personally I figure it's just gonna grow back anyway..so why force the issue...
Like many guys, there are only a few small areas of my face/neck that will tolerate ATG. If I push it I get discomfort and ingrown hairs so I have decided long ago that it's not worth it. I don't think I have ever gotten a pristine BBS. I can easily achieve BBS on my cheeks but there are a couple patches on my neck and jaw-line that just won't go. But I tend to only do 2-passes these days WTG & XTG and I can pop off a DFS with no trouble and I'm good with that. For me it's not worth wrecking my face or irritating my skin to push it further.
Yeah, I can get a DFS with 2 passes + touchups, but I just can't ever quite catch the baby. Not even on my cheeks. I am going to try getting a different razor and see if maybe something a bit more aggressive helps d the trick.
It isn't that it is important to me in life, just that I was wondering if I was really the only one that hadn't ever achieved it... Glad to see that I am not!
I would hope that I started life BBS... but since I started shaving, I doubt I ever perfectly achieved this feat. Nor am I inclined to push my luck. Even with the methods shared here and on other sites there is still a fine line between an excellent shave and irritation and in-growns. BBS lies in a mythical land within that fine line... at least for me. I don't push my luck and I get a great shave - but not BBS. Maybe for many of us BBS is really just Big BS.
a more aggressive razor worked for me. I upgraded until I hit one that was too much (open comb micromatic) and stepped back down to settle with my frankenrazor Gillette NEW and my open comb r89 (fatip).
Well, I too have yet to achieve the BBS shave with any of my DE's I get DFS easy, but it's always that against the grain rubbing under the jaw and around the adam's apple that gets me. Oh well, just gotta keep trying.
Honest 2 pass BBS . Yes. I've done it consistently with 2 razors. Gillette '04 1918 models and the Feather Artist open razor with a Proguard blade. The shaves are not aggressive , one pass WTG and one pass ATG. No burn, no scraps, just a nice clean shave. Yes, every time.
Grrrr, he waltzes into the Never Been BBS Clubhouse and spits on our floor! Just kidding, johnus! You know that deep down we wish we were you...
I really do like those two razors. Use them as a standard for the others I might buy. It's not only the shave but also the quality and balance of the Razors. Yes, it's hard being me. My daughter was in the play locally. I worked the sound for 4 weeks!! Still remember every song(;-(
BBS is achievable, but I do this for the comfort, so I really don't chase it, a DFS is good to go for me.. I have two spots on either side of the Adam's Apple that want to be difficult, so I have to decide if it is worth it to try.. My best razors for a true BBS shave are Japanese Kamisori, but the shave with them takes a bit more concentration...
With three blade and razor combinations, I can consistently get a baby bottom smooth shave with no irritation. That is three total out of 50 double edge blades used in three different razors. With one particular store brand of Trac II cartridges, now long discontinued, I also got consistently baby bottom smooth shaves. That is one particular cartridge in 30 years of shaving. The online traditional wetshaving scene is way too focused on baby bottom smooth shaves, sometimes to the exclusion of all else. At least it seems that way to me. While such shaves are a wonderful thing, it seems that many shavers unnecessarily endure discomfort in pursuit of this goal. Others, although getting great shaves, are discontent because their shaves are very smooth, but not baby bottom smooth. Sometimes good enough really is fine and dandy, and the great deal of extra effort needed to (hopefully) achieve absolute perfection not worth it in the long run. It all depends on each individual wetshaver and what he or she is looking for, and whether or not happiness and a baby bottom smooth shave are one and the same.
It's super easy to nick my adam's apple, even with a super mild razor, and then I bleed like a stuck pig. Even after years of shaving experience it's still a problem. yep. ymmv.