Hello the forum, l.ongtime wet-shaver here. Have for years done a 3-pass routine. Well....The Beast (Muhle 41) arrived last month and a 2-pass shave is creeping into my shave routine!!!!! So...my ????? is, really, what is a DFS, and how does it compare to a BBS??? Hey...Thank-you-kindly. Semper-fi Mike
To me, a BBS is just what it says, Baby Bottom Smooth, meaning no feel of stubble, not matter where and which direction I Rub my face. A DFS is close, but I can detect just a little stubble, usually just when rubbing against the grain.
Norcalnewb summed it up. Only problem for me if if I do a 3 pass and get my face BBS, my hair grows so fast that I will have tons of bumps by noon. It doesn’t hurt but also don't look good either. So I typically do a 2 pass with a '57 red tip, but can still feel a little stubble on my neck against the grain, and a few tiny spots on my face. Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
Thanks guys. Kinda what I was thinking. Good to have other thots in the mix. I am thinking of switching to a BBS for Sunday-go-to-meetin' instead of every day. Kinda takes a toll on the 'Ole epidermis!!!!! Do a DFS the rest of the week. Take care an have a great day. Semper-fi Mike
DFS is what I shoot for (settle for?) on the majority of shaves. Chasing the BBS regularly is a good recipe for skin irritation— at least in my case. I'll save the BBS for 'special occasions'— weddings, bar mitzvahs, birthdays & bail hearings….
Yeah, Holyrollah, you wanna look prim & proper at them bail hearings!!!!! Hahahaha!!!!! Semper-fi Mike
Well said, perfect description. Your face feels different, better, almost indescribable when it's BBS. With DFS it's just a nice shave. I love my Ikon 102 and Merkur 39c because they are a 2-pass BBS almost every time. Most of the time it's 3 passes. HERM
Yup. Many folks would advise not chasing BBS at all; don't chase the baby. It's a sure way to wind up with irritation. Let the baby come to you. That said, I shoot for BBS every shave. But I know when to stop chasing.
Best advice I can give is let it grow a bit and map the direction of growth in each area, you'll be surprised and learn the most affective route for passes. Listen to everyone when they say don't chase the bbs just let the love, reign o'er you.
I smell what yer steppin' swarden43. I've BBS'd for years and really enjoyed it...without irritation. But, I've come to the conclusion, that a DFS is ALMOST as good at the end of the day. Like all the rest of the replies here, all is good. Able to sit-up an take nourishment, and a good shave....how's it get any better!!!!!!! After all these years of DEing, I still look forward to a new soap, cream or blade. Sometimes Mama gets a bit on edge when a new supply shows up, but hey...life is good. Semper-fi MIke
Every time I try to get a BBS shave I end up with a really irritated neck. No thanks, now I don't chase acronyms I just shave.
I used to go for a BBS shave when I was way younger and I still used disposables. It was always a recipe for disaster because I was bound to get nicks, tons of irritation, and maybe some ingrown hairs. The only way that I can achieve it is by going against the grain, but my skin simply can't handle that. Now I go for a mixture of closeness and comfort, but I don't ever aim for a BBS and I know that I will never achieve it ever again. That's fine by me because a few hours of baby bottom smooth skin isn't worth scraping extra layers of skin off of my already very sensitive face.
Most dermatologists and experienced, honest shavers recommend against ATG shaving. These Forums are loaded almost daily with whining about irritation, bumps, nicks and even serious cuts from guys doing ATG shaves. There is no reason for a BBS unless you spend your days rubbing your face against a baby's bottom; a BBS doesn't last long enough to make the risk of irritation and infection worth it and no one you meet that day cares a hoot about your BBS.
Subvet , I know yet right. Although, after many yaron of "irration-free-BBS's", ... the "fact-of-the-matter" is what your last line says, no one cares about your BBS, I'll add a tidbit, except ones-self. I did. But am now finding out that it ain't no thing, but a chicken-wing!!! As stated first, the BBS will be for the weekend!!!! Thanks for your service to our country. Semper-fi Mike
The phrase "chasing BBS" kind of implies a hit or miss process. So not being sure of how to obtain BBS, the shaver risks irritating the face. This phrase is commonly used and accepted; there's no wonder why so many guys feel it's not worth the effort. I contend, however, that the real problem is not having a clearly defined method of achieving the goal. To me, acheving BBS is the process of applying enough glide to the face to allow the shaver to use as many strokes necessary to remove all facial hair. Minimal pressure to the razor goes without saying. The real trick is finding the right product to provide the appropriate glide or slickness needed for multiple razor strokes. In my experience, lather doesn't cut it. Not if you want to consistently achieve BBS. Lather dries out too quickly and doesn't provide nearly enough protection. The face HAS to be continually slick. A product like Cremo Creme or Kiss My Face is preferable if BBS is the goal. Just for the record, I'm a "Johnny Come Lately" to wet shaving. I decided to try traditional shaving because it became imperative I learn how to remove ALL stubble because it would cause my fiance's face to break out. Settling for less than BBS was not an option. So I've taken quite a bit of time trying to understand exactly WHAT I'm doing as well as how to best achieve my desired result. My conclusion was this...it takes quite a few razor strokes to remove all of the stubble on one's face. But...and here's the kicker...I can't do the strokes required if I insist on using product that inherently limits the number of strokes I need to do. So I began using products like Cremo Creme that offers greater slickness and allows me to use enough strokes to allow me daily BBS without risk of razor burn or other irritations associated with over-shaving. So, for me, there's no chasing involved. There's simply the necessity of understanding exactly what I need to do to get BBS. Sent from my Z958 using Tapatalk
Chasing a BBS shave is like trying to shovel the driveway in a snowstorm. Both will lead to irritation.
When I need or want to be BBS and without irritation I know what I need to do. I now know what prep, software and tool will deliver. The caveat is technique needs to right too. The 'thirty day thread' helped me focus so now I can get the BBS when I want it.
I found breaking my face up into sections to lather helped keep the lather from drying out. I used to refer to my face as a baseball diamond with a left field, center field, right field, and infield. This was particularly helpful when learning straights, as I moved so slowly, my lather would consistently dry out before I could finish a pass. Some soaps have a tremendous residual slickness that is left after the lather is gone, if the wetness remains just as you noted.
Some men can shave BBS everyday with no issues at all, some men cannot. The real difference between a good clean DFS and a BBS is about 1-3 hours, after that the face feel will be almost identical but for many the DFS will feel better because of a lack of ATG irritation. I am one who has the skill to shave 3 passes with any razor to achieve a super smooth BBS, but, I suffer terribly from irritation and in grown when I go for a 3 pass BBS, my skin etc just cannot cope. On the other hand 2 WTG/XTG passes with my straight gives a very comfortable, very smooth irritation free DFS and the amazing bonus is my skin has never been better. I would contend that is a very pertinent piece of advice.