BBS is a myth

That is interesting. Years ago I used to shave during the work week with an electric. Foil, rotary, I tried them all. While I could get a passable shave for work, closeness was directly proportional to razor burn, and yes I used a pre-shave (Williams 'Lectric shave). Basically, I hated shaving except for my Sunday morning wet shave that I would do with disposable single edge razors that I used to steal from my daughter's bag of them.

 

While there is a lot to be said for consistency and effectiveness of technique (angle, pressure, direction, lather, etc), all things being equal, it is amazing that one can pass something as sharp as a razorblade across the skin so many times and still find whisker growth that has not been cut.

 

"It seems counter-intuitive but weight-for-weight, a strand of human hair is comparable in strength to steel." -https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/hair-strength/

 

I am not.

 

Short answer the single pass BBS finish is a myth.

Longer answer multiple pass in different directions it is possible with a sharp enough blade and semi fine tuned razor.

 

I am crying right now. that was funny.

 

Tensile strength (maximum stress that a hair can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking) has nothing to do with how hard or easy hair is to cut. That's a different thing. People used to shave with sharpened rocks.

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Yup. Tensile strength is as you say, shear strength is how strong something is when one attempts to cut it.

 

Oh come now, you think a 13 year old with little or no facial hair shaving for the first time can't get BBS on 1 pass? See, there's always an exception for the sake of being argumentative. But I jest. I agree with your point.

I don't think anyone would argue with you there. Given the complexity of anatomical structure and hair growth there can be no easy way to BBS. You have to work at it, some more, some less. Therein also lies the potential for trouble. I find it very interesting that BBS is so often spoken of as something chased. An elusive quarry indeed. It sometimes fights back too.

 

I'll chase BBS to a point, thus one of the reasons I make three passes.
But:
1) I know my face
B) I know my hardware
Third) I know my technique
IV) I know when to stop the chase

 

Someday I hope to achieve that level of enlightenment. Until then, I am to suffer the sting of the styptic pencil.

 

There's your myth.

 

I have a tough spot on my right neck. The hair grows in the direction from my ear towards my Adam's apple. I am shaving that side with my non-dominant hand and a straight razor. I can never get the right approach angle to go truly against the grain with my left hand. I also have a tendon that rises up on that side when I stretch my face. I have tried some really weird hand positions and backward strokes that resulted in some nice gashes. Now I just touch up that section with an electric.

So much for BBS.

 

Someone can always take the 5th dentist that disagrees that Crest doesn't prevent cavities stance but the reality is on a single pass there is no tool currently that pulls the hair far enough out that when you cut it the hair will always stay below the skin line as it stretches and do it on a single pass. Besides your outlier 5th dentists, if one existed it would talked up to no ends on every shave site and you'd see 100's of copycat razors that do the same as it.

And to your second statement anyone can pull a blade across their face and cut hair, it takes hundreds if not more attempts of shaving to develop from that to it as a skill.

 

True...and yet the humble beard has managed to blunt every single tool man has thrown at it, including sharpened rocks.

 

Perhaps that is why modern shaving tech was invented? The angles I cannot achieve with my DE or SR I can quite easily achieve with my cartridge razor.

 

@Simon Smailus you make a valid point, in so far as there is no razor that is all things to all people. For every one who can get a great shave with a particular razor, there will be someone else who hates it.

 

The multi-blade cartridge razor was developed for two reasons: to give a reasonably close (but not long lasting) single pass shave; and to make Gillette's stock go up.

 

I have only been at this maybe a year. I picked up Wet Shaving during the pandemic. Thanks to having ZERO commute (teleworking), I had an extra hour in my day for goofing around with shaving. I was getting BBS shaves all the time from my trusty 1950 $1 Super-Speed. I didn't understand what the big deal was. Fast forward to last week when I tried a Wolfman Guerrilla... then I realized what a BBS really was! WOW what a difference! Closest shave I've ever had! No nicks, cuts, weepers, and it was amazingly smooth! It was quite an awakening when I splashed on my favorite aftershave splash. Holy Cow! I think I shaved off a couple layers of skin, too! That aftershave gave me the Home Alone experience after my BBS.

Now I realize the difference between a CCS/DFS and a BBS.
I'm saving BBSs with my Wolfman for special occasions... and I'll be prepared for the aftershave splash.
As an everyday razor the 1950 SuperSpeed and a middle-of-the-road blade will be just fine.

- Bax

 

Not sure I would quite agree with you. The tech involved in a cartridge razor is pretty amazing. As amazing as DE's were when they came on the market. I'd also argue about how close they shave. As good as any DE I've used.

As you'll hear everywhere on this forum, "Technique trumps tech". I've found that what I've learned 10 years DE and SR shaving has greatly improved the use of my cartridge.