Experiment With Your Shaving Process

I get my best shaves when I deviate from common shaving processes. For example, the hobbyists three-pass shave -- with grain, then across grain, and finally against grain -- just doesn't work well for me. It's not aggressive enough in the first two passes and thereby leaves too much beard for the third pass. If I want a close shave (and if not, then why three passes in the first place?!?), I always have to do a fourth pass, which often gets irritating.

I have found that being more bold, not so worried about following the herd, and using a different shave process, this works much better for me. Of course, process is influenced by your choice of razor.

We're talkin' shaving process!

For example, this morning I chose my Parker Variant adjustable razor with a third-use Dorco ST-301 blade. The Variant has a neutral blade exposure at its mildest setting -- meaning that the blade edge is pretty much in (neither above nor below) the shave plane formed by the top cap and the safety bar. This means that even at its mildest setting, it has the potential to shave pretty closely.

So I set the razor to "1" (its mildest setting) and make my first pass in a direction that is largely between across and against grain. On my upper lip, I am a bit less aggressive and use stroke directions that are between with and across grain.

My second pass is directly against the grain except, again, on my upper lip, where it is between across and against the grain.

For my third pass, I dial the razor to "2" and repeat the stroke directions of the second pass. I may also shave my upper lip directly against the grain.

The result is often about as close a shave (almost baby smooth) as I can get without requiring treatment for nicks. 

What are your preferred shaving processes?

Happy shaving!