Can our age change hardware performance?

Same problem here.need more hot towel time.

I think the hardware stays the same...it's the way we wield it that needs dialling in.

I agree. We get used to using a particular razor or set of razors all the time. Getting back in the swing of things with a long unused razor can take a short time. That is true with many things, not just razors.

The majority of the general public who shave do not have this problem, as they use only one razor.

I’d be inclined to agree with the idea that technique may have changed. But today’s shave counters that argument. I typically use a Gillette New Deluxe with a GSB blade. Close comfortable and no weepers. This morning I used a Personna Platinum (Israel Red) instead of the GSB and the cheese grater/buzz saw comment is directly applicable. My face was a bloody mess. And come to think of it my previous Shave was with the same blade with the same result. Before that it was an amazing shave with the GSB. Clearly the blade is the issue, at least for me. So, for the OP something must have changed and it very well could be the blade or soap etc.

Clearly the blade is the issue, at least for me. So, for the OP something must have changed and it very well could be the blade or soap etc.

Lately it has become fashionable in some circles to blame every bad shave on technique. Blade didn't work well? It's your technique. Shave isn't always baby bottom smooth? It's your technique? Rained or snowed this morning? It's your technique. IMHO, it is an intellectually lazy argument.

While good shaving technique is essential, a good shave is not solely dependent on technique. In the case of razors and blades, most blades will work well in some razors, but less well in others. That is just the nature of razors and blades. Some shaving soaps rock, others suck. Water hardness seems to be a factor, so again it is a combination of factors that counts.

So how does all the his relate to age? The only way age would affect shaving results is if infirmity impaired technique to a significant degree. Otherwise, it might take a short time to get reacquainted with gear that has been unused for quite awhile, but not too terribly long.

[quote="MntnMan62" pid='259443' dateline='1555175227']

So how does all the his relate to age? The only way age would affect shaving results is if infirmity impaired technique to a significant degree.

That's simply not true. Decades ago Gillette sponsored studies looked at beard coarseness variability as it related to cutting power and found age to be a significant factor. You won't find me pulling the old man card to excuse a poor shave but there's no question as we get into our sunset years whiskers become more demanding of proper pre-shave attention.

That said , yeah , it's usually technique :-).



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Clearly the blade is the issue, at least for me.  So, for the OP something must have changed and it very well could be the blade or soap etc.

Lately it has become fashionable in some circles to blame every bad shave on technique.  Blade didn't work well?  It's your technique.  Shave isn't always baby bottom smooth?  It's your technique?  Rained or snowed this morning?  It's your technique.  IMHO, it is an intellectually lazy argument.

While good shaving technique is essential, a good shave is not solely dependent on technique.  In the case of razors and blades, most blades will work well in some razors, but less well in others.  That is just the nature of razors and blades.  Some shaving soaps rock, others suck.  Water hardness seems to be a factor, so again it is a combination of factors that counts.

So how does all the his relate to age?  The only way age would affect shaving results is if infirmity impaired technique to a significant degree.  Otherwise, it might take a short time to get reacquainted with gear that has been unused for quite awhile, but not too terribly long.

I agree to a degree that the first excuse for a bad Shave is technique. But it isn’t always. And my recent shaves with all things being identical other than blades proves that. In fact I’ve been trying to use Personna Israeli Reds for quite some time. And I have always drawn blood. Yet the GSB’s are undeniably the smoothest blades for me. That doesn’t mean that is true for everyone. Sure, there have been poor shaves that are directly attributable to my poor technique. As for most things in life, generalities resolve nothing.

[quote="MntnMan62" pid='259443' dateline='1555175227']

So how does all the his relate to age? The only way age would affect shaving results is if infirmity impaired technique to a significant degree.

That's simply not true. Decades ago Gillette sponsored studies looked at beard coarseness variability as it related to cutting power and found age to be a significant factor. You won't find me pulling the old man card to excuse a poor shave but there's no question as we get into our sunset years whiskers become more demanding of proper pre-shave attention.

That said , yeah , it's usually technique :-).



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Please cite the study to which you refer.

You are saying that the razor and blade combination is not a factor?

[quote="MntnMan62" pid='259443' dateline='1555175227']

So how does all the his relate to age? The only way age would affect shaving results is if infirmity impaired technique to a significant degree.

That's simply not true. Decades ago Gillette sponsored studies looked at beard coarseness variability as it related to cutting power and found age to be a significant factor. You won't find me pulling the old man card to excuse a poor shave but there's no question as we get into our sunset years whiskers become more demanding of proper pre-shave attention.

That said , yeah , it's usually technique :-).



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Please cite the study to which you refer.

You are saying that the razor and blade combination is not a factor?

Studies are referenced in a B&B Wiki , ill try and find a reference . It's pretty common knowledge friend. Grey hair is typically more lacking in oils that soften hair in younger individuals (and it's this brittleness that makes it seem coarser). Softer hair requires less cutting power, that's why we saturate our beard.

I didn't say razors and blades don't matter, only affirming that age does in many individuals.

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Studies are referenced in a B&B Wiki , ill try and find a reference . It's pretty common knowledge friend. Grey hair is typically more lacking in oils that soften hair in younger individuals (and it's this brittleness that makes it seem coarser). Softer hair requires less cutting power, that's why we saturate our beard.

I didn't say razors and blades don't matter, only affirming that age does in many individuals.

It will be interesting to see the Gillette study. I have not heard that before about gray hair. As for the ubiquitous common knowledge, it is often only common.

It will be interesting to see the Gillette study. I have not heard that before about gray hair. As for the ubiquitous common knowledge, it is often only common.

Clever.

Not the reference i was thinking of but another:

"If your beard hair is white, greying or red, curly, or coarse, allow more time for preliminary soaking to soften it. If it is dark, straight and fine, time spent preparing the beard can be shortened. This was confirmed in a four-year study made by Drs. Lester Hollander and El-bridge J. Casselman at the Mellon Institute, Pittsburgh., They showed that a sample of dark hair stretched (by softening) to 0.58% of its full length after soaking 20 seconds in water at 86°F. White hair in the same time stretched to only 0.10% of its full length."

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fu...cle/277849

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