Shaving Pass Progression

A while back someone posted a poll about what we did between passes.  Relather and go? Rinse and relather? Add water and relather?  And although my shaving is methodical and careful I failed to give that poll the time it deserved.  Been thinking on it ever since and though perhaps others would like to share the “why” of how the progress.
Me:  lather Long to make sure I get good shavable cream and prep my face fro a sharp blade.  Do my “with the grain” pass.  The lather will be at its most cushioning state during this pass.
2nd pass: Cross Grain. I add water to my cheeks and hit it with the brush and lather.  The moisture starts “thinning” the lather and making it less cushioning but slickness is still strong.
3rd pass: I add more water to my face and work the brush/lather onto the skin.  It’s thinned even more and cushion is all but gone.  Slickness is at its peak.  Light touch”against the grain” pass while feeling for spots that might need attention.  This pass is like a professional barber water-only pass and I get it close.

That’s what works best for me.  If I don’t thin the lather I don’t seem to get close enough to get close.  The thinned lather still protects but puts the blade Right on the deck.  

How do you get it done and why?

Between passes, I basically wet my face and re-face-lather (as opposed to paint the lather out of the brush). I feel the extra face-scrubbing/lathering is what my face needs. Light painting doesn't do anything for me, I might as well shave with a serrated steak knife.

good lather has no suds

I just wet my face and face-lather for both of my two passes plus touchups. .

Any method that works for you is good.

Some rinse their faces between passes; I do not. I just reapply lather and go. However, I generate my lather in a bowl. I normally add a little extra water to the bowl between passes to replace any that may have evaporated.

I have a tough beard and sensitive skin, so I prefer shaving multiple passes with a very light touch. I shave WTG, XTG, ATG and then do a fourth clean-up pass to remove any remaining stubble. To condition my sensitive skin, I apply lather a fifth time and allow it to remain on my skin while I clean up my gear. If you use a top tier soap, this will allow time for conditioning ingredients to soak into your skin. With some lesser quality soaps, however, I skip the "bonus" pass.