How Many Passes Do You Take?

I've never been able to go ATG on my neck either.  The whiskers grow so flat against the skin on my neck that I suspect that if I shave ATG, it actually ends up cutting below the surface of the skin.  Honestly, if the whiskers aren't left a little above the skin, they tend to grow right into the skin.

On the positive side, I still enjoy traditional wet shaving way better than carts and canned foam.  And, I've been able to control any irritation and ingrowns much better now.  I used to think that irritation and ingrown hairs were just a part of life.

Yeah, same here! Mine definitely grow flat. There's one area of my neck in particular that just always seems to get ingrowns or razor bumps. I've tried to tackle it in a number of ways and just haven't figured it out yet. I'm following the direction. I couldn't imagine going ATG in that area.

Thats unfortunate, have you tried making regular use of an alum block in your post shave rinse?  I find it helps with general irritation. I used to get ingrowns but now its a rare occurrence.  I used the alum block for the first year or two of wet shaving but now I only use it if I have a rough shave.

I did use one for quite a while and stopped as I felt it might have been adding to the irritation. I moved on to using Thayers Alcohol Free Witchhazel but I could always try going back to it.

It's a good subject and worth repeating again and again. My whiskers have medium coarseness and aren't too thick. My facial skin can handle three passes with the exception of my chin which can only tolerate two (WTG and ATG). That usually gets me a BBS everywhere but that chin. I prefer the slight stubble left there to the burn I'd get if I insisted on a third pass.

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... have you tried making regular use of an alum block in your post shave rinse?  I find it helps with general irritation. I used to get ingrowns but now its a rare occurrence.  I used the alum block for the first year or two of wet shaving but now I only use it if I have a rough shave.

I did use one for quite a while and stopped as I felt it might have been adding to the irritation. I moved on to using Thayers Alcohol Free Witchhazel but I could always try going back to it.

I use an alum block for the feedback, astringency, and antisepsis it provides, but not to relieve irritation.  A much more experienced shaver than me ( dfoulk ) - one whose recommendations have served me well - suggested The Cool Fix.  I have what sounds like the same neck issues, and the Cool Fix is as good as it gets for me - not quite what I would call a "magic bullet", but as close as I have found so far.

PS A little goes a long way, and it only needs to be applied once or maybe twice (at least for me).

I use an alum block for the feedback, astringency, and antisepsis it provides, but not to relieve irritation.  A much more experienced shaver than me ( dfoulk ) - one whose recommendations have served me well - suggested The Cool Fix.  I have what sounds like the same neck issues, and the Cool Fix is as good as it gets for me - not quite what I would call a "magic bullet", but as close as I have found so far.

PS  A little goes a long way, and it only needs to be applied once or maybe twice (at least for me).

I've actually got three bottles of this! I find it does help calm down irritation a fair amount. I tend to switch between it and Tend Skin as I'm getting a fair few ingrowns in a certain spot of my neck. It's great stuff but I suppose I wish I could eliminate or minimise the irritation altogether.

3 passes with a small touch up

Might be worth knowing what razors are being used to achieve the stated results or if it matters. I know my shaves have gotten far more efficient after getting a Gillette New Short Comb. Still 3 passes with touch up, but far less touch up and missed spots than I was getting using my Fatips or R89.

3 passes for dfs. I no longer chase bbs so no touch ups for me

Lately I just do a 3 pass shave WTG, XTG and ATG with a little touch up on the sides of my Adam’s apple. Whatever I miss, I get the next day. BBS or DFS, I always have a shadow where my beard grows so I prefer comfort over BBS. I have been getting comfortable BBS shaves frequently, but I don’t chase them anymore.

Great Thread Marko. It looks like it's going to make the one year mark easily. FWIW, I normally do a 3 pass shave. With DEs and SRs I don't do too much buffing to get a DFS. With a Gem Bullet Tip, I can easily buff from start to finish to get a BBS shave without fear of a nick or irritation -- assuming I do my part.

Two for me.

1 WTG 1 XTG

I don't do ATG, my neck is a bit sensitive.