Clearly, this is why Texas produced ZZ Top.

January 10, 2009 9:07 PM

Why do I get a closer shave in some cities than in others?

I live in north Texas, and I shave just about every other day during the work week. I follow the same routine with my showering and shaving regimen every time, and I generally get away with a pretty close shave and only nick myself once in a while.


I travel regularly to Albuquerque, though, and every time I'm there, I am blown away by how much closer, smoother, and more comfortable my shaves are. I never cut myself when I shave in New Mexico, and I always notice how much smoother my skin is after shaving there.


So what's the deal? Is it the altitude? Something funny in the water? Or is this just a classic case of confirmation bias?

posted by AngerBoy to clothing, beauty, & fashion (13 comments total)

I would guess that it's either the ambient temperature (cooler = more skin bumpiness) or the water hardness.
posted by zippy at 9:17 PM on January 10

My guess is the humidity, I get really good shave if it's really dry.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 9:24 PM on January 10

I'm assuming that you shave with a safety razor (and thus use water, as opposed to a dry electric razor), because you talk about nicking yourself. My guess is that the difference in the look and feel of the shave has to do with the hardness of the water.

You could get cheap detector and see if that's the case. A relative of mine had a little device that you stuck in a cup of water for a few seconds and told you the ppm of the water.
posted by Third at 9:37 PM on January 10

@Third:
I guess I should have clarified that. Thanks. I use a safety razor and run-of-the-mill drugstore shaving cream. I use the same stuff whether I'm home or away.

Is the hypothesis that harder water = rougher shave? Why would the water hardness affect it in that way?
posted by AngerBoy at 10:14 PM on January 10

"Soap is less effective in hard water because its reacts to form the calcium or magnesium salt of the organic acid of the soap. These salts are insoluble and form grayish soap scum, but no cleansing lather." (from About.com). So my hypothesis is: harder water means less slippery lather. At least with soap - your mileage with shaving cream may vary.
posted by zippy at 10:30 PM on January 10

Does your soap lather more in NM? That'd tell you if the water is softer than TX. If this is the case,washing with soft water makes your skin feel smoother, so it may be the washing after shaving that is causing this. Also the shaving process rips away the dead layer of skin cells from your face, so you would be more sensitive to this smoother feeling caused by the soap/ soft water combination after shaving as opposed to after a regular face washing.
posted by forallmankind at 10:30 PM on January 10

One other possibility - the hot water may be hotter at one of the locations.
posted by zippy at 11:12 PM on January 10

I have noticed my skin feeling softer when I travel, I suspect this is due to low humidity in hotel rooms (and airplanes) rather than the particular geographic area.
posted by tomcooke at 11:55 PM on January 10

My guess is also relative humidity. In my case, when I don't shave in the shower, the dryer it is the worse the shave. Shaving in the shower completely eliminates this problem for me.
posted by Mitheral at 7:09 AM on January 11

I'd guess water softness - whenever I go to my sister's house (where there is soft water) I think she must have the most marvelous soap in the world because my legs are so soft and well shaven. Then I buy it and it doesn't work at all at home. She only lives 3 hours away, so the humidity, altitude, etc. are pretty much the same. Now, Her water is so soft that it takes forever to wash soap out of my hair, so I think you'd have noticed that difference yourself.
posted by artychoke at 9:23 AM on January 11

I'm jumping on the water hardness bandwagon. Whenever I'm somewhere that I can't get a decent shave I notice shampoo/soap doesn't work as well either which is exactly what happens when you're using really hard water. If the water is very soft it will feel like you never really are able to wash soap off. When you apply that to scarping a razor across skin then you're going to get a smoother shave with soft water.

Might try just doubling up the amount of shave goo you use, but there are practical limits to how much you can put on a square inch of skin.

Another option is to try a non-foaming shaving gel, since theoretically it doesn't rely on water as much for the effect.

And always shave with a blade after or during a shower
posted by Ookseer at 11:45 AM on January 11

Take some water with you and compare ?
posted by Xhris at 5:16 PM on January 11

Nthing the water hardness theory. Relative humidity won't really have any noticeable effect on how well soap lathers. It might, just might, have some effect on the softness of your beard, but that would be negligible.

Water hardness, on the other hand, does affect latherability and, thus, the lubrication you're going to get on your shave.
posted by bluejayway at 1:01 PM on March 19