Recently, I had to take a trans-Atlantic flight where I had to unfortunately go straight from the flight to a client meeting. Since it was a red-eye, and dispite my best attempts, my clean-shaven face turned into 5-o'clock shadow. So I did my best attempt to shave in the lav around an hour before landing. While I was in there, someone waiting to use the lav got angry and began violently pulling on the door latch handle, in a clear attempt to speed me up. When I exited a moment later (I can shave pretty quickly), there were a few people in line who stared at the ceiling.
Now I've been in the other set of shoes a number of times, wondering what that person was doing in there that takes so long, but I figure there is a good reason and wait it out.
So what's the proper form for occupying the lav?

Dunno, but older airplane lavs have a used razor blade slot, so it's not like shaving in the lav is considered taboo. Come to think of it, I think I've also seen 110v outlets in lavs for electric razor users. I wouldn't worry about it. As long as you didn't hog the lav for an inordinate amount of time, lettem wait.

Seems when I'm waiting to use the lav, someone ahead of me takes 10 minutes or more. When I'm in the lav, I hurry so nobody in line is thinking "Why is that jerk taking 10+ minutes and what could they possibly be doing that takes so long?"

The flip side is that you could have shaven in the restroom immediately after customs/immigration. Arrivals Lounges are wonderful for cleaning up.

I brush my teeth, I put on/take off contact lens, I shave, I go #2. Basically everything short of reading a magazine.

But I also don't do that an hour before arrival. For US-Europe flight, I'd do that before sunrise, before they serve breakfast, when most passengers are still sleeping or watching the movie.

Shaving, brushing my teeth and freshening up is a standard routine on my monthly transatlantic travel in LH C or F. Basically, I'm doing my standard morning bathroom routine from home, minus the shower of course.

In eastbound F, the final bathroom visit also involves changing back from the airline's PJs into street clothes.

I can't see why any of this should be a problem, after all, the LH F lavatories are filled with one-way shavers, shaving gel and after shave, mouthwash, toothbrush/toothpaste, face and hand moisturizers etc. This stuff is obviously meant to be used and so far, I haven't encountered any problems with impatient pax. ^

Thank you for the courtesy.
IMO waiting 'til an hour before arrival would be very rude in a near-full coach cabin.

Doing it an hour before arrival on a T/A is especially bad form, as that is when most shep use the lavs. If you do it 1-2 hours before that you'll find that you could spend an hour in there and no one would care.

I too tend to wake before b'fast and use the lav before there's a massive queue, because I tend to be changing clothes as well as freshening up. But even all that doesn't take me ten minutes.

As another poster said, it's generally my full bathroom routine minus the shower and shaving of the pubes.

However, I remember a couple of CO and BCal transatlantic flights from my student days when I literally spent an hour or more in the karzi because I was seated in the middle most seat somewhere beyond row 45 on a completely full aircraft and just wanted to sit down and read my book in peace.

An hour sounds a bit long, especially in coach. My routine is usually completed after 10 minutes, which appears to be in line with other posters.

Oh I am so glad you don't do this on a plane.

Imagine what it would be like if everyone in a full cabin, or even half of everyone in a full cabin, decided they wanted to spend ten minutes in the lav for any reason at all. You do the math. On most flights they'd have to start before takeoff.

Maybe airlines should designate one lav for people who want to go through their whole morning routine and leave another for people who just want to use the toilet and get out. That can be pretty urgent, whereas shaving, etc., isn't. Pending that, which I don't see happening anytime soon, long bathroom rituals belong in bathrooms you don't share with a couple of hundred other people who also want to use it.

I can see brushing teeth, which needn't take more than a minute, but anything beyond that should either be done well before the last hour or saved for a lounge or lav on the ground. With current rules keeping friends and colleagues from greeting people until they exit security, there are pretty much always places to freshen up before they see you. As an added bonus, you get more than four square feet of space, and the floor doesn't move. And if you think that would take too long - how do you think the people waiting for you to finish on a plane feel about that length of time?

....?

What d you people brush your teeth with? Do you knowhow crappy the water is in the lavs? I really hope you are using bottled water.

TMI.

There's more than 1 lav on transatlantic flight. For all anyone knows, you were overcoming constipation. How long you spend in there is your business. Impatiently yanking and rattling the lav door is ruder than shaving in there, IMO.

Well, the F lavs serve a far smaller number of passengers looking to use them - I could imagine the impatience from a line of coach passengers waiting for one of 2 - 4 lavs for a few hundred people while somebody takes their time shaving.