I don't ever go against the grain even with my DE. My skin is very sensitive and I am prone to ingrown hairs. Also I have to watch what soaps I use and can only shave with room temperature or my face will break out. I bought some TOBS Sandlewood shave cream only to discover that I was allergic to it. To tell the truth, most of the time I shave strictly with cold water. On another note, my lather was a bit on the runny side. I was using my new silver tip brush and it holds much more water than my tweezerman brush. I will definetly have to pay more attention to my shave angle and pressure though. I knew as soon as I did my touch up pass with my DE that I had been pressing harder with the straight than I do with my DE. Thanks for all of the input.