Thread: Importance of stretching/ Stretching techniques

Hey everyone, question about stretching during shaving. I find myself manipulating my face to stretch, and pulling my skin tight by opening my mouth for cheeks, lifting chin for neck, etc. I rarely find myself using my free hand to stretch my skin, partially because I forget, and partially because I simply do not want to try stretching by putting my free hand on an unshaved area with lather on it. Is this poor technique? Should I always be using my free hand to stretch skin?

I think you'll notice an improvement in your shaving experience if you incorporate your free hand to further stretch your skin.

Its really a matter of what works for you. I have tried just face twisting and just free hand stretching and have come to use a combination of both. As for putting your free hand in lathered areas there are ways around that. If you start on your cheeks you can put your free hand over your head and pull up at the side burns then as you move down the cheek you move your hand down to the freshly shaven area. On the neck if you pull down at the base of your neck and lift your head up you will get a good stretch. Also you could lather in sections.

Originally Posted by UPD

I think you'll notice an improvement in your shaving experience if you incorporate your free hand to further stretch your skin.

I suspected that it would improve the shave. I am just having trouble shaving in patterns that consistently leave unlathered skin to get a grip and stretch out. Any tips for that? I can get the cheeks by gripping my head right above my ear, and can sometimes use the back of my neck to shave the sides, but other than that I seem to always have trouble finding a place to get a grip.

I begin with a down pass from the sideburn/cheek and I'm pulling up, with my free hand above the pass. As soon as I make the pass I can place my stretching hand on the area I've just shaved, which is now free of lather. On my second pass I reverse the procedure. I start at the bottom (neck) and work up beginning with a stretch below the pass. I also tilt my head to the side to increase the stretch. My stretching hand is never on lather. If using your jaw to stretch works for you all well in good. I find it more efficient to stretch with my opposite hand. BTW, I stretch the skin taut. I don't try to stretch to the limit of flexibility.

Thanks guys for all the tips. I will have to give it a go tommorow as I just finished shaving today a little while ago. I guess it all comes with practice practice and more practice. I am starting to realize that there are many individual techniques, and some things work for some people that dont work for others, and I just have to find my niche. Other than that, the shave went well today, and I am quickly improving. I am happy to say that I havent used a cartridge razor once since I got my straight. I am loving it!

An alum block also helps with traction for your fingers on your face.

On my face, I have found some areas i should stretch and others i shoulden't due to the whiskar retracting to far into skin after being shaved off causing irritation and or ingrowns.

For me, skin stretching does two things. The first and most obvious is that it makes the whiskers stand up for better cutting. But the second is that I believe it is actually safer in that when your skin is slack the razor's edge can basically bunch up the skin and potentially nick you. With the skin taught, the edge will skim over the harder surface without something to grab onto.

Also, you have to watch the surface condition of the skin when you bunch up the muscles underneath, you don't just make the skin taught, you can also change the surface texture of the skin. Like for me, if I try and bunch up the muscles under my chin, I kind of get a bumpy surface texture which is difficult to maneuver.

Anyway - I am a big proponent of stretching with the free hand.

Originally Posted by Cage

An alum block also helps with traction for your fingers on your face.

How would I properly utilize the alum block in that manner? Just run my fingers across and then start stretching?