Thread: Right to left hand control

SORRY, WRONG FORUM>>>>So I'm going to try my hand at shaving the right side of my face with my left hand. Before I hack up my beautiful face can you guys give me any pointers?

Go slow, watch your angle and pressure. Don't try this with a spike point if other razors are available. Do a dry run with the blade reversed (spine against your face) to get a feel for it. When in doubt, lift straight away and figure out the problem then start over - trying to fix a wayward stroke on the fly with your weak hand requires experience. Good luck!

Stick with left hand left side right hand right side with the grain on the cheeks only until your weak hand gets used to holding the razor. Mirrors, non dominant hands and very sharp objects don't mix well.

Not everyone has the dexterity to be able to shave with their non dominate hand. We are all somewhere between left or right dominate to the point of not being able to use our non dominate and being completely ambidextrous. The two ends are extreme and rare. Most people have some ability to coordinate both hands, some not quite enough to trust their non dominate for shaving. If you can get it great, but don't feel obligated to use your non dominate hand. Go slow and allow yourself enough practise time.

Just do the cheek until you feel comfortable to move on. I have always been very uncoordinated with my left hand. I watched a lot of videos before trying a straight and the guys that used one hand always looked awkward, so I decided it would be best to learn with both hands. I doubted my ability to learn to use my left but I stuck with it. Over time it has become completely natural feeling. My left hand is still use left for other things.

When I made the move to proper wet shaving a few years ago, I started brushing my teeth with my left hand to help develop some dexterity with the off hand. Practice first with your DE, right hand right side, left hand left side. A month or so of that and you'll be comfortable to do your XTG/ATG pass right hand left side, left hand right side. Another month and you'll be doing it with your straight. With your new found dexterity, proper skin stretching, and a light touch, you will discover many opportunities to improve the results of your shave.

I would suggest practicing with a butter knife until you get the correct angle, technique, pressure and muscle memory established, can help prevent seeing that dreaded pink lather.

I may be weird but I do WTG (down stroke) with the right hand on the right cheek and left on the left. Same with the XTG (horizontal) stroke. But for the ATG (up stroke) I have to use right hand on left side and left hand on right side. I have never been able to figure out why this is. In my imagination I can do the right/right, left/left ATG moves but as soon as the actual razor is in my hand I can't do it.

Edit: Not sure why this is in the Safety Razor Forum. My reply has to do with straight razor shaving.

I've found the best way to gain dexterity with your off hand is to write with it. Just print some words until it's easy. As to the shave just do simple downward strokes on the side of your face. Nothing fancy and stay away from your neck and chin and lip.

Originally Posted by Braz

I may be weird but I do WTG (down stroke) with the right hand on the right cheek and left on the left. Same with the XTG (horizontal) stroke. But for the ATG (up stroke) I have to use right hand on left side and left hand on right side. I have never been able to figure out why this is. In my imagination I can do the right/right, left/left ATG moves but as soon as the actual razor is in my hand I can't do it.

Edit: Not sure why this is in the Safety Razor Forum. My reply has to do with straight razor shaving.

Same here. With the grain same hand/side. Across or against opposite hand. Feels normal to me.