Thread: Shaving against the grain

Hey guys,

I've started trying to go against the grain on my second pass after watching lynn's dvd. For the most part its ok, but i get chaffing on the neck especially down near the adam's apple. My razor is sharp, and i'm passing the hanging hair test and thumb pad test.

I tried to look at the hair on my neck and it seems that down at that adam's apple region the hair starts to go in an non-uniform direction. Some hair goes side ways some grows upwards and some downwards. So i'm wondering if maybe i just shouldn't bother with shaving up my neck. I think i may try shaving at a 45 degree angle as lynn suggested and see if i get better results.

Does anyone have any tips, i do like the closeness you get with a second pass but my neck sure doesn't.

Orfeo

ps: using the left hand going up against the grain on my right neck is really hard at the moment, i'm not totally ambidextrous yet and trying to learn in a mirror is disorientating :/ but i guess this will come with time.

this is the grain i'm talking about - you can see the unconformity down at the bottom of my neck, thought it might give you a better idea of what i'm talking about

It looks like your hair grows mostly upwards in that region, which means going ATG would need a downstroke.

I used to get exactly the same sensitivity in the same area. For me it was mostly pressure related. I was pressing too hard (in trying to get BBS) and doing way too many passes/strokes (to get every last hair). Now I use a much lighter touch and as few strokes as possible.

You should let that area of your neck rest a few days without shaving (3 or 4 should do it) which will give the skin time to recover. Then the next shave make sure you do full beard prep beforehand, make sure you have a properly sharp blade, and do no more than 2 passes with a soft touch.

You may be tempted to do final touches to clear up a few stray hairs or get an even closer shave -- try to avoid the temptation. Within a week you ought to notice much less irritation and it will look a lot better too.

I also use an alum block after shaving mainly to gauge how harsh I've been. If it's a perfect shave, then the alum block will glide over your wet skin with no other sensation. If you've been harsh the alum will sting in those patches where you've been a little too heavy. Take a mental note, and next shave go easy on those areas.

With experience you'll start anticipating exactly where the alum will sting on your face before you apply it -- that's when you really start being able to avoid the harsh shaves.

+1 on what Mark said.

I would recommend Mark suggestion of a 2-pass shave to allow your skin to heal quicker. You could also do what I do and use a 3rd pass only with water for touching up areas.

Try not to rub your skin too much with either your hands and/or a towel as I can see a few papules & pustules developing due to the irritation. You could go to your local pharmacy and ask for a tube of 'Panoxyl Aquagel 2.5%' which is a very weak concentration of benzyl peroxide. It oxidizes the skin, prevents breakouts and helps with any abrasions.

thanks guys, i have actually only been doing two passes, but maybe i should try going upwards from stroke 1 on that lower potion of my hair and then switch to down stroke for the rest of my face. What does BBS mean by the way? i take it that ATG is against the grain.

orfeo

BBS - baby butt smoooooooth.

I had a go shaving again after letting my face heal up (and waited to get over a cold). I went upwards on my lower portion of my neck for the first pass (going with the grain) and then downwards for the rest of my face. I then reversed this for the 2nd pass and it worked a treat. Hardly any irritation, i'm still having trouble going against the grain around my chin so im thinking i might scrap that area. Do other people bother going against the grain around here?

also, how do people stretch the skin on their cheeks when going against the grain? since i'm starting the stroke at my jaw line i don't really have any place to put a finger and pull down aso i'm left just pulling a face to try to tighten the skin but it doesn't get tight enough i feel. I'm wondering if i should pull sideways from around the mouth area...any advise?

thanks guys

orfeo

Orfeo,

I tend to stretch up when going against the grain on my cheeks - ie pull the skin up toward my head from the cheekbone area. For me it makes the hair stand up better and results in a closer shave.

Can't help you with the chin area, sorry - I have a goatee.

James.

Originally Posted by orfeo

I had a go shaving again after letting my face heal up (and waited to get over a cold). I went upwards on my lower portion of my neck for the first pass (going with the grain) and then downwards for the rest of my face. I then reversed this for the 2nd pass and it worked a treat. Hardly any irritation, i'm still having trouble going against the grain around my chin so im thinking i might scrap that area. Do other people bother going against the grain around here?

also, how do people stretch the skin on their cheeks when going against the grain? since i'm starting the stroke at my jaw line i don't really have any place to put a finger and pull down aso i'm left just pulling a face to try to tighten the skin but it doesn't get tight enough i feel. I'm wondering if i should pull sideways from around the mouth area...any advise?

thanks guys

orfeo

Hey orfeo! Glad to hear the irritation is gone! The hardest part is resisting the urge to shave while waiting for the skin to heal to try again hehe.

The chin area seems to be difficult because rather than allow a blade to slice through hairs, the skin wants to move (and the hairs with it) instead. Try rolling your bottom lip into your mouth and jutting your chin out to get a good stretch and experiment with different blade angles there... it's hard to nail down a good consistent angle since there are so many curves everywhere. Also, one little trick I do is try to use the heel of my blade for my chin, since that seems to be the part that touches the rest of my face the least, and therefore should be the sharpest part once I get to the chin area.

As for cheek stretching, I think you are correct, you just have to find a good medium between tightness and your ability to get in there with the razor. For me it works quite well just to pull upward at the sideburns and tilt my head at the same time, but it is too much of a hassle for me to stretch it anywhere else simply because all other areas tend to be covered in lather or are wet, meaning it's too slippery to do without washing it all off and drying and then relathering in specific areas. Too much hassle for one stretch if you ask me, but that's just me

FWIW, I have found that I can use an even lighter touch if I use a scything motion as opposed to moving the blade exactly perpendicular to its edge. This helps everywhere, not just the chin.

Happy shaving!

I stretch from behind the grain everywhere when I do my last, against-the-grain pass. Gives me a very close finish which my lady loooooooooves.

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