Thread: Making your whiskers stand at attention

Try this:

Amazon.com: The Real Shaving Co., Pre-Shave Self Heating Face Mask, 4.23 fl. oz.: Health & Personal Care

The idea of lather standing your whiskers up on end is yet another all out Shave Lie, along with canvas stropping heating the blade, letting your razor rest 48 hours, The barber's notch is for shaving around nostrils. etc, etc.

I also have flat laying whiskers (the whiskers are laying, and I'm not lying).

The best approach? The 3 pass shave!

WTG: Takes off some excess, and thins out the whiskers. Pretty inefectual. Rubbing your face after this pass only is a bit of a let down...

XTG: Starts to take down some of the bulk material. Shave is getting closer now.

ATG: Ah yes, now this is where the real business gets done with flat laying whiskers-- the thing to be careful of, is that with the acute angle those whiskers are laying coming out of your skin, the whiskers themselves want to "graB' your razor and pull it even closer, so to avoid irritation, you must use a very light touch, and let the cutting adge do its' job. The whiskers themselves will make sur ethe blade stays in close contact with your skin.

As far as pre-shave oil goes. Some people love it. I actually do like the feel of the shave wusing it, but I can never get a close BBS shave with it, as it seeks to over-lubricate the whiskers or something.

And alum is like kryptonite to lather. It will suck the lifebood out of any lather.

I remember seeing an add for some electric pre-shave treatment that is supposed to stand hairs up... Does anyone remember this/know if it works?

You're probably thinking of Williams Lectric Shave - "Stands whiskers up stiff, to help your razor shave shockingly close." I've never tried it but it's still out there, I see their commercials occasionally. Amazon has it for $5.32 but you could probably get it anywhere...

This reminded me of a Mennen cheesecake ad I found awhile back that I quite enjoyed and thought I'd share...

Originally Posted by clrobert60

I remember seeing an add for some electric pre-shave treatment that is supposed to stand hairs up... Does anyone remember this/know if it works?

You're probably thinking of Williams Lectric Shave - "Stands whiskers up stiff, to help your razor shave shockingly close." I've never tried it but it's still out there, I see their commercials occasionally. Amazon has it for $5.32 but you could probably get it anywhere...

This is the product that was asked about. I used it with an electric in high school and it was amazing how it stood my whiskers straight out! However, I tried an electric again a few years ago and couldn't tell any difference in regard to how my whiskers laid. Williams Electric Save will make your whiskers and skin a little oilier, or at least slicker. I have some in my shave den but haven't used it since right after starting with the electric razor. Couldn't tell any difference with the shave so I just never finished the bottle. YMMV.

Originally Posted by Seraphim

The idea of lather standing your whiskers up on end is yet another all out Shave Lie, along with canvas stropping heating the blade, letting your razor rest 48 hours, The barber's notch is for shaving around nostrils. etc, etc.

I also have flat laying whiskers (the whiskers are laying, and I'm not lying).

The best approach? The 3 pass shave!

WTG: Takes off some excess, and thins out the whiskers. Pretty inefectual. Rubbing your face after this pass only is a bit of a let down...

XTG: Starts to take down some of the bulk material. Shave is getting closer now.

ATG: Ah yes, now this is where the real business gets done with flat laying whiskers-- the thing to be careful of, is that with the acute angle those whiskers are laying coming out of your skin, the whiskers themselves want to "graB' your razor and pull it even closer, so to avoid irritation, you must use a very light touch, and let the cutting adge do its' job. The whiskers themselves will make sur ethe blade stays in close contact with your skin.

As far as pre-shave oil goes. Some people love it. I actually do like the feel of the shave wusing it, but I can never get a close BBS shave with it, as it seeks to over-lubricate the whiskers or something.

And alum is like kryptonite to lather. It will suck the lifebood out of any lather.

Excellent advice.
+ Stretching in opposite direction as the whiskers grow.
+ Stretching close in front of the razor.

That will do more for your shave than dubious lathering tricks. A good lather fully moisturizes your beard hairs and provides a gliding cushion for the edge. A cream based lather may help your skin to cope with the peeling effect of the razor. Those are the functions of a good lather.

Best regards,
Bart.

Originally Posted by Bart

Excellent advice.
+ Stretching in opposite direction as the whiskers grow.
+ Stretching close in front of the razor.

That will do more for your shave than dubious lathering tricks. A good lather fully moisturizes your beard hairs and provides a gliding cushion for the edge. A cream based lather may help your skin to cope with the peeling effect of the razor. Those are the functions of a good lather.

Best regards,
Bart.

Yes, skin stretching is probably the best, most effective way to get a great shave. Thanks Bart.

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Yes, skin stretching is probably the best, most effective way to get a great shave. Thanks Bart.

That, and then raising you eyebrows (it helps me every time).

I've been worrying about my bad alum advice. Maybe try a little test patch on your arm and see if the lather holds?

But it does sound like shaving technique may have more to do with your problems. Have you tried raising the blade angle after the first pass? I do this (from 30 to about 45 degrees) and it does give me a closer shave.

I have the same problem . I have found that a light touch with a half hollow or stiffer razor & using 3 light passes usually gives me a great shave with very little irritation .
The full hollow blades seem to have too much flex for me to get good results , but I still use one every so often to see I'd it's just a lack of technique on my part that is stopping the full hollow from delivering a great shave.
Paul