Thread: Does anyone not shave against the grain?

On work days when I'm only shaving yesterday's stubble, I can get very close with only one XTG pass on my face. I still have to go ATG on my neck and under my chin though.

Jordan

Been shaving for 6 months now and still have a terrible time with ATG passes. Weepers and razor burn all over my neck. Along with bumps on the right side of my neck that I don't get with WTG passes.

This is one of 3-4 eternal, unanswerable, philosophical tonsorial questions.

I do a 3-pass shave with soap. Then a touch up in difficult areas with just water. I may go ATG multiple times under the jaw, over the Adam's apple, etc., to get BBs. No problem.

I honestly believe I could spend half an hour going ATG at 30+ degrees over the same 5 square inches of my mug with just water without developing razor burn.

Pressure is the key. Or maybe I have the softest beard and the toughest skin on the planet?!?!

My whiskars go in a lot of directions, but with the SR I only go WTG for now, I do one pass WTG then finish with the DE for the XTG and ATG passes because I am not yet comfortable with the SR enough to do them....eventually...but not yet ;(

Originally Posted by pcb01

This is one of 3-4 eternal, unanswerable, philosophical tonsorial questions.

Yes....

A lot of us are here because we find a good shave so hard to get.

No mater what the blade start with a smooth systematic shave
and always a good lather.

Depending on the angle of your whiskers ATG is a risk... the
razor gets under a whisker and then lifts a bit of skin and
give a rash. It can be worse with a multi blade razor but we are
all different.

Whiskers that grow at a low angle may best be shaved from
the side.

The lighter the touch the better.

Once you have a system... then map your remaining stubble
and experiment with various angles of "attack".

"This is one of 3-4 eternal, unanswerable, philosophical tonsorial questions."

The others are:

1. How long should I soak my brush?
2. Will I bleed more if I shave while I'm really drunk?
3. Should I add Styptic to my pre-shave preparation?

I do a with the grain pass, and then an against the grain pass. Just these two passes seems to work good for me.

To me, the goal remains to get the most enjoyment out of the experience as possible. It has taken a long time to perfect the shave to a level where even for my OCD personality, I truly enjoy the shave every day. I do know, as has been said, that the more passes I do and the more pressure I use result in a more uncomfortable conclusion. The grain of our beards is not the same and the sensitivity of our skin is different for all of us. For me, except for the neck hair which grows all over the place, against the grain is actually shaving from my ear to my chin so I try to limit my passes to two and then just try to pick up the stubborn areas with alternate strokes I have learned that work for me. So long as the prep is good, the razor is sharp and the pressure is light I will have success. Not 100% Sticky Smooth or BBS every time, but pretty close.

The journey is encouraged. Learn from what feels good for you. Take your time and have fun with this wonderful adventure.

ATG every time. I can't get a decent shave without it.

If I don't do a series of WTG, XTG, and ATG passes, I might as well not shave at all. I have very dark hair of varying colors (black, dark brown and deep red) and my skin is approximately the color of a window. Yeah, I'm so white I'm almost translucent. So if I don't go all-out to get a smooth shave, I'll look like I hardly did anything at all, and it'll still feel like sandpaper. For me it's the ATG, with some blade buffing, that really smooths things out.