Thread: Against the grain shaving

Howdy all,

Hope you all are enjoying your day today and your shaves!

So I wanted to ask you all on how to get that perfect shave even more perfect.

In my daily shave routine I always do 2-3 passes 1 with the grain and the other a semi across the grain.

Now while this gives me a shave that I consider good enough I know many of you would hate the stubble still on their face.

Recently tho I've been thinking about this against the grain idea you all love.

Now let me explain a bit. I usually have pretty sensitive skin. Whenever I would go against the grain with the shavette I would always have lots of ingrown hairs.

I know that the shaves are different but having to put up with the irritation really put me off of it. But I really want to give it a try now again.

I mean I have better equipment and way better skills than I did 3 years ago and think I can get it done.

But I wanted to ask you guys what your secret for against the grain shaving is?

Not of all us can. I'm in the sensitive skin camp as well and I do WTG, XTG for a great shave that gets me through two days.

By all means try some small areas first and then give it a day to see how your skin held up. Shave a nice path upwards from jawline to ear on your cheek (the easy area) with your dominant hand -- keep the angle small and use small, quick strokes (see the buffing section). If it's not comfortable during the shave then stop. If you get through it then follow it up (e.g. astringent, aftershave balm, etc.) and keep an eye on that spot for redness, bumps, etc. If all goes well then try a larger area next time.

Basil, I happen to be one of the fortunate ones who has never experienced an ingrown hair. I was subject to irritation before my technique improved. My default method of shaving, regardless of the tool, was a North south pass followed by a south north. Certain areas ,such as the upper lip and the knob of the chin, were shaved from whatever direction worked best.

Then I read a post by Lucky Cynic here with a PDF of a 1905 shaving booklet. This booklet led me to the cold water shave which I have been doing ever since the first time I tried it. The booklet also recommends one pass unless you want a really close shave. In that case the booklet recommends doing a second pass but doing both passes with the grain.

It took some time before I tried it and I don't always use that technique but it will certainly give me a great shave, sometimes bbs if I watch my technique and have a sharp razor. Check out the book and give some of the fellow's suggestions a try. Might pay off for you in getting rid of the ingrowns. IF nothing else it will be interesting.

Basil,

If you have pretty sensitive skin, you may want to avoid too much ATG shaving.

That being said, you can experiement by shaving ATG on certain parts of your face. Try a portion of your neck and see if it suits you.

Personally, I only shave ATG on my neck and then only rarely. The shaves I get are still smooth enough for my tastes.

I hope this helps. Take care--and continued smooth shaving.

Hi Basil,
For difficult spots when doing an ATG pass (my neck, Adam's apple, etc.), I apply the buffing technique. It's important to have the blade flat against the skin and to use almost no pressure whatsoever. Tight skin stretching is paramount as well.
Namaste,
Morty -_-

It seems Jimmy and I have more and more in common every day...

I also do a N-S then S-N routine with some other directions for my upper lip and a few other spots. With a sharp razor, stretching, a low angle and a light touch, I think you should be able to do an ATG pass.

I, too, have never had a problem with ingrown hairs, but AFAIK they're caused by the hair being cut so short the hair curls before breaking the skin. If I understand that correctly, guys prone to ingrown hairs might be best without that ultra-BBS.

I also think that cold water shaving might tamp down any irritation, and since I've started shaving cold it's become my exclusive method. (It's especially nice in the summer.) I consistently get a good shave using cold water and get less irritation and less dry skin. I'd say give it a shot - maybe even a few - and see if you don't like it.

I've gotten a few BBS shaves just going WTG, so don't worry if ATG doesn't work. IIRC, Hi_Bud_GL once started a thread about not using ATG as a way to improve your technique. He might have a point there...

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

I have actually been cold water shaving now for the past month or so and you are right it does give great shaves and less irritation. Funny thing is I discovered it by accident.

It was killer hot one day and used cool water to cool down during my shave and noticed it gave a closer shave. Since then it's always been cold water.

As for the neck irritation I will try out what you guys said.

I'll try just a few spots first and see what I can do that works.

I also have sensitive skin and very coarse for that matter..I am into straight shaving 3.5months now and just starting to get the hang of under my chin/neck area..man whatta pain..in fact to get REAL close I go 4 passes..yea..sounds alot..but much better than 3 passes if i go one more as a "checkup" pass


pcdad

I'm one of those guys who cant do ATG at all. I get loads of burn and irritation, and sometimes ingrown hairs as well.

By all means try the ATG pass, but if it causes any problems, stop doing it! Its not worth the pain..!

Hey...I'm reading that 50's shaving book,.......fantastic read. Very helpful. Thank you for posting that.I'm halfway through it but it's gettin late.Gonna finish reading tommorrow night. This should be part of the wiki as standard reading for all of us beginners. Thanks you once again .