Thread: Shaving with a few days growth

Hi all,

I have a question regarding shaving with several days growth of my beard.

I used my straight razor for a shave last week and got a lot of pulling and it was pretty painful for my first WTG pass. Now once I was done with the first pass there wasn't anymore discomfort with my XTG or ATG passes.

I was wondering if this is a symptom of my razor needing to be honed or if it is a problem with my technique or something else. Does anyone have any ideas? I did strop my razor prior to shaving and don't experience the same thing with stubble.

Thanks for any helpful ideas!

Stan

The razor is fine if it doesn't pull on XTG or ATG with short hairs, it is the toughness of the beard that is the problem.

I sometimes shave with a weeks worth of growth(dense growth, about 3 or 4 mm long hairs) and I have no trouble with it. You need, however, to soften the whiskers a little more than with a stubble.

Lather up, strop and then relather after a hot shower. That'll soften the beard up.

Make also sure that your lather is very creamy and rub it between the whiskers using a circular motion, that way the lather gets under the whiskers, lifting it ever so slightly(and making the blade glide over the skin) so you can cut them off with ease.

PS: Shaving a 1 week(or longer) beard off is a real treat. As you can see quick results. You also immediately notice why multiblade razor clog up shaving a beard.

Thanks BrickBag. The end result was great it was just that first pass. I'll make sure to do some extra prep the next time.

Stan

Originally Posted by yolki

Hi all,

I have a question regarding shaving with several days growth of my beard.

I used my straight razor for a shave last week and got a lot of pulling and it was pretty painful for my first WTG pass. Now once I was done with the first pass there wasn't anymore discomfort with my XTG or ATG passes.

I was wondering if this is a symptom of my razor needing to be honed or if it is a problem with my technique or something else. Does anyone have any ideas? I did strop my razor prior to shaving and don't experience the same thing with stubble.

Thanks for any helpful ideas!

Stan

I would say it had to do with the length of your beard. The longer the hair growth the deeper you have to push the lather in so it gets to your skin. With longer hair you could also consider using your fingers to massage the lather further down.
Let the lather sit for about 1-2 minutes (3-4 for dense beard) and then re-lather to get a layer of moist lather back on your face (the waiting time will dry the lather out sometimes).

I find that with longer hair doing shorter almost buffing WTG passes also helps.

Happy Shaving

In my experience with a couple of days growth is I get a better, meaning closer and more comfortable shave. If a razor is not up to snuff it will balk at the longer hairs but if its shave ready it should sail right through them like hot butter.

Sounds like a tough beard. Mine will do the same thing with several days growth but I can grow a beard in a week. I actually think I get a better shave with two days of growth. Possibly because there is enough there for the razor to bite into verses stubble from the previous day. I still shave daily but I will often skip on Saturday and shave Sunday morning. Monday I still have very little to shave. If the old whiskers get to long, I will run a beard trimmer across my face to cut them down to long stubble then take the razor to them.

What you didn't mention:
-Was your razor professionally honed to begin with?
-How much experience do you have with SR shaving and stropping?

These are important questions to ask before trying to answer. IMO, assuming the edge isn't rolled or otherwise damaged, it is a technique issue. Yes, longer growth will provide extra resistance during shaving, and the natural reaction is to add extra pressure which will only provide an uncomfortable shave. A combination of additional beard prep, proper angle and a confident (and appropriate type of) stroke will definitely help.

I will also add that it takes more practice to accomplish this with a full hollow than with a heavier grind, but it is entirely possible to do. I shaved off nearly a weeks growth yesterday with an extra hollow Dubl Duck and had a superb shave. It's just practice and technique, that's all.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

In my experience with a couple of days growth is I get a better, meaning closer and more comfortable shave. If a razor is not up to snuff it will balk at the longer hairs but if its shave ready it should sail right through them like hot butter.

My experience also.

In addition I spend some extra time on prep and often use a quarter hollow with more than two days growth.

Originally Posted by Hawkeye5

My experience also.

In addition I spend some extra time on prep and often use a quarter hollow with more than two days growth.

+1! If you make a habit of letting your beard grow a couple few days no and then, you might want to consider picking up a quarter hollow. When ever I go a couple or more days, I always start a new rotation with my Wade & Butcher quarter hollow. Mows that beard down like it's not even there. Barely even makes a sound!

+1 on the Quarter hollow. I also just do one very light pass N-S for the first pass then I soak with a hot towel for about a minute then I do another N-S pass only this time I spend the time to really gitter done!


Later,
Richard