How do you make the hair stand up?

[Spyder]

Hey all! New to the DE world and about 8 shaves in. Loving it so far, but clearly have a lot of room for improvement.

My biggest problem however, is that I just cannot seem to get the hair off my face. Even after showering, alot of the hair stays flat against my face, which results in them being completely missed by the razor. Is it the quality of the lather that makes the difference? Perhaps if i use less water in my lather creation, thus making it more pasty? I am really unsure, and could use any help.

thanks!

[Cooks]

Have you tried useing up and down strokes with the brush rather than circles? This helps lift the bristles for easier shaving?

[scottydoint]

The shave oil I posted in this thread stands the hair up on my face really well and you can can actually feel it working. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=52732

[ScottS]

Strategic skin stretching is the way to go.

[Ironman06]

I've never heard of this problem before. Are you quite certain that you have the blade actually against your skin? Depending on the shaver perhaps your angle is off so much as to remove the cutting edge from your skin causing your shaver to simply slide along the slickened hairs?!?!

Have you other guys actually had problems with hair "ducking" the blade?

That sounds extemely odd to me.

... hmmm, maybe I'M the odd one?! :eek:

[Presently42]

I know of this problem, for I too suffer from it. My hair grows flat against my cheek. There is no trick to getting it to stand, nor does there need to be.

Make sure that the pre-shave routine employed is sufficient to make the whiskers soft. I recommend shaving only after a shower, having washed the face at least once. If the beard doesn't feel soft, wash again. Or, try the OCM; apparently, it does wonderful things to the skin.

I do believe that there is only one good type of lather; perfect lather. It should be neither too dry, nor too wet. This flies in the face of my previous conviction which stated that lather should be dry so as to maximise the amount of soap / cream on the face. This is simply bilge water. If the lather doesn't look like the meringue-like stuff found in photos on this site (see especially the review section), the lather isn't right. Add more water or more soap / cream.

As to blade angle, I find it intuitive; if it feels right, it is right. The point of shaving, in the end, is depilation. If this is not transpiring, the angle is wrong. As I use a straight razor, I'll let the DE users chime in here.

Lastly, stretch the skin. The act of stretching the skin will cause the hair, whether it wants to or not, stand up. Furthermore, stretching skin also means displacing it, thereby making a shave much easier (especially around the jaw-line).

There are many videos on the Internet which show this proper technique. I suggest having a look at mantic's channel on YouTube; VERY well done and very informative.

And don't forget not to over-shave! If the hair doesn't want to go away after three or four passes, just live with it until the next session. Thing will improve with time.

[tvphotog]

I use Castle and Forbes Unscented Preshave. Excellent results. The hair is softened, not made to stand up any more that it is already.

Best,

[_JP_]

I just think scary thoughts. :o11:

[mankini]

I get a few pesky flat hairs from time to time. I do not want to overstretch and end up with ingrown hairs so if they won't be cut after my usual shave routine with touch ups I will just pluck them using tweezers.

[Gotcha38]

The hair right under my chin lays flat against the skin no matter the stretch. I'm only able to get it with a quick ATG pass under my chin.

[AverageJoe]

Use a straight. Your whiskers CAN NOT lay flat enough to avoid a well-honed open blade!!

[gunner6477]

I just think scary thoughts. :o11:


Or yell, in your best Drill instructor voice, "ATTEN-HUT":devil:

[Eagle]

Strategic skin stretching is the way to go.

+1. Also try some S-N, ATG passes after you've done one or two N-S or maybe you need a diagonal pass. Each face is different, but every whisker can get cut with practice and technique.

[wtruitt]

Make sure that the pre-shave routine employed is sufficient to make the whiskers soft. I recommend shaving only after a shower, having washed the face at least once. If the beard doesn't feel soft, wash again. Or, try the OCM; apparently, it does wonderful things to the skin.

What is OCM you refer to ?

[scottydoint]

What is OCM you refer to ?



http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=26493&highlight=cleansing

http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/:wink:

[petr]

I have this on one side of my neck. Sucks and deserves special care or it can be mucho irritation.

I use a drop of preshave oil here, lather and take three careful slow passes. Short strokes are a must! I finish with against the grain.

My stubble must be reduced first before the finish pass, or there is hell in irritation to pay.

[wtruitt]

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=26493&highlight=cleansing

http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/:wink:Thx sir! Interesting!!

[patrisVII]

I have this issue on my sideburns, base of the neck and under the chin.

I don't bother trying to get close with the sideburns, but ATG is the only solution on the neck and chin.
Unlike a lot of folks I have to do it in one full on against the grain pass - if I shave WTG first, the remaining stubble is cut at such an angle that the subsequent AGT pass does not grab the whiskers. It's odd that I can see and feel the stubble but I can cut it any lower (not without drawing blood that is).

[rusirius]

I have this hair that lays flat... The doc gave me these little blue pills... It really :eek: :biggrin: Ohh nevermind...

Anywho, I almost shutter to recommend this since I found the smell horrendous and the residue on my hands and sink a rather unpleasent experience... BUT...

The hairs on my neck in a few spots tend to lay very flat... I've never had a problem with the DE, but years ago when I shaved with an electric razor I could go over the same spot 100 times and it still wouldn't pick these hairs up... I could NEVER get them trimmed with the electric... The only way I ever got them shaved properly at the time was to keep a mach 3 around to quickly make a pass after my electric shaver did it's thing... (and I went through a few electric shavers, so that wasn't the problem...)

Well one day I say the "'Lectric Shave" stuff in the store and decided to give it a whirl... Basically it's kinda like an aftershave, very high alcohol content, and it smells terrible, but when you splash this stuff on and it starts to dry you can literally FEEL the hairs just standing straight off your skin... I'm not sure how or why it works, but it sure as heck does... I'd slap this stuff on and make a pass with my electric shaver and I would truthfully get a FAR closer shave from the electric than I could ever hope to get without this stuff... It made a huge difference...

The point being... I wonder if applying this stuff before you lather up would have an impact? My only question would be rather the lather would reverse whatever this stuff did to get it to stand up... Still it might be worth a try... I don't remember it being very expensive...

[Beakos]

I thought about Lectric Shave myself but haven't tried it. I think what LS does is to dry out the whiskers so they kind of stiffen. Of course you don't want dry whiskers when you wet shave. It's probably still worth a try though ...

LOL! This reponse was submitted by the "Department of Redundancy Department".

[poppi]

Stick your finger in an electrical socket. Works every time

[trifthen]

so if they won't be cut after my usual shave routine with touch ups I will just pluck them using tweezers.

:eek:

I have this nasty habit of feeling along my skin and plucking anything that feels long enough. I have to mentally force myself to stop when I'm paying attention because every so often it results in an ingrown hair... or five. One time I dug one out after it had coiled under the skin for a goodly amount of time and it was over an inch long. There's a reason guys don't generally wax/epi their faces, even though it would be the "ultimate" shave. Heh.

Well, that and some of us would be drenched in blood after trying such a thing. :wink: