An update & cry for help!

Hello all. As a related thread to the ATG poll just started, I'd like to ask some questions. Sometimes when I shave ATG, for instance with Feathers and Tom's Mint Cream, I experience some real and painful difficulties.

always use pure glycerin as an every pass pre-shave, by smearing it all over my beard area and lathering with a brush on top of it. Lets say I do a WTG pass over my face, and sometimes I will experience some burn above my chin around the corners of my mouth, in the goatee-zone. Anyways when I shave in this area and some other areas under my chin AGT, using NO pressure but the razors weight (which is actually slightly innacurate because the razor is moving upwards for me ATG), I will experience that darned skipping and stopping. If I don't use pressure, the razor will not cut my hair! It stops at the stubble, and jumps right over it if there is no pressure. When I do apply enough pressure to cut I often end up with irritation and sometimes with tiny little spots of blood spread out nice and wide throughout trouble areas.

Does anyone have words of wisdom for me? This does NOT happen at all on my sideburns/cheek area near my ears. It does happen to a lesser degree on my upper lip as well.

I have used Taylor's Avacado, Nancy Boy, AOS Lavender, Green Pond Sandalwood, Cyril Salter Almond, Earth Science cream and Toms' of Maine Mint. The latter 2 are really the ony ones that do not leave my face in ruins with pimples and whiteheads soon after due to the gentle ingredient cocktail. That and they work quite well...

Any advice fellows? Maybe it's my razor, I have only ever used the Super Adjustable i got on eBay and it's older than me.

Hep me! Hep me!

My wisdom would be(drum roll...............................................................)
don't shave against the grain. I just go 2 passes with the grain and it's a pretty darn close shave. I might be able to get a wee bit closer going against the grain but if it causes irritation, it's not worth it. Just remember, it grows right back!

Kyle

Reduction is key, if you are getting tugging pulling or skipping on an ATG pass the beard is still too long.(I feel that this is the cause of ingrown hairs) Try WTG XTG both ways, then a ATG pass and see if that works for you.

Pressure is almost always bad news,

Does anyone have words of wisdom for me?

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1. HoneyBee Spa shaving soap, any flavor.

2. Reduction, reduction, reduction...

3. Use a new, or very sharp blade.

4. Very gentle, mild razor or razor setting. A Gillette red-tip here is NOT your friend.

5. Re-examine if your really want to do this.

HTH.

-- John Gehman

Thanks for the words, all. I'll try throwing in an extra pass and see what happens.

Also, keep in mind that for some people, ATG just isn't going to happen without the accompanying pain and irritation. If you're bent on achieving BBS or as close to BBS as possible, try going a couple XTG passes. That seems to work for me just fine.

Good luck!
Joe

Yes, I'd mirror everything that has been said and place the most stress on simply not going ATG. I've attempted it (successfully as luck would have it) twice, but I find that for me, there is a bit of mild itching...not really irritation, but enough to where I don't care for it and simply do with and across. If you can get by without it, I think that would be your best bet. Good luck.

Key thing I've got to remember on the ATG pass on the neck is No Pressure. Yes, this has already been said....but its very important. I used to hear it all the time myself but didn't put it into play.

No pressure on the neck means the blade is barely touching your face. Pretend like your shaving a lathered balloon.

Based on the areas you are having problems, I'm thinking angle! Keep your wrist rigid, don't bend it. Shave from the elbow down, not with the wrist.

Randy

I had that feeling too, Randy. Thank you for confirming my suspicions! I think that might be a big part of it as I am sometimes able to to extremely well. I'll take this into consideration as well.

Since you've been shaving with a DE for a while, I'd suggest trying out various handles and blades, because there will be one that will fit best for your style. This in and of itself can account for alot of the problems.

Thanks Josh. I try to ignore that to keep my RAD under tight control.

You're ruining everything!!!

Have you tried an HD? Or a another fixed head, ie Gilette Superspeed. I find these easier to control as there's no temptation to fiddle with the settings.

I would also try more passes before you attempt the Against the grain, and some people can't go against the grain, it just doesn't work. Try more passes make sure you're using enough glycerine, because in my experience if I don't have enough it gets sticky and can ruin my shave.

Light pressure, more glycerine, more passes, try whipping up more lather, and consider a fixed head razor.

Good luck and keep us posted.

I thought I was getting good against the grain shaves from my HD, but only since switching to the Slant have I gotten amazing irritation-free against the grain shaves. 90% of the time I have a Derby loaded but I've been working on the differences in technique I need to use when a Feather is loaded in the hot-seat.

Well I did a 3 pass shave with the final being ATG and very minor irritation and nearly bbs. I don't think the final pass was truly atg in all areas of my face. Felt like I was tempting fate to really go for it - it seems like if I do so many passes my face begins to get raw, whether they are WTG or not. That's why I try to reduce the number of passes and just perfect my angle and pressure - to keep from scraping my face raw from 6 passes. Not to mention that would take me nearly an hour!

Goosemeplease said:

Kyle

Reduction is key, if you are getting tugging pulling or skipping on an ATG pass the beard is still too long.(I feel that this is the cause of ingrown hairs) Try WTG XTG both ways, then a ATG pass and see if that works for you.

Pressure is almost always bad news,

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Listen to Jim! This is the route I take.

Also I might add checking the quality (water quanity) of your lather, which can be achieved with any shave soap. It can appear that you have good lather when you really don't. This was a problem I once had. I got 'good' lather built up and put it on but it wasn't lubricating my face properly so I dip the tip of my brush in hot water and agitae the lather on my face, whipping it up good until my razor would glide properly. Makes a huge difference. As well as using a good pre-shave or olive oil. Good luck!

Kyle Stoner said:

Well I did a 3 pass shave with the final being ATG and very minor irritation and nearly bbs. I don't think the final pass was truly atg in all areas of my face. Felt like I was tempting fate to really go for it - it seems like if I do so many passes my face begins to get raw, whether they are WTG or not. That's why I try to reduce the number of passes and just perfect my angle and pressure - to keep from scraping my face raw from 6 passes. Not to mention that would take me nearly an hour!

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I think that's a really good idea to cut your passes down to three. I think if I did 6 all N-S, I'd still rip up my face. Continued Luck to you.

Adding a 3rd pass seemed to help although, I still get skipping and dragging on the first WTG pass. What is that about?

BTW, I never have done a 6 pass shave, that was an exaggeration but after 3 passes it really feels like thin ice. Really thin ice. Like thin skin to be more precise. It's like exfoliating 3 times in a row, scary stuff!

Any advice guys?

Kyle Stoner said:

Any advice guys?

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How often are you shaving?
If I don't shave every day, my beard will have grown enough to make it much tougher to cut through the longer hair. This could result in skipping.

What blades are you using?
You may have already answered this, but still, it would be good to know.


I don't really love the term "no pressure" yes I have given it as advice, because most people press too hard. But really there has to be some pressure or you're right it won't cut. Make sure you are applying some pressure (light pressure but some) on that first pass. I use the most pressure on my first pass then decrease as I go along.

I hope things have improved, let me know about these questions and will go from there.