My first ATG pass!

Here's a report on my 12[SUP]th[/SUP], 13[SUP]th[/SUP], 14[SUP]th[/SUP], 15[SUP]th[/SUP], and 16[SUP]th[/SUP] shave. You can read about the rest of my shaving odyssey here: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/256792-New-member-checking-in

My 12[SUP]th[/SUP] to 15[SUP]th[/SUP] shave were pretty much like my 8[SUP]th[/SUP] to 11[SUP]th[/SUP] shave: one pass WTG, one pass XTG, with the Merkur Futur staying at the setting “2.5” the whole time. I did not attempt an ATG pass, as I said I might. I just didn’t “feel” ready for it, to be honest; I was afraid of cutting myself. They were mostly uneventful and nice shaves, although I did get some irritation on my two pesky trouble spots on the first few shaves (two little areas about the size of my thumb on the sides of my lower neck). But I changed my technique for the last few shaves, coming at the hairs with an extra uber-ultra-light touch on those two spots, straight up and down on that XTG pass. That seemed to do the trick, cutting smooth, and the irritation stopped.

So for my 16[SUP]th[/SUP] shave, I loaded a fresh new Feather blade, whipped my lather with extra care, trying to get it to “wet yoghurt” consistency as some people here have suggested. The lather never got quite that consistency, though; tending more towards a “wet meringue” consistency, but still very slick and thick. There was no friction or “skipping,” so I guess my lather is okay. For my 16[SUP]th[/SUP] shave, I decided that—if I felt good after the WTG and XTG passes—I was going to attempt an ATG pass.

So I did my WTG pass, then my XTG pass as I normally do… and then I did an ATG pass for the first time. I dialed the Merkur Futur all the way down to the lowest setting, “1,” as suggested by geofatboy in his video on shaving with the Futur: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxeifm7ReKg. Surprisingly, it was nice and uneventful, actually. I think the hairs were so short after the first two passes that there was nothing for the blade to “catch” on and cut me. The razor dutifully scraped the rest of the stubble away and left me with a very smooth face. I wasn’t even scared while doing it; it just felt natural, even on areas that normally scare the crap out of me, like the upper lip. I did have to touch up a few areas lightly that were still rough after the ATG pass (the little spots on the sides of my mouth, the sides of the upper lip, and directly under the jaw line beneath my chin). But after that, smooth all over, no irritation.

Okay, so here are the lessons learned for me, I think:

I now understand why people say you should not even attempt an ATG pass until you have mastered WTG and XTG. The reason why is because you have to get your shave as close and smooth as possible with each pass before moving on to the next. You have to perform each pass quickly without going over the same area more than a few times, ideally only once! And your skin has to be healthy and irritation-free after each pass, too. If not, then the blade won’t cut properly and you might get nicked. You also need time and practice over those first weeks to build the muscle memory and develop the technique to cut close on those first passes with as light a touch as possible, as few strokes as possible, and as little irritation as possible. That leaves the skin healthy and prepared for the next level of closeness. Otherwise, if the skin is already irritated and the beard cut incorrectly, doing an ATG pass is just asking for trouble. I now think the “three month” rule is crap, though. You don’t have to wait three months. But you definitely need to wait until you are getting close and irritation-free using just one WTG and one XTG pass. Then you’re ready for ATG, I think. You let your face be your guide, focus on your technique, and be patient, I think.

Nice post. To quote you:

​Excellent advice.

Good post

I just started experimenting with ATG as well. It works best on my cheeks (the ones on my face), second best around my mouth and worst on my neck. It is probably angle and or pressure from holding the DE in a new way. I have been faceturbating a lot since I started this last week. I can't wait till I can do ATG all over with success. I won't be able to keep my hands off me!

Sound advice my friend... I am still learning the art of ATG. My last shave I nailed my ATG attempt and it really built my confidence. This morning I got distracted by my little guy sitting on the sink wanting to "shave with daddy" and ended up rushing my shave... I paid for it in blood! Lesson learned... new guys to wet shaving need to concentrate when attempting an ATG shave while perfecting their technique.

Well, for my 17th, 18th, and 19th shave, things have been pretty good. I'm learning more and more about my face and beard with each new shave. This whole wet shaving odyssey has been great, and it’s become a very rewarding hobby. I used to hate shaving so much that I’d go days without shaving even though I am in a job where I probably should be well-groomed. I used to try to rush a bad shave in the morning before work, using those terrible cartridge-shaving products. Now, I shave at night before bed, and I take the time with the pre-shave prep and the lather. It’s my personal Zen hobby, and it has real, practical benefits for my life, too, because now I go to work clean-shaven every morning.

Anyway, back to my experience with ATG passes: I did get a few small nicks on a couple ATG passes during shaves this past week. I think the first time was in areas where I did too many strokes over-and-over again in the same place; I didn't realize they were "problem areas" that were hard to get BBS on the last ATG pass. I needed a different technique. It's interesting that with a different shaving technique (ATG as opposed to WTG/XTG) come different problem areas. Before, when I only did WTG and XTG passes, it was directly under the chin and on the lower neck. Now I know how to shave those areas, and I have no more problems there. Now—with the new ATG pass—the new problem areas are the sides of the mouth and the sides of the neck in the area just below the jaw line on either side of the chin. But today, for the 19th shave, I got them nice and smooth. See? Learning.

However, today I got two little nicks on my upper lip (moustache area). I think I was using too much pressure and going too slow, i.e. the usual culprit in the technique department when it comes to wet shaving. I have to remember to use that ultra-light touch with quick, controlled strokes. Basically, I think my nicks today could have been avoided with good technique. So, I’ll keep practicing. But with the exception of those little nicks, everywhere else is smooth and irritation free, so I just have to get my technique down.