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With or Against the Grain?

Im currently using gilette mac fushion. Is it best to shave with or against the direction my hair grows? I find if i shave with the grain the shave is not very good and stubble is left. If i shave against it irritates me.

Im thinking of getting a Merkur safety razor, Will the direction of the shave differ with this razor?
 
you do a couple of passes with the grain to reduce, do a cross the grain (perpendicular to the grain) and then touch your face, if you want smoother, then you can go against the grain,

going against the grain as first pass is basicly a way to ruin your skin,
 
when you go over an area again against the grain is there any need to re apply shaving cream?

When i shave and then go against the grain my neck becomes saw and red but its thens mooth. if i dont go against the grain then i still have stubble.
 
It is best to shave in passes, where you lather, shave, lather again and so on.

You will want to lather, shave with the grain, lather up again, shave across the grain, lather up again and shave against the grain. This will give you the closest possible shave with the least irritation.
 
It is best to shave in passes, where you lather, shave, lather again and so on.

You will want to lather, shave with the grain, lather up again, shave across the grain, lather up again and shave against the grain. This will give you the closest possible shave with the least irritation.
What he said.
Also with a DE, go very gently on your last ATG pass. Some people's skin can handle going ATG, some people's can't, so go slow and feel out for what your face can handle. If it's painful in any way, stick with going across the grain on your last pass, possibly in cross-hatching (chevron) strokes.
 
relathering is key, thats one of the problems with multiblade razors, when you´re passing a mach 3 on your face, each pass is really 3 passes, and remember that in most multiblade systems, the first blade is less sharp to grab the hair and pull it a bit before cutting it out, so in your case, the first blade removes 95% of all lubrication, and the other 2 pass over VERY lightly lubricated or close to non lubricated skin, thats where multiblade irritation comes from,

now, depending on your skin tyle, this will be a problem or not, some people can shave with little lubrication, a mixture of thick skin with light hair will allow you to shave with little lubrication, im not saying that a Mach 3 will ruin your face, a i doubt a company would make a hazardus product on purpose,getting sued on a regular basis is bad for business, but its not the best you can use, especialy if you have easly irritated skin, its a McShave, its designed to satify most people providing an "acceptable" shave, but its not a good shave,

when i moved from my wilkinson quattro, i´ve noticed a few things,
1)irritation has gone down considerable once i learned how to apply shaivng pressure correctly,
2)shaving daily did not result in me requiering plastic surgery,
3)the shaves are smoother
4)the shaves are cheaper
 
tobywuk

I found it difficult to shave against the grain until :

A. I found the right combination of blade and razor.
You have to keep experimenting.

B. I found the right number and sequence of passes.
In my case that turned out to be:
1. N-S
2. S-N
3. Almost ATG, but then I back off a few degrees.
4. ATG

I'm getting a problem-free BBS shave every time.

YMMV and MTFBWY

Cheers

Jeremy
 
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