Thread: Switched it uP

Hey guys
So I decided to switch up the order of my shaving passes and I think it really helped me achieve a close shave. What I did was I started out going against the grain then did a wtg and finally finished with an xtg. Hopefully this will help someone else too.



Thanks for reading
mgnero

I'm not sure how following ATG with WTG and then XTG would be beneficial; ATG would remove the majority of whiskers, making the other passes virtually unneccesary. However, if you're not getting any cuts, razor burn or bumps by all means carry on. I'm just not convinced this routine is for everyone.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

I'm not sure how following ATG with WTG and then XTG would be beneficial; ATG would remove the majority of whiskers, making the other passes virtually unneccesary. However, if you're not getting any cuts, razor burn or bumps by all means carry on. I'm just not convinced this routine is for everyone.

I woudld agree! From what i have read and noticed in my shaves....as always YMMV.....that the ATG rounds out the close shave by getting the closest cut of the hair. The first 1 or 2 passes sort of "preps" for the ATG pass cause for me i think starting right out of the gate with ATG would cause to much irritation....but maybe i'll give it a try on one side of my face! I will say if it comes out as close and irritation free as the 2 or 3 pass shaves i may use it in a time crunch!

I think it depends on how the hair grows, how thick it is, etc. Mine tends to curl upon itself (if I don't shave, there's a tendency to ingrown hair), and grows in every direction. After experimenting with it for some time, my closest shaves are achieved by one pass ATG, one pass WTG, and one pass XTG (on certain areas).

I would agree that the initial ATG gets the bulk, but the WTG and XTG passes still pick up quite a bit of remainder here and there... irritation has not been a factor as long as the face is prepped with hot water, oil, and thick lather, and the razor is well-stropped. I also find it helpful to strop a bit in between passes.

Keep in mind that everybody's beard is different and some things will work for some but not others. But I've tried going ATG first pass and my razor laughed at me and walked away....

it's possible your facial hair grows in strange patterns that causes this to work differently. Is it working better for you in terms of closeness of the shave or in terms of comfort and irritation?

If the latter, I'd say you'd benefit a lot from mapping out your growth patterns and maybe switching things up again afterwards

I'm glad it works for you; I myself always go WTG 1st, and only ATG with a DE on Saturdays and twice a week or so with a nice sharp straight during the week. I always skip the XTG. In fact, this afternoon I'm going top map out a perfect rotation with my 4 straights and 1 DE, leaving a spot for the one I'm restoring and one on its way to me.

When you say you go "ATG" First, are you implying that you go counter to the direction of hair growth or are you just saying you go in a south to north pass with the razor?

Originally Posted by mcgyver74

When you say you go "ATG" First, are you implying that you go counter to the direction of hair growth or are you just saying you go in a south to north pass with the razor?

That's a very important point, I was thinking that exact same thing the other day and when I read this post. I've mapped my face, and considered it quite a bi,t but mostly I do quite a lot of S to N and N to S my self. There are slight 'path' deviations I normally use, but it's only sometimes that I really get precise about hair growth direction.

Hey guys sorry I didn't respond sooner I didn't get any emails about the posts to this thread which I thought was weird. Now to clear up some things

1) I have tough skin on my face it doesn't really get irritation even when I used a cartridge razor.

2)When I say ATG I mean against the grain of the hair no matter which way the hair grows if it grows west-east then I shave it in an east-west fashion.

3) my beard grows quickly and unless I shave every day (occasionally every other day) it becomes a pain in the butt. My beard also grows in a Northwest-South east direction on my right sideburn Northeast-Southwest on my other sideburn and then it is north-south (pretty much) in the jaw/chin areas (which are my easiest areas to shave its the sideburns that give me tons of problems along with some small portions around the jawbone)

Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert I have only been straight shaving for a few months but everywhere I looked I saw all these guides advocating WTG-ATG/XTG-ATG/XTG I thought maybe it's time to stop following the guides and try something else. I don't know if the razor grips longer hair easier in the ATG on my face or something but it works. Then the WTG still pulls the smaller hairs off pretty well and the XTG works well. Also if I do get any serious irritation a splash of the pinaud clubman aftershave burns it right out.