2 pass shave

[Enclave68]

Hi all,

Apologies for lack of originality as I am sure this topic has been discussed countless times before, but just looking for some advice.

I have 'relatively' sensitive skin and trying to find the optimal shave experience to obtain a good (not necessarily BBS) shave without any hint of irritation.

A number of comments I have seen on the Web seem to suggest a 2 pass shave, and I wonder whether a WTG followed by an ATG could be best, or whether a WTG then a XTG could be the right trade off between closeness and lack of irritation?

Thank you

 

[Mark1977]

Like you, my skin is rather sensitive. My beard on the other hand is very course. I tried the 2 pass shave as u have mentioned. First with and then against. I did experience some irritation after shaving.
What really works for me is a pass with the grain followed by 2 passes across the grain ... left to right and then right to left directions. What I do, is I move the razor in a slightly upwards direction when going across the grain.
I finish off with a clean up pass. No irritation or burns. Works for me all the time. FYI I use an Edwin Jagger DE89 which is on the milder side. And I use either Personna Lab Blue or Astra SP blades.
Hope this helps.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

Sounds like good advice. It is surprising how many people here on B&B are of the view that they have sensitive skin and/or a coarse beard, hard to believe really. They may have of course, but unless they have a specific dermatological condition then I suspect that many would benefit from better preparation and technique, or perhaps a different razor and blade combination.

 

[ajkel64]

As mentioned by @Mark1977 I would try a WTG pass followed by 2 XTG passes going from the nose to ear then ear to nose. When you feel that you are up to it you could then try a 2 pass shave WTG and then ATG. It could also depend on how you prep before you shave as well. Let us know how you get on please. We are interested.

 

[Peterv1]

Depends on razor and blade as well with my Rockwell 6C loaded with a polsilver or Gillette silver blue I can get a pretty good result with a two pass I usually start with plate 5 and plate 3 for the second pass

 

[Enclave68]

Many thanks everyone, very helpful. I will try the WTG followed by the 2 XTG passes initially and see how I get on.

In terms of sensitivity (and I guess this is fairly usual in terms of where irritation occurs for most people), I am always fine on my face (i.e. I could do a three pass and be fairly ok), but I do get some redness and irritation on the left and right hand side of my neck when doing 3 'standard' passes. I wear a shirt and tie at work so this further aggravates.

Thanks again

 

[Cphobes]

Hi all,

Apologies for lack of originality as I am sure this topic has been discussed countless times before, but just looking for some advice.

I have 'relatively' sensitive skin and trying to find the optimal shave experience to obtain a good (not necessarily BBS) shave without any hint of irritation.

A number of comments I have seen on the Web seem to suggest a 2 pass shave, and I wonder whether a WTG followed by an ATG could be best, or whether a WTG then a XTG could be the right trade off between closeness and lack of irritation?

Thank you

Nothing wrong with a simple two-pass shave, I do that every day. WTG and ATG, decent and close enough to get through the day without any irritation. The key for me was figuring out that during my first pass I actually go ATG on my neck and WTG on the second pass (meaning neck to chin first, then chin to neck second). This is due to the hair growth on my neck.

So keeping it simple and going in the right direction of your growth is most important. You might find like I did that an area that gets irritated is due to you going ATG of that area during the first pass.

Hope that helps, good luck.

 

[wandering eye]

I have rarely reached three passes. Very often its 1.5 pass (when my first pass is good enough). Just find the right razor/s and blades for yourself. I need to take a call every morning which combination to use, depending on my beard growth.
But nothing wrong with 2 passes or less. Whatever works for you.
Your skin will tell you what to do.

 

[Ruva]

Try both to see which works best.

A two pass WTG and XTG still left my neck irritated. I was surprised when a WTG and ATG left no irritation.

 

[Peterv1]

Try both to see which works best.

A two pass WTG and XTG still left my neck irritated. I was surprised when a WTG and ATG left no irritation.

I think cutting WTG first is proun to less irritation since you won't be scrapping your skin too much if you do your second pass ATG

 

[BigJ]

Some great suggestions above!!

I suggest that you map your beard to understand precisely what you are doing: WTG may be different in different areas!

 

[TinyT]

I do two passes, WTG, XTG and consistently achieve a DFS+. However, my main concern is on comfort and skin health. To that end I'm giving serious consideration to shaving WTG only, 2 passes.

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

I only go ATG during touch up on those few difficult places: right under the chin and a portion of my neck. Otherwise, I can get a decent shave with two north to south passes.

 

[fistfullofbeer]

Like you, my skin is rather sensitive. My beard on the other hand is very course. I tried the 2 pass shave as u have mentioned. First with and then against. I did experience some irritation after shaving.
What really works for me is a pass with the grain followed by 2 passes across the grain ... left to right and then right to left directions. What I do, is I move the razor in a slightly upwards direction when going across the grain.
I finish off with a clean up pass. No irritation or burns. Works for me all the time. FYI I use an Edwin Jagger DE89 which is on the milder side. And I use either Personna Lab Blue or Astra SP blades.
Hope this helps.

This is good advice.

I think if I am unsure about a new razor or my face is recovering from an irritating shave from the previous day, the 1 x WTG and 2 x XTG approach is exactly what I employ. I am never going to get a shave as close with this as compared to my 1 x WTG and 1 x ATG shave but it is a 'safer' bet for sure.

 

[Noodles]

When I do two pass, it's mostly WTG, then XTG. There is a little bit of ATG where I can handle it and a little bit of half way between XTG and ATG.

 

[Ravenonrock]

My neck has always been a problem area for me. I would never consider ATG passes there. I’m starting to pay more attention to the growth patterns there as was suggested, that helps. Proper preparation and technique for sure. I use a few less aggressive razors and am trying to figure out the right blade combo. Some days it just feels like a guessing game and I roll the dice.....on my face. If I’m not getting the result I want after a few passes, I just leave well enough alone and come back at it the next morning. Mostly having good irritation free shaves lately. Discovering the products that meet my needs has helped too.

 

[haggis]

If I’m not getting the result I want after a few passes, I just leave well enough alone and come back at it the next morning.

This is the single best (and hardest) learning I have had. "Eh, good enough" is my new mantra. Along with "Easy tiger, it's not a race."

 

[Scrape&Splash]

Hi all,

Apologies for lack of originality as I am sure this topic has been discussed countless times before, but just looking for some advice.

I have 'relatively' sensitive skin and trying to find the optimal shave experience to obtain a good (not necessarily BBS) shave without any hint of irritation.

A number of comments I have seen on the Web seem to suggest a 2 pass shave, and I wonder whether a WTG followed by an ATG could be best, or whether a WTG then a XTG could be the right trade off between closeness and lack of irritation?

Thank you

I mostly try to do 36 or 48 hours between shaves. It's just better that way - more to take off - skin completely healed & etc... But when I have a meeting / customer visit and need to shave within 24 hours, I do a WTG/XTG with a mild shaver and a mellow blade. GSB is that blade for me. Some people claim it's harsh... I've no idea why. the GSB and de89 are my go-to "gotta be mellow" customer-meeting shave. Followed by Dickinson's Witch hazel, CeraVe and usually nothing else as my goal is to not drive customers away with cologne that they may or may not like. ;-)

 

[fistfullofbeer]

My neck has always been a problem area for me. I would never consider ATG passes there. I’m starting to pay more attention to the growth patterns there as was suggested, that helps. Proper preparation and technique for sure. I use a few less aggressive razors and am trying to figure out the right blade combo. Some days it just feels like a guessing game and I roll the dice.....on my face. If I’m not getting the result I want after a few passes, I just leave well enough alone and come back at it the next morning. Mostly having good irritation free shaves lately. Discovering the products that meet my needs has helped too.

You basically sound like me .. ha ha. I am getting better with leaving it alone and coming back the next morning but not quite all the time yet .. . I feel like every time I shave the neck is basically going to be a crapshoot and its one of those 'Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?' moments.

Also, though my neck is not quite as sensitive there are times when I have done 5-6 passes to get a 'closer' shave. While I succeed (most of the time), it just leads to a lot of irritation. So I am spending more time experimenting with my growth pattern. Seriously thinking about starting to take notes on that ..

 

[MrSpeedy]

I do WTG, XTG, then touch ups. Rinse, dry, aftershave.