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ATG help needed.

I still have trouble with my ATG pass. The direction of the hair (ATG) is ear to mouth on both cheeks and neck. The angle is quite tricky to get since I have to use my razor sideways. If my angle is steep I feel like I am scraping my skin, If it's shallow there is no hair getting cut. The obvious answer to my problem would be to use neither a steep nor shallow angle. Maybe it's better to skip ATG all together, but I used to get BBS without a problem. It's almost as If my stubble is rebelling against me....
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
What razor/blade combo are you using? What is your ritual (WTG/XTG/ATG)? What does your prep look like? There are lots of things to consider which might improve or degrade the quality of shave you are getting. More details from you might help diagnose some.
 
Prep : Sometimes Proraso Pre-Shave, always cold water to hydrate my face
Passes : WTG - XTG - ATG
Equipment : Rockwell 6S hovering between plates 2, 3, 4 with a PolSilver or Feather in it (found that they work best for me, or that's what I believe, could be wrong)
 

brandaves

With a great avatar comes great misidentification
Do you puff your cheeks or otherwise stretch your skin when shaving ATG? I used to have issues with ATG until I learned how to manipulate my loose skin in a way that worked for me.

Is your lather drying out a bit by the time you reach ATG in your routine? You may be loosing critical lubrication. You could try adding some water to your lather...improper lubrication is a sure way to a really rough shave.
 
A wild pepe appears!

I would look for a different blade, sounds like the one you're using has a characteristic of being unfavorable. There are certain things I look for when testing blades, I have sampled well over 50 brands and settled on a short list of only six that I consider to be above average and worthy of repeated use. When your angle is making minimum contact on the final pass, your face is getting sliced up. Feathers are not for everyone (myself included) and it sounds like they're just too harsh for you, and that's ok.

If you live in the states, I would be more than happy to send two blades from each of my favorite brands.
 
I do a one-pass ATG shave, always aiming for BBS, with the Rockwell 6c 5-plate. I have tried with plates 3 and 4, and ended up trying harder because I can’t get a close enough shave and pushing more and knicking myself. The 5 is much smoother and closer with less effort. Give it a try.
 
Some great advice above!

Just to add my $0.02: ATG is definitely not required, you could try two XTG passes in different directions as an option. I also second the notion of trying different plate and/or blade options.
 
I am with BigJ here.

Given the contours of my face and grain direction, some areas don't make sense to go ATG; some areas don't make sense to go XTG. You might have luck with diagonal strokes in your problem areas. Shortening your ATG strokes might also be helpful.

In my experience, Feathers are great but unforgiving blades -- blade angle and pressure need to be perfect or you will pay. These days, I only use them with 48hr+ growth which renders them one and done. GSBs are my daily driver.
 
I am not quite sure where the other direction of my XTG is. XTG is mouth to ear and its other direction would be ear to mouth which is my ATG......
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Sounds like angle and pressure problems to me. Have a read of the first four posts in my guide here.


There is a troubleshooting section in Part Four, but it will make more sense if you've read Parts One to Three. Good luck.
 
I still have trouble with my ATG pass. The direction of the hair (ATG) is ear to mouth on both cheeks and neck. The angle is quite tricky to get since I have to use my razor sideways. If my angle is steep I feel like I am scraping my skin, If it's shallow there is no hair getting cut. The obvious answer to my problem would be to use neither a steep nor shallow angle. Maybe it's better to skip ATG all together, but I used to get BBS without a problem. It's almost as If my stubble is rebelling against me....

I would skip the ATG pass. You can get a reasonably close shave without ATG.
 
Just to add my $0.02: ATG is definitely not required, you could try two XTG passes in different directions as an option. I also second the notion of trying different plate and/or blade options.
I am not quite sure where the other direction of my XTG is. XTG is mouth to ear and its other direction would be ear to mouth which is my ATG......

You can do an XTG/ATG hybrid pass. A true XTG would be (based on a clock face) 9 to 3. An ATG would be 6 to 12. So a hybrid would be start at 7 and move up towards 1. Here is a quick drawing I have done, much easier to show:
Shaving Angles.jpg

Thing is, WTG/XTG/ATG are all relative, you can try out your own directions to see which ones work best for you.

Have A Great One Every One!
 
Update : Changed blade, used the Gillette 7 o'clock yellow it was the first blade I'd ever used and still enjoy it after half a year. Used plate #5 and changed up the mapping, it can still be wrong but I got better results. BBS on the left side of my neck and cheek almost BBS on the right one with a little bit of scraping/discomfort. I will probably stop going ATG on the right, seems like a problem spot.
 
There are lots of great replies and ideas here....maybe something of a different approach. If your #3 post/setup is constant, then BBS shaves should be mostly the same. What changed?

Something that seems minor....like being rushed will make a difference, usually showing up in the pressure/angle area, at least for me.
 
I still have trouble with my ATG pass. The direction of the hair (ATG) is ear to mouth on both cheeks and neck. The angle is quite tricky to get since I have to use my razor sideways. If my angle is steep I feel like I am scraping my skin, If it's shallow there is no hair getting cut. The obvious answer to my problem would be to use neither a steep nor shallow angle. Maybe it's better to skip ATG all together, but I used to get BBS without a problem. It's almost as If my stubble is rebelling against me....

Actually, the answer to your problem is not using neither a steep nor shallow angle. You need to figure out the right angle while going shallow. You should ride the cap until you feel the razor cutting hair. You can tell by the sound feedback. I also have a portion of my cheeks hair growing the same direction as yours. So I do a pass that runs from my ear towards my mouth. It's really not that hard. You just need some practice. You'll get it.
 
Update #2 : I now save every other day, I use a facewash and occasionally a preshave. I switched to the Maggards V2 OC which is way more efficient. Apparently my stubble was too short to shave everyday and that's why I felt scraping. I also make sure to work my lather vigorously onto my face, sort of massaging it. I ride the cap at my ATG pass and it feels great. My only complaint is that I will have to skip a day, but sacrifices must be done for the greater good of my skin and mental health. Yes, bad shaves lead to mental health issues such as depression and obsessive BBS disorder.
 
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