Does your skin retract during the shaving process?

[wulfgar1976]

I don't know of any other term to use but I have noticed that while I am shaving and for a short while afterwards, my skin seems a bit tighter. The effect is that if I have a tiny bit of stubble or roughness afterwards (i.e., not enough to warrant further touch-ups), after I have applied aftershave and put on some soothing cream and waited for around half an hour, my skin feels a lot smoother and has visibly less stubble if I inspect it closely.

Sometimes I am trying to go for a very close shave and can't get any closer without causing irritation but the slight bit that I couldn't quite get has completely gone and I have a BBS shave.

Does anyone else find this?

 

[planto]

When you wet your face for shaving, the hair folicals will relax and the hairs protrude slightly, thus when you are finished and dry off then the hairs will retract and the roughness you feel will be less noticable.

 

[Den]

I've noticed this too. There's this one spot on the left side of my neck that I just can't get a BBS shave. No matter the razor or technique I've tried thus far. I shave before I shower so after my shower I apply some AS and then some AS Balm. A few minutes after, that rough spot on my neck is BBS. So now I don't bother trying to achieve a BBS shave on that one spot. It just comes a few minutes later....after I've stopped shaving.

 

[kingfisher]

Part of it may also be that when you're shaving you contort your face to make the hairs protrude as far as possible. When you relax your face, those little hairs hide away again.

 

[ackvil]

That used to happen to me when I used alum. Since I stopped using alum I no longer experience this.

 

[Bertilak]

I don't know of any other term to use but I have noticed that while I am shaving and for a short while afterwards, my skin seems a bit tighter. The effect is that if I have a tiny bit of stubble or roughness afterwards (i.e., not enough to warrant further touch-ups), after I have applied aftershave and put on some soothing cream and waited for around half an hour, my skin feels a lot smoother and has visibly less stubble if I inspect it closely.

Sometimes I am trying to go for a very close shave and can't get any closer without causing irritation but the slight bit that I couldn't quite get has completely gone and I have a BBS shave.

Does anyone else find this?

I have a similar experience but never thought of it as the skin being tighter or not. My belief is that the wet whiskers expand (get longer). When they dry out they contract to below the skin surface. I think a barber will tell you that head hair is longer when wet and I believe the same is true for whiskers.

 

[papi]

I know exactly what you mean, I associate this with dry skin. I think the closer you shave the dryer your skin gets in compared to not shaving close. I am not saying the other points of views are not accurate, I am just saying that when my skin is dry, I feel like my skin is tighter. I always need a good face lotion after I shave. Thats the most expensive part too. I could never use that cheep balm or cheep splash, because it will not work properly and the smell will kill me. I always have to get the better stuff, and thats a lot of money, unfortunately.