Double pass for the sensitive

[Shannon H]

Hi All,
I wanted to add my two bits about process. I have sensitive skin and tough, curly beard that likes to go ingrown. I currently favor Merkur blades, and Nomad soap, because it lathers like a champ if you have soft water. I have tried the three pass WTG,XTG, ATG shave and have felt the pain. It seems to me that the multiple passes really scrapes away the skin, leaving me in pain for days. I have found a solution worth trying, especially if you have skin conditions like mine. I advocate a WTG, ATG shave. This is especially for a daily shave. Since the hairs don't get a chance to lay down and get "under the skin" I have less pain, less plucking and over all, a closer shave than I though possible. I guess what I'm advocating is experimentation. I know some guys have a religious adherence to the three pass shave, but you may be wrecking your skin with that extra pass. I also strongly advocate only occasional use of the beloved proraso. The menthol and wintergreen can really booger up sensitive skin. I only use it when I plan ahead and don't shave for a day in order to get that extra close shave. Just my two bits. YMMV

Shannon

 

[withoutink]

I can really only do a two pass with a DE. I have to go - WTG then XTG. I can sometimes, only sometimes make it a third time ATG. But I rarely bother... its just to much for my skin.

 

[jpkunst]

I advocate a WTG, ATG shave. This is especially for a daily shave.

This is what I do as well. The three- or four-pass shave is overkill for me, it's bad for my skin and it doesn't noticeably shave any closer.

 

[andrewinman]

+1 I have found that I mostly favor a good 2pass.

 

[mretzloff]

I'm surprised no one has said this yet, but your pain might be coming from the blade you're using. Those Merkur blades are known to be of low quality.

 

[Gringo]

I'm surprised no one has said this yet, but your pain might be coming from the blade you're using. Those Merkur blades are known to be of low quality.

Or the amount of pressure used? I have a very sensitive and troublesome skin with a history of lots of acne and such. I can easily do 4 passes with a lots of touchup (J-hooking, mostly blade buffing). Just make sure you use a forgiving but sharp blade (sounds bit dodgy, but if you've found the right blade you know what I mean). I like Feathers for a 2 pass shave and blades like Red Pack IPs and Astra Superior Platinums for more passes. Crystal blades are pretty good as well IMO, but aren't sharp enough to cut through the whisker on my chin.

When I started out wetshaving I used waaaaay too much pressure (as I was used to M3). My skin would look like I had intense sun burn which would hurt like hell for days as well. After a year of wetshaving I didn't have this problem anymore as I was using less pressure.

 

[kingfisher]

I don't like ATG. This morning I did three passes: WTG, XTG (back to front) and then XTG (front to back). Very close shave.

What I was wondering afterwards is whether it would be just as good if I omitted the first WTG pass and just started with the back-to-front XTG and finished with the front-to-back XTG.

I may try it tomorrow.

 

[HoratioCaine]

I don't like ATG. This morning I did three passes: WTG, XTG (back to front) and then XTG (front to back). Very close shave.

What I was wondering afterwards is whether it would be just as good if I omitted the first WTG pass and just started with the back-to-front XTG and finished with the front-to-back XTG.

I may try it tomorrow.

Are you still experimenting with the Injector, or did you go back to a Sensor? Or something else?

 

[Shannon H]

I'm surprised no one has said this yet, but your pain might be coming from the blade you're using. Those Merkur blades are known to be of low quality.

I've tried a lot of blades. The Astra's about destroyed me. Feathers are OK, but can be problematic. I'm surprised to hear that about the merkur blades.

 

[ateace]

I skip WTG mostly, only using it after I miss a day or two.

 

[kingfisher]

Are you still experimenting with the Injector, or did you go back to a Sensor? Or something else?

Alternating between the injector and the Sensor. I used the injector yesterday morning (3 passes) and the Sensor this morning (2 passes as described above). Comparable shaves, comparable amount of burn with the alcohol-based splash.

So I think the injector really gave me a very good shave yesterday morning. (I was extremely careful with attention to technique and pressure.) The blade still strikes me as much sharper than most DE blades, which I like. I have an order of Kai blades on the way so I can dabble with the DE again. I only tried the Kai once before, but it was the sharpest, smoothest blade I ever used. Once the Kais arrive, I'll be able to do a comparison between DE with the Kai and the injector.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.

 

[FTG]

I've been experimenting with 2 to 3 passes.

If I'm trying for 2 passes, the 2nd pass is half way between XTG and WTG.

eg. On the cheek, I angle the blade so it goes diagonally up rather than across (pass 2) and up (pass 3).

This is with a straight blade (probably similar with DE/SE?).

Also worth exploring where the hair is growing eg. on the upper lip it doesn't go directly north-south, so a 'WTG' pass (North -South pass) may really be a WTG/XTG pass... if that makes sense.

It's good experimenting - sometimes something works out better that you don't expect.

All the best,
Michael.

 

[kingfisher]

..

If I'm trying for 2 passes, the 2nd pass is half way between XTG and WTG.

eg. On the cheek, I angle the blade so it goes diagonally up rather than across (pass 2) and up (pass 3).


...

Michael.

This is what I have been doing, too, with great effect (although it's really halfway between an XTG and an ATG). It works well for me.

 

[No Pressure]

Since I had a major problem with ingrowns and bumps using a cartridge, I did 2 WTG passes for the first several weeks when I started out. Not a close shave in the least, but passable.

Now for the past few weeks, I still do 2 WTG passes, but I've added an XTG pass, which has made a considerable improvement in reduction. And I've finally started implementing some of those advanced techniques (particularly J-hooking) to touch up. I've noticed a dramatic reduction in my ingrowns and bumps, so something must be working. To this day, I refuse to try ATG, since I'm sure that will do major damage to my skin. I guess I'm not on a quest for BBS anyway, just a DFS.

But as we say here, YMMV, but sometimes it takes a bit of experimentation to find out what works best for you.

 

[Jarmo P]

There is nothing better than an ATG pass. I need wtg and XTG before that for sure. Every day. Against the grain pass is what makes baby smooth faces.

 

[Jaybird180]

I've found good results with 2 'light' WTG passes before doing any others. And I've recently found out that dumping my shaving water between passes was bad. I also reuse the face lather and just wet that using the 'grey' water and then relather.

 

[dpmtherrien]

I usually do a 3 pass shave, WGT,XTG,ATG. I use no pressure and get good results. I usually do no pressure blade buffing and cold water cleanup at the end which results in a very close smooth shave. It took a bit of time though for my skin to get use to the DE shave, but now its really good. The shaves are a very nice period of time to myself which I enjoy and look forward to.

 

[Emmett]

I generally do WTG, WTG, XTG. If in a hurry I'll skip the XTG. It's not the closest but my skin stays happy. As I keep refining my technique I'm sure my shaves will continue to improve.

 

[ProphetNoir]

I went from two passes to three and finaly added a fourth pass which was against the grain. With four passes I finally achieved BBS, but I couldn't keep it going for very long before I started getting irritation. It may have been my technique or being overconfident. Whatever ... I went back to two passes for the most part and I can actually shave every daynow. With more passes I had to skip a day between shaves. I still can do a comfortable four pass shave for a special occasion but it isn't necessary for me and I get a DFS with two passes and a little touch up on some areas. This isn't supposed to be painful and we certainly aren't supposed to dread shaving. I still look forward eagerly to each and every shave.

 

[Jaybird180]

What is the distinction between DFS and BBS?