HELP! ATG Techniques

[Devrens]

Hey guys! I've had a lot of success with my WTG shaving passes so far, and I've been quite happy with the shave as I was coming from an electric shaver before. Recently however, I've been trying to start an ATG pass to get a little closer! It's been a disaster, I can't find an angle/position/hold that is comfortable and I end up burning the heck out of my face in a few spots before giving up and leaving it as is. Does anyone have a good link or an opinion of their own on some techniques to get the ATG pass right?

Thanks!

 

[Maxime D.]

What razor, blade, soap, order of the pass and what is your prep.

Personally I do WTG/XTG/ATG and always use a milder razor for the ATG.

 

[wsteineker]

I always avoided ATG passes when I started out, opting instead to go with an additional WTG pass for the first month or so and adding XTG passes for the several months after that. I found that it REALLY helped me figure out my technique and got me DFS results. After getting to know my tools and honing my technique, I was surprised by how easily the ATG passes and a BBS came. I don't know if that'll help at all, but I thought it worth mentioning.

 

[aimsport]

ATG is less irritating if the prior passes got the hair very short. ATG may need a different angle, pressure, speed and skin tension. ATG needs a blade that will cut... A dull blade riding down the underside of a hair will drive the blade right into your skin.

Wet your face before you regathering for greater slickness.

Try shorter strokes.

A firmer hold but with light skin pressure works for me.

 

[Devrens]

What razor, blade, soap, order of the pass and what is your prep.

Personally I do WTG/XTG/ATG and always use a milder razor for the ATG.

Gilette Slim: Setting 3, Astra Platinum, I can't remember the soap name honestly, I usually just do two WTG passes. Yesterday I tried one with and with XTG and failed with the XTG miserably.

 

[bemiller]

ATG is less irritating if the prior passes got the hair very short. ATG may need a different angle, pressure, speed and skin tension. ATG needs a blade that will cut... A dull blade riding down the underside of a hair will drive the blade right into your skin.

Wet your face before you regathering for greater slickness.

Try shorter strokes.

A firmer hold but with light skin pressure works for me.

I've found this too, I've been doing a modified 4 pass so ensure that the hair is short enough to properly do ATG. Otherwise there will be much more pulling.

 

[Copierguy]

Lot of good advise above. Rock that slim back on the doors and let the blade just barely lick your face. Remember that the safety bar is just there to keep from cutting off ears or your nose. This is probably overkill, but if at #3 you are getting irritation, try it at 2 or even 1. If you can shave at 1 then you know you have the angle right. Relax an enjoy the process.

 

[brush-mower]

Don't try for ATG on the neck or below the jaw line. Just go for the cheek. No pressure on the ATG just pull the razor up with your whole arm, keeping the wrist still. IF you have a sharp, new blade, you should get a BBS on the cheeks. Go from there...

 

[ERVARGASNY]

If you are new at this, Stay away from ATG, and only Do a 2 Pass WTG and XTG. Till you have things packed down, trust me it takes a couple of months to get the hang of things. Also for Some good Slickness and Less Irritation i would Recommend Cremo Cream Shaving Cream, it is sold at CVS Pharmacies. All you need is an almond size for your face, and that stuff is slick and helps Guard against Blade irritation. Also wet your Shave after each pass then Throw on some more Creamo Cream for the Second Pass, make sure Cream is Slick and Wet Put on more water to Dissolve the cream as it is Concentrated. Also I only do ATG when i want a Super Clean Shave, Because it does cause some irritation and Requires you give your skin at least 2 days of Rest, at least that is how it works for me ) Hope that helps you some.

 

[Cerbul13]

Here is what you need to get a comfortable ATG pass:

1. Remove enough stubble in previous passes(WTG+XTG).
2. Make sure your beard remains moist and well hydrated up until this last pass, if not, prepare again before applying lather in this ATG pass.
3. Make sure you don't stretch skin much, just use a very small amount of pulling of the skin so that is not completely relaxed. Stretching the skin too much will result in follicles damage.
4. Biggest issue about ATG pass is that you need a perfectly hydrated lather. If not, is not going to work, ever. The biggest problem is that WTG and XTG passes work just fine with not so well hydrated beard or poor lather, or unstable lather that needs some more soap or some more swirls. This makes you assume that ATG pass should work just fine exactly as WTG+XTG passes worked. Well, trust me, it doesn't work. You need perfect hydration and slickness of the lather for ATG pass.
5. Wet your face and moist as much as possible between passes.
6. In order to compensate for wetting your face between passes you need to swirl your brush against your face until the extra moisture is taken by the skin a bit, leaving the lather more creamy/protective on the face.
7. Also, make sure you don't have your face affected by the soap/redness, as this is a sign of allergy, making shaving a nightmare. If you feel that second WTG pass is bad, while first WTG pass is just fine, then most likely you should check if you are not allergic to that soap.

 

[dcobranchi]

Run the Slim at a higher setting so that you don't inadvertantly use too much pressure. My ATG is run wide open. Also, make sure you have a really good maps of your hair growth.

 

[freeze205]

Run the Slim at a higher setting so that you don't inadvertantly use too much pressure. My ATG is run wide open. Also, make sure you have a really good maps of your hair growth.

I know it sounds counter intuitive but I also do my ATG-pass on a higher setting lately with great results. I have less irritation this way.