Ineffective XTG Passes

[Songwind]

Did you know that XTG is way too common to do a search on? Makes sense, I suppose, but it did stop me from finding if this had been discussed already.

When I do my XTG passes, I feel like they aren't accomplishing much. They're doing something. I can hear it. But the amount that my beard is reduced is extremely small. WTG + XTG still leaves me pretty rough.

I'm sure a decent part of the problem is blade angle. It's harder to see how the head of the razor is contacting my face. However, the weight of the razor is now being pulled sideways by gravity instead of down. Should I be applying a little extra pressure on these passes?

Any other general suggestions of XTG peculiarities?

Thanks,
Eric

 

[bionic]

I know YMMV, but I've had good luck XTG by puffing my cheeks out slightly.

 

[BlackBard]

When you shave XTG or ATG you need only apply enough pressure to approximate the amount of pressure you would experience going NS or WTG, allowing gravity to do its work. Do not bear down with more pressure than that. And, don't expect a single pass to remove your beard. That is why we refer to "beard reduction" as being the purpose of each pass.

 

[Songwind]

@bionic - thanks for the tip, I'll see if that helps.

@BlackBard - Yes, I'm not expecting it to take the whole beard away. My experience has been more like "after my XTG pass, I can't tell that anything has changed."

 

[Philuk]

if you are sure that XTG removes very little, it may be blade angle too. slow down and hear the blade mow through. Also, you can play with different blades and try a sharper one

 

[rajagra]

I see the XTG pass mainly as a mopping up of stray hairs the WTG pass missed. I don't expect it to make much difference, and don't worry if it seems ineffective. That just means the 1st pass went well.

 

[baba]

For the most part, my skin cant take more than one WTG pass and one "touch up" TU pass.

But when I do use multiple passes, I use an aggressive razor, meaning that the razor leaves more of the blade exposed and at an angle that allows it to slice through more beard. If you are using a mild razor, (one that is exposing less of the blade) it just wont cut as much beard away. There are many reasons as to why you may not be getting as close a shave as you like...that is one potential reason. I hope it helps.

 

[Songwind]

@Philuk - Yep, I'm pretty much assuming my blade angle is at least a bit off all the time, currently. It's harder to see the way the head of the razor meets my face when it's handle-on to the mirror, too.

@rajagra - Hmm. Wouldn't it be great if that was the reason? Sadly, I am not self-confident enough at this point to think the reason my XTG isn't doing much is because I'm just so darned awesome with the grain.

 

[Songwind]

Leaned in really close to the mirror tonight to keep a better eye on blade angle and things went great.

 

[djh]

Leaned in really close to the mirror tonight to keep a better eye on blade angle and things went great.

Nice to hear success stories!

 

[Kentos]

I can get to near BBS with the XTG pass. But you need to encourage the hairs to stand up, be it by stretching or whatever.