Is this okay

[Newbie123]

Hi all,

Thanks so much for the advice

Is this technique okay going forward

I really don’t want to get ingrown hairs/Folliculitis

I recently bought like a multipack of fusion 5 razors.

I was thinking about shaving every other day one stroke against the grain very lightly / I love the feel of a smooth face.

Of course I would do this after I shower with shaving cream and use aqua velva aftershave

Would this pretty much minimize ingrown hairs with a smooth face?

Thanks!

 

[StewB]

This depends on your face and how your stubble grows.

If the multi-blade cartridges are cutting below the skin surface, then I would say your probability for getting ingrown hairs increases.

This is one reason I find it preferable to shave with a double edge (DE) razor rather than a multi-blade cartridge razor - multi-blade cartridge razors tend to give me ingrown hairs, and DE razors don't.

If you don't get ingrowns and are happy using what you have, great!

 

[Old Hippie]

I was thinking about shaving every other day one stroke against the grain very lightly / I love the feel of a smooth face.

Give it a shot. Either it works for you or it doesn't. If you're normally careful and don't try to keep pushing on something that may not be working, I don't see any problems.

I had the thought that shaving one WTG pass every day would probably give you less irritation than a two-day ATG. I can imagine how that would work for me -- even one day later I need to reduce the hair with WTG before going ATG. Trying to go immediately ATG after a couple of days would simply stop the razor for me. I could hack through it but Boy Howdy I would regret that decision for the next week.

I used to think, "More passes; more irritation." True as far as it goes, but putting a bit of nuance on it I can now say, "With the right razor and gentle technique, more passes; less irritation within certain limits." Discovering those limits for you and your equipment is a task for you to undertake.

With a naked blade (shavette or devette) I generally shave only WTG. That leaves a nice smooth surface one direction but of course I haven't taken off an ATG pass so it's still a bit rough. I have dark hair and that one pass takes off enough to look acceptable out in public. I can go two days before needing to repeat.

The downside is that I haven't got a fully smooth skin because of only one pass. Not really a problem but I'll really enjoy being smooth again next week when I hang the devette up for a while and return to an excellent slant razor.

O.H.

 

[@ngel]

I would say the same, smooth is not exactly good all the time.

IME, I cant shave ATG, specially with carts, my whiskers grow almost parallel to my skin, so the follicle lifts the skin just a bit, but just enough to butcher my face, and then it grows right under the skin, so for me not to get ingrowns I must stick to just shaving WTG and do some buffing around thick areas.

Is definitely not baby smooth, but even if I was to shave ATG to obtain maximum smoothness it wouldn't make a difference on how it looks cause my beard is really dark and thick and I have light skin, so no matter what, it looks like a 5 O’clock shadow all the time.

If your face/beard doesn't mind the ATG pass then go for it, but thats the main reason most of us switch to DE razors, the blade has more contact with the skin and the angle makes for a cleaner cut of the whiskers rather than the pulling/snapping effect the multi blades have, they snap the whiskers below the skin, part of the reason it feels really smooth, but the main reason for ingrowns.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Hi all,

Thanks so much for the advice

Is this technique okay going forward

I really don’t want to get ingrown hairs/Folliculitis

I recently bought like a multipack of fusion 5 razors.

I was thinking about shaving every other day one stroke against the grain very lightly / I love the feel of a smooth face.

Of course I would do this after I shower with shaving cream and use aqua velva aftershave

Would this pretty much minimize ingrown hairs with a smooth face?

Thanks!

Not a single person on here can tell you what will, or will not, work for you. Why don’t you just do it and see what happens?

 

[rbscebu]

@Newbie123 for the closest (BBS) result without skin irritation or ingrowns, you will need to shave with a straight razor (SR). There are however downsides to SR shaving:

Don't Waste Your Time Even Thinking About Getting Into Straight Razor Shaving!

So, you have been thinking about trying out this SR shaving thing. Let me tell you, you are a fool for doing so. Here is why: It is the most dangerous way to shave. The population was much less when only SRs were available to shave with. You can guess the reason. It takes what seems like...

www.badgerandblade.com

If you are comfortable with cart shaving, give the 7-blade Dorco cartridges a go. As you have been told in advertisements, more blades must be better. Cartridge razor manufacturers would never lie.

 

[NorthernSoul]

I'd say just try it and see, since we're all a bit different, for some people it will work OK.

If it doesn't work, you could do an additional across-the-grain pass instead the next time and call it a day.

 

[Butch Waxx]

Not a single person on here can tell you what will, or will not, work for you. Why don’t you just do it and see what happens?

Pretty sound advice!

 

[Robert6891]

Try it and see. It wouldn't work for me but my face isn't your face. If it doesn't work, try instead a cross the grain pass instead.


If you're prone to ingrown hairs then it might be more beneficial to look at your pre and post shave routine more. For me, that's far more important to preventing ingrown hairs than the actualy shaving part. With good prep I can straight razor shave 4 passes pluss touch up with 0 irritation - 7 days a week. Skimp on my prep and I end up not shaving for a couple days to let my face recover a little.

 

[Lane101]

Hi all,

Thanks so much for the advice

Is this technique okay going forward

I really don’t want to get ingrown hairs/Folliculitis

I recently bought like a multipack of fusion 5 razors.

I was thinking about shaving every other day one stroke against the grain very lightly / I love the feel of a smooth face.

Of course I would do this after I shower with shaving cream and use aqua velva aftershave

Would this pretty much minimize ingrown hairs with a smooth face?

Thanks!

Any approach that works for you is fine. Given your concern regarding ingrown hairs have you considered trying a single blade double edge razor? Good luck.

See the thread below for additional insight and examples of a wide variety of shaving approaches:

How Did the Three Pass Shave Originate? One or Two Passes Were Standard Historically.

Curious as to the origination of today's recommended three pass DE shave with, across and against the grain? Is anyone familiar with the basis for this? My attempt to research the topic hasn't found any historical basis for this beyond the more recent posts and videos from DE shavers who...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[BigJ]

Great advice above!!

For me, the only approach is to give things a try to see what works! And if it works then that’s the answer!!

 

[spacemonkey42]

@Newbie123 only you can determine what is good for you. That said, in my experience a multi-blade cartridge is more likely to give you ingrown hairs than a single or double-edged razor. If you are new to the hobby, I'd highly recommend a Henson Al13 razor and a sample pack of blades.

 

[kingfisher]

Generally speaking, if you have a problem with ingrowns, shaving ATG is a bad idea.

If you like a fairly smooth face and don't want ingrowns, a daily WTG is probably better.

 

[CANES]

Generally speaking, if you have a problem with ingrowns, shaving ATG is a bad idea.

If you like a fairly smooth face and don't want ingrowns, a daily WTG is probably better.

Amen to this. Not going ATG was hard to remove from the routine but man, did my face benefit from it once I did.