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no-ATG club

Hi everyone,

from reading the forums, I know I am not alone when considering shaving ATG.
I have been wetshaving for 3 years now, but I shave daily (6 times a week). So I have a lot of shaves under by belt. But I will never be able to shave ATG on parts of my face. Cheeks and right side of upper lip (funny enough) would allow it. Also the sides of the chin. But middle of the chin and my whole neck (especially neck) would not allow it.
I do have a very sensitive skin, but before you say: "you should not shave daily", I did experiment with letting my skin rest for few days. No real difference.
I think the main reason is the hair growth on my neck. Hair is growing practically parallel to my skin and where it reaches the skin it creates a bump, that's sticking out.
And so if I go against the grain, it cannot be avoided to cut the hair under the skin (i.e. bump) and thus this hair will most likely be ingrown. Secondly because of the bump, I will also create irritation, no matter the angle or blade sharpness.

Those of you, who are in the same boat, please describe your reason not to go ATG.

Those who had those issue but overcame them, please share :)
 
I should also clarify, that I don't desire to do ATG, just to get BBS. However, I shave in the evening and can really do only 2 passes - WTG and semi-XTG on my neck. So the next day the stubble on my neck is alreday visible!
 
I can’t imagine not shaving atg, in fact I start atg and only go in other directions to pursue whiskers that lay askew in order to attack them atg.
 
Last night I watched a video that taught me something. Watch he face prep and how he stretches the person's skin. Would you ever go to this effort to shave. I know I haven't in the past, but I will do so now.

 
I dont really go ATG anymore because if I do, in order to get BBS I have to blade buff and that always gives me weepers. The hair on my neck grows east to west and west to east in various angles, so its difficult to really get at it.
Now, basically just do 3 XTG passes: north to south, south to north and south to north again. It gets me to about 90% BBS with no weepers, which Im happy with.
 
There’s only a few razors I’ve used so far that allow me to go truly ATG, for the others I have, hybrid angles (finding a comfortable angle between ATG and XTG) have helped immensely. The difference is usually unnoticeable, though the result doesn’t last quite as long.
 

ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
I have always shaved ATG. My grandfather was a barber in his earlier years and my father (his son) never shaved ATG. I can remember my grandfather telling me that when he was taught barbering he was told that you never shave ATG. Times change and techniques change. I find that I have to shave ATG to get a close shave. My dad is 81 and he still will not shave ATG.
 
I avoid ATG bc it results in razor burn every time on my neck. What razor and blades do you use to remove the most stubble without going ATG? My hairs seem to be bery parallel on my neck as well.
 
I also have trouble going ATG anywhere other than my cheeks. I go diagonal around my upper lip, and around my chin, which helps, but doesn’t get that close.

I can go somewhat ATG on my neck and under the jaw, using my 34c, if I really keep a very light touch, but the end result doesn’t feel very close. When I try with my Rockwell 6c (on either 2 or 3 plate) or my RR old, I almost always get weepers and irritation. I'm sure I just haven't figured out the right angle with those yet.

I still get the best results with my old cartridge razors (mach 3), so I’m pretty sure it’s just poor technique on my part. When I need a close shave, I occasionally reach for the mach 3 and get a very close shave on my neck and under the jaw. With the limited area and infrequent use, I can get a good 6 months to a year of shaves with the carts, so I keep those around from my dark days of shaving.

But thanks to the lighter touch that I’ve learned through DE shaving, I feel like I’m getting even better results shaving ATG with the carts. In the past, I used to get a bit more irritation when going ATG on my neck with them, but I’m not getting that any more thanks to the lighter touch.
 
I’ll jump on this boat, not ATG for me either, with good technique I dont get much irritation, but it doesn't do much for me on how smooth my face feels after, besides my hair is so thick and coarse that it doesnt make any difference on how it looks either so 5’Oclock shadow shows up around noon (if shave happens around 7:00 am) no matter what, so if I have something going on in the afternoon/evening, I just shave again!
 
Pretty much same as OP. There is no point for me to go BBS regardless of how I get there as I'll pay the next day or two. ATG is a no-go. My whole reason for switching was cost savings (HA! tell that to my MdC account) and avoiding irritation. To avoid irritation, DFS or SAS is fine.
 
I do not shave against the grain either.
I have fairly sensitive skin and ATG causes me too much irritation.
I have shaved ATG in the past but for me it just isn’t worth it.
I usually do 2 passes WTG which gives me a DFS. I am happy with that.
 
I do not shave against the grain. The reason I don't shave against the grain is because every barber I have ever asked about shaving ATG said you shouldn't do it. So I don't and I get excellent shaves when I shave WTG and XTG...and no irritation.
 
I stopped shaving against the grain due to discomfort (and the discomfort is not due to user error, been DE shaving for years now). I get great, comfortable shaves with DEs when I shave XTG (cross), but when I shave ATG my skin feels scraped raw. No combination of blades and soaps made it comfortable. I would shave at night and go to work the next morning and still have visible irritation from the shave (it was that bad). Finally, I decided that comfort matters far more than anything else and irritation is unsightly (no one wants to see it). With an aggressive/efficient/effective enough razor, you don't really need closer than XTG, and that's what's most comfortable for me so that's what I do. My shaves are much better now.

When I initially thought about giving up the ATG pass, I started by going with a one pass WTG, but I found the results unsatisfactory. Previously I had always shaved by shaving first with the grain then against, so I taught myself to shave XTG and abandoned ATG (even with doing all three passes, I still find ATG uncomfortable). I just don't do it anymore. Ironically enough, for you guys who watch the YouTube wet shavers, I used to shave similarly to PaulHFilms chasing BBS, but now I shave more like Nick Shaves (2-3 passes, no ATG, and clean up). Also, shaving ATG with mild razors still feels uncomfortable to me, and I have some mild razors (like the Gillette Slim Adjustable and Tech).
 
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I get great, comfortable shaves with DEs when I shave XTG (cross)

I completely agree with this, and I find the same. Usually, when I want to save a little time and just do a quick 2 pass shave, I'll go WTG then XTG, and for the most part end up with a comfortable DFS that is good for the day.

Sometimes if I want to get just a little closer, I'll add one more XTG pass in the opposite direction, and that ends up very close to a BBS. When I do a 3 pass (WTG/XTGx2), I'll do the first XTG from ear to mouth on a slightly downward angle, so that there is just a hint of WTG, then on the next XTG pass from mouth to ear, it'll be just a bit of an upward angle, so that it adds just a very slight ATG factor, and it ends up being very close and very comfortable without going fully ATG.
 
:shaving:

I'm thinking about getting one of those Phoenix Injector razors and I'll see if that somehow gives me a better ATG shave, but for me I prefer the results of XTG. I have not yet tried any SE razors.
 
A large portion of my neck is a strict "No ATG" area. Every few months I try it with a different razor, or a different blade, or a different angle and the result is always one or more ingrown hairs. I really, really don't like ingrown hairs. Everywhere else is ATG, but until I find a magic razor/blade/technique, there is a strict "no ATG zone" on that portion of my neck.
 
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