Shaving the opposite side of your face

[mretzloff]

Ok, I know I keep asking a lot of questions, but I really am determined to stick with this. If you're right-handed how do you shave the left side of your face or if you're left-handed how do you shave the right side of your face?

I seem to do ok WTG of my right side, but my left is another story.

 

[AdrianR]

If you're right-handed how do you shave the left side of your face ?

How? Same as the right side...with difficulty!

Seriously, it's about technique. If you are able to get the blade/face angle OK then there's no 'dominant' hand for the razor - you should be able to use either. But if you really want to use one hand for both sides then you need to practice, practice, practice in front of the mirror. Try rotating your face, relative to your hand.

 

[richmondesi]

I use my right hand for my right side WTG and left hand for my left side WTG. I use the opposite hand for XTG & ATG passes. In the middle of my face, I always use my right hand.

 

[Leche]

Right hand right face, left face left hand. Although if I want to use opposite hand I will hold it like a Japanese razor.

 

[GeorG]

There's a nice couple of videos here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TZrA5UNsdY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nUGvGNlVeg&feature=related

very instructive.

 

[Bertilak]

I switch hands. I'm slowly getting better at it. My "wrong" hand requires a bit more deliberation. And I do mean "deliberation". I need to think about every position change and make sure it is right then remind myself about angles, pressure, etc. -- things that come more naturally with my "correct" hand.

 

[Disburden]

You use both hands. You use the right hand to shave the right side and vice versa, while stretching with the opposite hand. It's not hard at all once you practice.

 

[huracan]

I have been using my right hand for the whole face during my two months of (not everyday) straight shaving. At first, the use of the left hand felt, I dunno, just unnatural.
The one spot I cannot get a hang of though, is the left neck to jaw line area. Now that I'm getting more comfortable and confident I will start gradually trying a left hand hold.

 

[ronin78]

I just started shaving with a straight a couple of weeks ago, and I am traditionally a right-handed shaver, so I'm in the same boat that you are. If you are interested in it, I would encourage you to learn to use both hands, since that will probably make certain angles easier and allow you to experiment more with your passes. I already do WTG swipes on the left-side of my face that would be a real problem if I didn't use my left hand.

You might be pleasantly surprised. I actually find that I use less pressure with my non-dominant hand, which can lead to a smoother stroke and less irritation. Just take it slow, and be patient with your south paw.


Matt

 

[scottish steve]

I use my left hand for both sides and find ATG on the left side of my neck pretty finnicky. Doing the right side of my face wtg, I deviate from the classical hand-position and hold the razor like a comb, then switch to "reverse classic" styel for ATG. Thank God I have a goattee is all I can say!

 

[Improbable]

I've tried to use my left hand to shave that side of my face, but I just can't do it. The hand shakes a bit and I can't control the pressure very well. Maybe I'd do better with practice, but the learning curve scares me.

Instead I just use my right hand for the entire face. For most of the left half, this means skipping straight to a XTG pass, but I've got a fairly easy beard.

 

[huracan]

Tried the left hand today with the LeGrelot, very gingerly I may add. Not bad, not great but it was a start and the results were decent.

The big thing I was struggling with until recently was how best to approach my difficult areas, turns out it was just a matter of figuring out where to get a hold of the skin to stretch it more so than I had been.

 

[Ichinichi]

practice and videos to see what other ppl do.

 

[Chimensch]

I taught myself to shave with a str8 almost 30 years ago and always used my right hand, developing grips and angles that worked. It never occurred to me to use the other hand until I found the Internet forums a year ago.

I resisted learning to shave with the left hand because it feels so awkward but I found a reason to keep at it. I got BBS shaves but the BBS on the left side lasted longer than the right and I figured that my angles where slightly different. Now, I do most of the ATG pass on the right with my left hand (not all, because I just can't get my left hand all the way down my neck).

The learning curve is not that long. I figure it took me about 10 shaves before I got good at it. One suggestion is to brush your teeth and hold your fork in your left hand to built strength and control.

 

[rainman]

I have always switched hands from the start.

 

[mparker762]

Switching hands is easier to do if your fingers just hold the razor steady and your wrists do all the work. Most of the fine motor control that is hand-specific is in the fingers not the wrist.

 

[thanks]

I shave probably about 65% of my face with my right hand. That is, I shave my right side and the center with my right hand, then switch over to my left just for the left cheek and neck area. I find this to be working out quite well, and so far I don't really see a need to split the work up exactly 50/50.