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"The No Pressure Mantra Is Misleading. Some Pressure Is Beneficial For A longer Lasting And More Efficient Result." Discuss.

Alum Ladd

Could be most likely nutjob stuff
Some pressure is good.

I believe it is sound advice for new shavers, but development of individual technique in DE, SE or SR platforms can make the adage quickly counter-productive as the user progresses in experience and familiarity with beard type, skin sensitivity and mapping, and an increasingly indifferent shave result becomes a factor if the no pressure rule is blindly adhered to, retarding the new shavers individual route to improving results.

Judicious pressure used with experience, especially at the XTG pass makes a significant difference to the duration of post shave result.

I define pressure as forward energy of the stroke, not pressing down, although a little of that is beneficial.

This takes significant 'dialling in' as to ones' individual technique, razor used and blade deployed.

I recently shaved with a US RT and a second use GSB using no pressure at all. A good shave, but the visible shave duration was suprisingly short, at some ten hours.

About six hours ago I used the same blade, the same Arko! and the same brush in a 48' Super Speed with some pressure at certain stages of the shave and the results point to a longer lasting post shave duration. In other words, visibility of stubble and the need to shave again has been retarded by maybe eight hours longer.

I needed to shave again after twenty four hours with the RT shave. Using some pressure with the SS means that shave will last thirty six hours or slightly more, to my standards.

My face is oddly somewhat smoother and the effect that some term as FIS seems minimal.

Views on this please.
 
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mcee_sharp

MCEAPWINMOLQOVTIAAWHAMARTHAEHOAIDIAMRHDAE
There are certain parts of my face that definitely do benefit with the addition of more pressure than other parts. Thankfully in the absence of any irritation. I think the no pressure mantra would better be described as "don't use any more pressure than is necessary"?

This is only for DE for me though, no additional pressure with SE or SR.
 

nemo

Lunatic Fringe
Staff member
Got to have pressure with a well-designed razor. The safety bar (or comb) pushes down the skin, gives a little stretch, then the blade comes along and nips the whisker. Kinda like a wave. Another good reason not to ride the cap too much.

That's my theory and I'm sticking to it. Pressure. Beats the heck out of the "letting the weight of the razor" do it, eh? Haha.
 
One of the canards I struggled with when I started shaving with a straight was that "it should be effortless". Which may be true if you have the sort of winsome, silken beard of a blushing 15 year old, but four or five decades later that advice, literally, won't cut it with old, grey whiskers poking out of a heavily lined face like mangrove roots at low tide. No matter how sharp the edge is, you will need some force to push it through that sort of beard.

It may be semantics, but I shave without pressure (against the face), but with some force in the cutting direction. After all, I'm shaving, not applying blusher...
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
I think the advice to 'use no pressure' or 'let the weight of the razor do the work' is useful advice to beginners, especially those who have used disposables. Once a degree of experience is obtained then using controlled pressure can be beneficial, and perhaps even essential. I certainly apply 'some' pressure, no matter how small, throughout my entire shave, even when using a Weck razor.
 
I hope now @ivan_101 will concede that threads like this can be posted by someone other than myself! 🤣

I think a lot of it depends on the razor.

With a light razor, some pressure may be needed.
With a heavy razor, negative pressure may be needed.

Technically, "no pressure" may be inaccurate but I think the advice to use "no pressure" or "let the weight of the razor do the work" is all about encouraging the beginner to develop the right touch. The important thing is to prevent folks from bearing down like they may be used to doing with other types of razor.

One of the best analogies I heard was to let your hair grow out for 24hrs then experiment running the back of your hand on your cheek ATG with just enough force that you can feel and hear the sandpaper effect. Find the minimum amount of pressure you can use to get that sound / sensation. That's the guideline for how much pressure you want from your razor.
 
What the heck is "negative pressure" ? 🤣

If the razor is particularly heavy you may need to be holding it up rather than pushing it down.

So, just as in atmospheric terms you can have negative pressure (i.e. pressure that is less than a standard atmosphere, but greater than zero) with a heavy razor you may want pressure that is less than that which is applied by the weight of the razor, but still greater than zero. I call that negative pressure.

Appreciate it's a term that needs to be interpreted by means of analogy, but I am sure a gent of perspicacity like yourself can grasp the meaning. ;)
 
“No pressure” is vital for the transition from cartridges. Using the same pressure gave me a few burns in my first shave with a safety razor. When you get it, sometimes a little pressure can help.

In addition, stretching the skin like the straight razor guys do is more effective, in my opinion, than apply pressure. Just my 2 cents 😛
 

Mr. Shavington

Knows Hot Turkish Toilets
I sense that by far the most common problem inexperienced DE shavers have is that they use too much pressure against their face, and when they aren’t getting a close shave (due to failing to maintain the right angle) they press harder to try and compensate. Particularly since most new DE shavers have come from cartridge razors that are designed to compensate for pressure by pivoting the head, whereas a DE razor won’t do this.

I think it takes a long time and a lot of practice for inexperienced DE shavers to learn to shave with a lighter touch, and learn how to maintain the correct angle instead of pressing down.
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
I have experimented with more pressure (which is universally understood to be toward the face, not forward) and can attain no better results this way. I am tempted to say that if it does there is a kink in the armor someplace (marriage of razor/blade/beard/skin, or technique) but I only shave one face and that would be poor science.

I recently purchased a very light razor, the Alpha Spirit, which is waaaaay lighter than my Wolfman WR1 with his heaviest handle, but it requires no more pressure than the Wolfman.

I am using a human arm to shave, so I can't say with complete certainty that the ounces of pressure are exactly the same for both, but it sure feels that way. I generally try to use less than the weight of the razor pressure. I do find more pressure an excellent way to produce some irritation.
 
Use no pressure is a mantra, to help new shavers and those developing their technique. Most beginners, myself included add tons of pressure and don't even know it. Many reduce pressure and are still adding too much. I went through several phases of thinking I had reduced pressure, only having to reduce it more. I swore I was at the lightest I could go, but then had a couple more levels of light touch before my technique was good enough to use more aggressive razors. I had to keep reminding myself "no pressure" to train my muscles to not add so much. It took a long time, but eventually I got to a light touch.

The discussion about no pressure comes up every couple months and is rather pedantic. Nobody is saying to let the razor fall off your face. No/low/light pressure is all to try to help folks develop good technique. Sometimes they will need to think "no" pressure to even lighten up at all. They don't think they are adding pressure at all, yet they are adding way too much. It is like a long-jumper chanting "fly" in their mind to visualize leaping off the line and soaring over the pit.
 
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