To Stretch or not to Stretch

[noodles hovar]

So I was feeling my face a while after shaving (who doesn't!), and was annoyed to find rough patches in places where I know I checked carefully during my routine. So I tried doing a shave WITHOUT stretching my skin - just shaving the skin as it lies.

The result - very smooth all over. I think that by stretching the skin, I was shaving the whiskers in an unnatural direction so that when the skin was again relaxed, there were hairs protruding that were not during the stretch.

Anyone else experience this?

 

[Dovo1695]

Nope. I've experienced the opposite though. That's not to say different beards don't react differently to stretching.

The one thing I've done that's improved my shaves more than anything else is using air pressure to stretch during the ATG pass. This works for the cheeks, lower lip, and upper lip. It's truly amazing. It makes every follicle stand straight up. It looks a bit silly, but it makes a Gillette Tech shave closer than an R41. It completely changed my definition of BBS.

That said, it could definitely be something to do with grain direction of your beard or the way that you're stretching. Everybody's beard is different for sure.

 

[kingfisher]

doesn't make sense to me, either. I shave with an open blade, so a bit of skin stretching is at least advisable, if not necessary. If you do the stretching properly, it should make your shave closer, not worse.

Using a safety bar DE, though, stretching other than what you can do with facial muscles isn't really necessary, because the bar itself stretches the skin.

 

[Kyle89]

I stopped stretching with DE entirely and I notice an improvement in my shaves with less irritation on my neck.

 

[Timeclo]

I like to look upwards to stretch my neck and grab a hold of my neck portion to stretch the chin. What I find is that it's hard to get a BBS without skin stretching. Recently, I've been chasing the BBS so skin stretching has been essential to my shave.

 

[noodles hovar]

I neglected to mention that I go solely ATG so that's why it turns out nice & close for me.

 

[guitarslinger]

I’ve never done that hand assisted stretching thing in my 14 years of de shaving. I don’t need it.

 

[sternej]

You get older, like over 55 or so, you'll find stretching around the chin and neck helps a lot. I use air pressure around the mouth and cheeks too

 

[BigJ]

You get older, like over 55 or so, you'll find stretching around the chin and neck helps a lot. I use air pressure around the mouth and cheeks too

Great point! My goal is to not get any older!!

 

[pwill112]

Moderate stretching only to create a flat surface where necessary.

 

[thombrogan]

Anyone else experience this?

Yes, but I suck at skin stretching, so letting my jowls pile up before the blade means I’m trying to improve.

I neglected to mention that I go solely ATG

Same here. My concentration burns out too fast, so it’s get to the dessert then leave the table.

@Dovo1695 ,

I’ve had some success around parts of my face with the modified Satchmo you shared, but how do you handle below the jawline?

 

[Dovo1695]

I’ve had some success around parts of my face with the modified Satchmo you shared, but how do you handle below the jawline?

The Satchmo technique doesn't do much good below the chin to be sure. For this area, I use the Sweeney Todd technique, which uses the thumb and forefinger around the full throat to pull the skin down towards the clavicle while at the same time tilting my head back as far as it can go. This creates two opposing forces, thereby stretching the skin. I begin each pass on the extreme left side, and rotate my head fully in the opposite direction, such that for the first stroke I'm looking straight up over my right shoulder. I rotate my head as I'm taking strokes such that when I arrive at the terminal right stroke, I'm looking straight up over my left shoulder. This rotation isn't strictly necessary, but if you try it right now you'll note how much tighter the skin on the left side is than the right side when you look straight up and to you right.

For the first pass I find that 8 decisive, minimally overlapping downward strokes from the jawline to the bottom of the neck takes away most of the bulk. This is followed by 8 decisive, minimally overlapping upward strokes from bottom of the neck to the jawline.
I do the downward pass first followed immediately by the upward pass while in the Sweeny Todd position, and the whole under the chin area is shaved in around 10 seconds altogether.

For me at least, both of these are more or less XTG for 90% of this area. The grain runs either left or right or diagonal for me below the chin. YMMV. I never go ATG below the neckline, and never try for BBS. I've tried 100 things, and no matter what I do, I wind up ingrown hairs and red bumps if I attempt to do so. Fortunately, my beard isn't nearly as thick below the chin, so it still looks respectable.

Come to think of it, I should probably point this out in my Arko vs Mogno thread. I don't got full Konami below the chin. I wouldn't be able to shave for a week.

 

[Dovo1695]

@thombrogan: How do you typically manage the below the chin area? I recall you making reference to a towel, which I understand improves grip. Is it necessary for you to stretch in different directions (left & right rather than up & down) because of grain orientation?

 

[thombrogan]

How do you typically manage the below the chin area?

Haphazardly. Don’t really know how to do my stretches and am trying to move my whiskers to flatter areas versus wrinkly or sinewy or definitely not flat places as well as eliminate unintended homages to cartoon icon Shaggy Rogers. Most used techniques are pointing with chin followed by pulling neck skin above or closer to jawline. Just very recently started handling that area by pulling down near clavicles to make coveted flat surfaces.

Is it necessary for you to stretch in different directions (left & right rather than up & down) because of grain orientation?

Can’t say anything I do with razors is necessary, but neck hair pattern seems to chin and bottom of throat towards the Adam’s apple and the radiates out towards the back of each jawline.

The shave binky helps because most places I was grabbing to stretch were still lathered. Just today, I saw a video of a person shaving ATG who didn’t sink His off hand into lather to skin stretch and I’m hoping that idea will help increase my comfort and decrease my need to relather areas I hadn’t already shaved.

Thank you, Nick!

 

[Dovo1695]

Can’t say anything I do with razors is necessary

That reminds of one more extremely helpful named stretching technique I call "Nick Nodding". Have a look at this vid from "Nick Shaves". Fast forward to 8:53 - 9:00. Essentially, on the downward pass around the chin, you nod while turning the corner around the curve of the chin. It looks like nonsense, but it works a treat. It's actually surprisingly intuitive and effective for maintaining the ideal angle during the sharp transition of angle while stretching the skin at the same time. If nothing else, it's fun to try.

 

[thombrogan]

Essentially, on the downward pass around the chin, you nod while turning the corner around the curve of the chin.

D’oh! Light bulb! Thanks, Nick! I do that with my upper lip; and jawline on rare XTG passes; but never thought to try with the chin. Will try it next shave. Thank you!

 

[Timeclo]

That reminds of one more extremely helpful named stretching technique I call "Nick Nodding". Have a look at this vid from "Nick Shaves". Fast forward to 8:53 - 9:00. Essentially, on the downward pass around the chin, you nod while turning the corner around the curve of the chin. It looks like nonsense, but it works a treat. It's actually surprisingly intuitive and effective for maintaining the ideal angle during the sharp transition of angle while stretching the skin at the same time. If nothing else, it's fun to try.

That is definitely helpful around the chin area. PaulHFilms also does that and I learned it from him.

 

[DaveHStone]

So I was feeling my face a while after shaving (who doesn't!), and was annoyed to find rough patches in places where I know I checked carefully during my routine. So I tried doing a shave WITHOUT stretching my skin - just shaving the skin as it lies.

The result - very smooth all over. I think that by stretching the skin, I was shaving the whiskers in an unnatural direction so that when the skin was again relaxed, there were hairs protruding that were not during the stretch.

Anyone else experience this?

To avoid the above described "phenomenon", you need to stretch the skin in the opposite direction of the hair growth. So to say, stretch the skin ATG, then shave ATG. That way you force the hair to protrude upright from the follicle, so when the blade hits it ATG, the cutting effectiveness (deepness) is at the maximum. Hence, you end up with that ultimate glass-like BBS.

 

[1Vader]

I don't.

I used to when I was new to the hobby but then I noticed it irritates my skin.

 

[samhain666]

I do stretch a bit. If I don't stretch, blade can catch a stubborn hair which results in tuggy feeling and blade skipping. If I stretch my skin a bit I feel like blade cuts more smoothly trough the hair and I get more comfortable shave. I don't stretch to get closer shave, If i shave too cloose I get ingrowns