I’ve heard that to get a closer shave, you should shave in the direction of the hairs instead of against the hairs. I always, always shave from the ankles up, not knees down. Perhaps I am doing it wrong? What do you do?
Male here.
I shave with the grain first, then against a few times until it feels smooth.
Same here.
Both
same here (I shave with the grain first, then against a few times until it feels smooth. )
Trying to shave my legs knees-down sounds like way more work than it’s worth.
In my experience, I get a much closer shave if I shave *against *the grain. However, I’ve always been told that it’s a bad idea to do that because you end up shaving the follicle underneath the level of the skin, which can result in ingrown hairs. I’ve never gotten ingrown hairs, but your mileage may vary.
Depends on how much there is to shave. One day’s growth can be taken off in one swipe, against the grain. After a week, it’s too tough to get in one pass, so first with the grain to rough grade it, then against for baby’s-bottom smoothness.
I’m a 48 year old male and only learned to shave with the grain last year.
I’ve always used an electric razor, and with one of those you just randomly move it around your face until you’re done. The few times I have used a blade, I shaved against the grain, and boy a few days of that really turns my skin to hamburger fast. I think I must have gotten the idea from the old twin-blade commercials that showed a hair being stretched and cut by the first blade, and then trimmed closer by the second blade. The direction in that commercial, at least that I recalled, was against the grain.
So, last summer I decided to give the old blade another try, and for some reason started going with the grain, at least for the first pass. What a huge difference!:smack:
Cyclist here, so yes, I shave my legs. Definitely with the grain at first, then against the grain in spots to smooth things out.
Same here. I get a close enough result going from the ankles up, without the contortions.
Male, always shave down. Never ever up.
You’ve got that backwards there. The closest shave (removing the most hair) comes from going against the grain. The least traumatic shave (minimum skin irritation) comes from going with the grain.
Both. I shave toward my chin, so under my jaw, it’s against the grain. On my neck and cheeks, it’s with the grain.
I go with the grain mainly to cut down on irritation, as I have very sensitive skin. I have shaved against the grain before, but it wasn’t any closer than shaving with the grain. In fact, the only way I can get a smooth shave is to douse my face in aftershave, then burn it off. Not that I’d recommend shaving like that.
Exactly this, both for my head and my face.
Err, how am I on the Straight dope science advisory board? Did I contribute in my sleep?
Male face-shaver.
I do a three pass shave. First against the grain, then across the grain, then against the grain.
I use a Merkur DE razor, Feather blades, and Mitchell’s Wool Fat Shaving Soap with a badger hair shaving brush.
I now find shaving to be a pleasure, instead of a chore.
You guys are some hairy MFers. I do a quick swipe against the grain every few days, et voila.
Against the grain for legs and underarms. Sideways to the grain for ye olde bikini line, possibly followed up with a teeny bit of against the grain, but that tends to tempt the Gods of the Fucking Ingrown Hairs Again God Dammit.
And another person chiming in to confirm that:
Against the grain is the closest shave, but because it can actually cut hairs to below the level of the skin at their normal resting orientation, it’s also more likely to result in ingrown hairs.
With the grain in the pits. Legs used to be against the grain, but I’ve only used an epillator the last 10 years, so haven’t needed to shave legs in a while. I use the epillator against the grain. I hardly have any hair left on my legs!