Hello
Anybody know why shaving against the grain of your beard / Leg hair or other hair , is considered bad? , it certainly gets better results but what is so bad about it? , the only thing I’ve heard related but not the answer is that shaving too close makes hair folicles grow under the skin , but this was some guy explaining a cut throat razor blade , wet shaving (which is very rare for me)
I’ve never found it to be possible (at least on my own face); if I try to shave ‘against the grain’, no matter how new the blade, it simply drags and digs into my skin and I cut myself to ribbons.
Back when I shaved, I never noticed any difference going with the grain or against it. It was marginally closer against the grain, but not enough to make much difference.
The hair follicle always grow under the skin. Perhaps your friend meant that the tip of the hair dug into the skin. That can be a problem with some people.
When you shave with the grain, you don’t get Mach 17 close because the follicle tends to lie down against your face (Did you see that SNL commercial? Hillarious! The first blade gets close, the second blade closer, the third blade even closer, the fourth blade comes in when the whisker isn’t looking and ambushes it from the side, the fifth blade…). Shaving against the grain does provide a closer shave, but the resulting shaft does tend to burrow into surrounding skin causing ingrown hair problems, especially in people with multiple chins, oily skin, etc. My advice, grow a beard.
The conventional wisdom, FWIW is:
Bladed razor - shave with the grain
Electric razor - shave against the grain
For the Blade CW, the basic premise that if a guy shaves against the grain, he will:
Put an edge on the follicle that would increase the likelihood of it becoming ingrown; and
Not be able to use the hair as a little bit of a guard for his skin - shaving against the grain strips more beard away and reveals more skin to the edge of the razor, increasing the likelihood of irritation…
I shave with an electric now, but experimented with each permutation for a while (blade with, blade against, electric with, electric against) and the CW holds up pretty well…
Personally, I have to shave against the grain. If I don’t, then I look like I didn’t shave at all that day. I just can’t get close enough otherwise. I’ve never had any issues with ingrown hair or irritated skin. I guess it all depends on how your skin reacts.
I generally shave against because the job gets done faster that way. Of course, I only need to shave once a week (aaarrggghhh…27 years old and I still can’t grow a beard…). As long as you lubricate properly (snicker), I don’t see why in-grown hairs would become a problem. My personal wag is that it’s more likely that klutzes can slice their faces up that way so that’s why the warnings.
In my experience shaving with the growth is pointless, as the hair just lies flat and avoids the blade. I always shave ‘against the grain’.
Hairs getting trapped under the skin are really annoying, but only happen if you cut yourself, the hair grows into the wound and the skins heals over it. I don’t think the direction of shaving plays any part of it.
I think a lot of depends on how sensitive your skin is. Of course, my example is me. My beard grows in very think and fast, so I shave against the grain to get the closest shave. I also shave my head, and go against the grain there for the same reasons. Of course, I mostly shave in the shower, so shaving cream/gel is not needed- but just to give you perspective on how differently people’s skin reacts to shaving, I also shave my face and head dry on occassion, with no bad side effects, other than that my razor tends to get clogged up.
Shaving with the grain is… well, I don’t see the point. I’ve tried it and it doesn’t take much of my stubble off.
If you just LEAVE THE SHAVING CREAM ON for a few minutes before shaving, you dont get ingrown hairs or rip your face up. Geez.
Well, not quite that long, but anyway, here’s my take.
I got with the grain. If I don’t I get really back ingrown hairs on all my folicles. If I have a special occasion I will shave against the grain right before, otherwise I have a 5 o’clock shadow in all the pictures. I have very thick and dark facial hair, so shaving with the grain doesn’t get it close enough. I should mention that my facial hair is also very curly, which is why it gets ingrown so easily. If I let it get long enough, it will actually start to itch and many of the longer hairs will get ingrown as well.
As far as I’m concerned the Mach3 doesn’t do any better than the dual blade version. I’ve tried every type of shaving cream imaginable. I shave in the shower with Gillete gel (don’t remember the type), but it doesn’t help much.
I have even gone as far as to try depilatories (I still have to shave afterward) and waxing. I can’t get my facial hair long enough for waxing, or it’s too smooth, I don’t know which. I do have another brand of depliatory that I’m trying this weekend. I hope it works good.
Electric razors can’t get my beard into them, and if I do spend the 20 minutes to shave, I need to sharpen the blades every 6 months. Not worth it.
Despite all this, I don’t have enough hair on my cheeks to grow a respectable beard.
However I guess I should have said “shaving against the grain works better”.
My experience is kind of like Dilbert’s in some ways. My beard isn’t super curly, but it is prone to ingrown hairs. It also grows very quickly. Shaving with the grain doesn’t do a very good job and takes numerous passes to get all the hairs, leading to skin irritation. Shaving against the grain gets all the hairs easier and a closer shave overall, but it also leads to irritation and ingrown hairs for me. Yes, I’ve tried all kinds of razors and shaving creams. Yes, I left the shaving cream on for a few minutes. Yes, I’ve shaved in the shower and everything else I could think of.
My eventual solution was to simply grow a beard. I have an electric razor that I use to get the edges so I don’t look totally ungroomed, and I trim my beard every few days. This works pretty well for me.
But the point is that everyone is different. Shaving against the grain causes some people problems, but certainly not every one. Perhaps it was more of a problem in years past due to different razors/creams? (I don’t really know, just a WAG) But if it works for you, go right ahead and shave against the grain.
I’ve my two shaven cents to add - for those who shave in the shower like myself. I find that heating up the area desired with the hottest water possible for a few minutes beforehand helps considerably with the closeness of the shave (but does create a slightly higher risk of cuts). Then, after the slicing and dicing is over, freeze it with really cold water to cut down on the razor burn and to make the skin have that cool, smooth feel (on my adolescent, acne-scarred face, it feels like a football, in a way).
I really only’ve used shaving cream around twice in my life - I use soap, and shave against the grain. Never had a problem, but I guess it’s that I have a fuzzy, scraggly beardling (I look bad when I let it grow out). I only have problems when my razor slips (and ouch!). Thank God I’m a redhead - no visible stubble, so I can skip this step in my morning hygeine when I’m pressed for time. I hate and love the Mach III - that little joint and the handle make for clumsy shaving. It’s fine for armpits, but for my somewhat angular face, I’d use a normal, cheap safety razor.
So this is ‘male bonding’…
Nope, tried all that; leaving the gel on, stretching the skin tight as the blades pass over it, but if I go ‘against’ the grain, I just end up bleeding all over the floor. I have quite a tough beard; the blade seems to just slide down the hair shafts ad dig into the skin, so I have to shave ‘with’ and just go over the same patch several times.
Hijack
[/hijack]
When was this commercial aired? It sounds almost identical to a comedy sketch aired in Australia in '92/'93. Could we have a copyright infringement here?
[/hijack]
I shave both with and against the grain. Seriously, the first time is so it won’t rip my face and the second is to get close. I don’t use lather, just water. Works fine.
TV
According to GQ it is only proper to shave WITH the grain. Of course they advocate only TWO shaves per disposible razor.
Facts are if you are prone to ingrown hair do not shave against the grain. If you’re not shave against the grain.
On the first shave of a new blade it isn’t necessary to shave against as your blade is sharp enuff at that point.
Of course there are always those with tuff beards that need to do what’s best for them.
That said the reason for NOT shaving against the grain is ingrown hairs.
My beard doesn’t grow perpendicular to my skin; it grows at a very acute angle to my skin. (More or less true for everyone, I guess, otherwise there would be no grain. But in my case it’s severe.) This means that when I wear a beard I have to keep it short, because if it grows out a little, it swirls off to starboard, and I look like I’m standing in a strong wind.
Don’t know if this is why, but I have to shave against the grain or, like others here, I start the day with a 5 o’clock shadow. I start with one of those wet/dry electrics, with gel, then more gel and a blade going across the grain, then finally more gel and a blade going against the grain.
When I was in high school, I tried to cultivate my facial hair, wanting it to grow in as thick and soon as possible. What was I thinking?
[sub]I didn’t actually put fertilizer on my face in high school. I just sort of “willed” the hair to grow.[/sub]
Am I the only woman that has replied to this post? The OP said:
And I am now wondering if it is just me (a woman) who shaves her legs against the grain. From what I can tell, leg hair grows “down” and you have no choice but to shave “up” because…well, i mean think about it!
Anyway, I am willing to bet most other women shave against the grain. And while I do have the world’s worst ingrown hair problems, I rarely rarely have them on my legs. If i get them at all, it’s the backs of my thighs which are exposed to the most friction anyway.
I have always shaved with, then against the grain.
As a result, the hair on my face is really bristly. On the odd occasion when I have grown a goatee (bright red, in contrast to my dark hair) it really bushes out.
It doesn’t bother me personally, but it reduces my smooching time with my wife, especially at the end of the day, as it rubs her poor face raw.