# Shaving: Why Men with and Women Against? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 8, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaving-why-men-with-and-women-against/492424 "2009-04-08T20:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaving-why-men-with-and-women-against/492424/21 "2009-04-09T06:30:15Z")
I shave going every which way, except for my upper lip and the sides of my mouth. On my face, with skin stretched taut, I go with the grain, then sideways, then against the grain. On my neck with skin taut, I go against the grain first, then a sideways motion, then feel for spots I might have missed, hit them if any, and wrap up with swaths going with the grain. I’ll then check for any other rough spots, and hit them going against the grain if I find any. At the sides of my mouth I go against the grain only. It takes me about ten or fifteen minutes to shave. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaving-why-men-with-and-women-against/492424/22 "2009-04-09T09:59:54Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Don’t the majority of people shave with electric shavers? No. At least, not according to this [Gallup poll](http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3374/is_n11_v12/ai_8551236/): > [@](#): > > By and large, American men still to seem prefer a blade razor to an electric shaver. In _Drug Store News’_ Gallup survey of male consumers, 67 percent used a blade razor and only 30 percent used an electric shaver. It’s fun to think about what the other 3% use. A clamshell? Tweezers? Fire? ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaving-why-men-with-and-women-against/492424/23 "2009-04-09T10:58:20Z")
> [@thetruewheel](#): > > It’s fun to think about what the other 3% use. A clamshell? Tweezers? Fire? A beard trimmer or scissors, would be my guess - the fact that it doesn’t add up to 100% may simply mean that they didn’t poll only clean-shaven men. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaving-why-men-with-and-women-against/492424/24 "2009-04-09T11:05:55Z")
> [@Jormungandr](#): > > When I started shaving way back, I was told to go with the grain to avoid cuts, etc. Unfortunately, it does nothing for me so I go against the grain and get smooth skin (I use a shaving brush and soap). However, I noticed on TV commercials that women seem to shave their legs against the grain. Yes, I know it would be awkward to go with the grain unless one has Inspector Gadget arms, but why don’t you see more women with tissue and bandages on their legs from the cuts they’re supposed to get from going against the grain? When I first started shaving I actually did give myself some spectacular cuts. I remember one time I peeled about 4 inches of skin off my shin, just like a wood shaving in a handplane… OK, now that you’ve all stopped cringing - two reasons women shave against the grain on their legs and men shave with the grain on their face. 1. The skin on anyone’s legs is tougher and less sensitive than the skin on their face, so less likely to result in cuts (though as my opening lines points out, it can happen) 2. The hair on women’s legs tends to be thinner and finer than men’s beards, so takes less force (something I hadn’t learned way back when but I got it now) and thus the razor is less likely to break the skin. As pointed out, when women women shave areas with delicate skin, like the bikini/groin area, then are advised to go with the grain, not against it. The fact that most women’s pubic hair is heavier and denser than their leg hair is another factor in favor of shaving with the grain. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaving-why-men-with-and-women-against/492424/25 "2009-04-09T11:26:21Z")
> [@HongKongFooey](#): > > I shave with the grain, re-lather, and make a second pass against the grain. Works fine for me. No cuts, don’t see why it would be any different for women shaving. I think guys just get taught incorrectly. Plus we don’t change our blades often enough. My husband uses this method. He has a very heavy, very dark beard, and needs a close shave. He does get some ingrown hairs in the beard area, but then he gets ingrown hairs everywhere he has hair, whether he shaves or not. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaving-why-men-with-and-women-against/492424/26 "2009-04-09T11:41:56Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > A beard trimmer or scissors, would be my guess… Mine too, but it’s more fun to imagine it’s fire. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaving-why-men-with-and-women-against/492424/27 "2009-04-09T13:24:26Z")
Am I the only one here who shaves in every direction it takes to get a smooth shave? I lather up, shave the cream off, and have my fingertips loaded with more shave cream. After I run the razor past a stretch of skin I run my fingers over it in various directions to see how smooth it feels. If I feel stubble, I apply a little more cream and shave in the direction I felt the stubble. I don’t know about you guys, but my beard seems to grow in all different directions. It’s like I have cowlicks everywhere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaving-why-men-with-and-women-against/492424.md?page=1)