h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Every authority on the art of shaving tells you not to go against the grain, but they never say why. They also never tell you how to get your face to feel as if it has been shaved by going with the grain.

Please can someone clear up these two points for me?

I agree absolutly. After shaving down, I shave agaist the grain every day and come out with baby smooth skin. Otherwise my shave is no better than an electric razor. Maybe this is just to prevent clumsy people from lopping off a nose or something.

I do it the same way and I feel fine. Never understood this "not against the grain", BUT you shouldn't start shaving against the grain, when the hair is longer ... done that once (in the beginning of my shaving career) .

I find that I get 'the perfect shave' if I go with the grain first and then against it (its easier in this order!). No complaints from the ladies so far

However, I do find that I get ingrowing hairs sometimes. I suspect there's a connection here? Sorry to be so personal but I'd really like some advice on either:
a. getting a very close shave without going against the grain.
b. stopping ingrowing hairs.

By the way, just in case anyone is interested, after several painful attempts to find the right kit - I've settled on king of shaves k gel/gillette mach 3/clinique moisturiser.

Cheers,
Lee

Top tip: Try washing a small amount of Johnsons baby oil over the face first - this stops shaving spots/ingroing hairs for me

Shave in the shower (if you're man enough ) or imediately after getting out. The steam and hot water do the same as the hot towel, and you're not wasting time just sitting there as well.

Good idea, but then the mirror steams up. (And Southampton's still a bit cold to leave the window wide open while showering at this time of year )

Who said anything about a mirror...
I only use a mirror if I have to shave in a basin - not very often, and it's never as good. Shaving without a mirror in the shower takes practice

Yes, that correlation is exactly right. Shaving against the grain greatly increases the chance of ingrown hairs. From what I understand, African men have the biggest problem with ingrown hairs. If you look around in an African beauty salon (or the African section of a decent pharmacy) you'll find special shaving creams or oils or somethings to use to reduce their occurence. Of course, if the baby oil somebody else mentioned works just as well and is cheaper, why worry? By the way, this is what I remember from the section on shaving from the soc.subculture.bondage-bdsm FAQ faq, here. http://www.unrealities.com/adult/ssbb/s.htm

Sorry to be so vague, but I am a girl and so don't partake in this ritual every morning. When I do shave various parts of my body, I do so in the shower, lathering up soap first so the blade glides better. Of course, being a sucker for smooth smooth legs, I'll shave against the grain. Besides, it's easier to pull the blade up your own legs. Ask any girl who shaves... the odds are they shave against the grain and deal with the ingrown hairs.

Shaving my face in the shower (sans mirror) works great, unless I'm particularly groggy, or haven't shaved in a while, in which case I always miss spots. Being 18, I seem to be able to hold onto a 5 o'clock shadow for about 48 hours...
Shaving in the shower generally means you don't have to use shaving cream, either... so you save money (but your water bill may go up!)

~Irving

Personally, I shave against the grain, and have only had one ingrown hair in my life. I never use soap, either. I just get my face wet and scratch away. Maybe that's why it takes me so long, as I struggle to get all the places I missed...again and again.

Nobody ever taught me to shave. But nobody ever taught me how to have sex either, and I figured that out just fine. Now, when the heck did shaving become more intricate than sex?

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Just the same for me, tho' I don't think I have ever had an ingrowing hair (what happens, how do you tell?), only use cold running water as well, and a Wilkinson Sword Classic razor (easier to get the hairs et al out, as it unscrews The only prob at the moment is that I do not have a mirror, so I am using a CD stuck to the wall
BCNU - Crescent

what CD is it???

It is just one ripped from the front of a PC mag
BCNU - Crescent

Try putting a portable electric heater/fan in your bathroom. I didn't have heat in my place for a while and realized that it was enough to keep my mirrors fog free. Granted my winter temps in Arizona are alot more temperate than Southampton, but it might work for you.

I tried shaving with the grain this morning. No joy. It was like I hadn't shaved at all.

I thought it might be the angle I was holding the razor. Nope. I just use Superdrug shave foam and Gilette twin blade disposables, shave against the grain, and everything's fine. Do ingrown hairs look like zits? If so, i get quite a few. Personally, I think they're just zits, as they seem to appear most at the week-end, when I don't shave if I can possibly avoid it.

I use the mach 3 and am very pleased with it. Almost no nicks, and rarely have to go over the same spot. Even still I have to go against the grain after going with the grain.

Ingrown hairs are like huge zits.

Yech.

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Erm - what's an ingrowing hair???
I just shave - I don't bother looking at the face I'm cutting off when I do - doesn't seem to be any of my business anyway. It's there - I know it's there. My face knows that I know it's there - we casually ignore each other. It's an arrangement that's worked out well for years.

I find it's okay to shave with the grain except then you're talking about the area below your shin and on your upper neck - then the razor has to go upside down...

And as for the mirror thing, rub your hand across the soap and then across the mirror. The thin soapy film which then results breaks the surface tension and the mirror doesn't fog.