Yet, it may be of some small significance.
A clearing pattern good for removing leaves, but perhaps not quite optimal for shaving.... |
This leaf-raking approach is rather tidy. But what might be a drawback?
Consider its effect on lather and moisture. After the first few initial strokes, each subsequent stroke begins in an area of skin already shaved and then moves into unshaven, well-lathered territory. But the already-shaved area is pretty much barren of lather and moisture. As the stroke continues into lathered real estate, the bar or comb pushes some of the lather and moisture ahead of the blade, and the blade, of course, then removes most of the remainder as it cuts whiskers.
But what of the other approach? This involves beginning each stroke in the heart of lathered territory and stroking toward an area not to be shaved or already shaved. This begins the stroke in a well lubricated spot and pushes lather and precious moisture toward the area where the stroke will end, which is initially rather clean and dry.
This anti-raking pattern helps ensure that at the end of each razor stroke there is better lubrication between blade and skin. Using the anti-raking stroke certainly is unlikely to diminish the quality of your shave, and may actually improve it.
Happy shaving!
This does make sense. You would definitely have to do multiple passes to get the spots you missed though. A razor like the Phoenix double open comb (which is based on an older razor, the Grand Shave King) was actually made to address this issue - to leave some lather behind.
ReplyDeleteIf you give this a try, you are likely to find as I did that it is easy to shave without missing any spots. After a single pass, I had a shave that was quite acceptable and, had I stopped there, would have been a good standard shave (standard: as discussed in recent articles). I did take a second pass and ended up with a truly fine shave -- close and comfortable. :-)
DeleteAs much as I dislike the gooey lubricating strips on cartridge razors, they might actually help with leaving a layer of lubrication behind for subsequent strokes.
ReplyDeleteDammit, I've already shaved today, otherwise I would try this! :) I'll give it a shot on my next shave. Makes sense though.
ReplyDeleteNovel description, at least... I don't know where I might have first read the suggestion, but it might be a relatively common approach to ATG. My own pattern is pretty mixed nowadays.https://plus.google.com/103806825497029698046/posts/24VWbYnMHjv
ReplyDeleteGreat article....may have to try this
ReplyDelete