Quick and Clean: One Pass ATG Redux

I have returned to experimenting with against-the-grain shaving, and with such good results that this method, to be described below, is now the one I use on most mornings.

The basis of this shave has a few key aspects:

1. Lather once. I prefer face lathering, but this is not material. What is fundamental is that I use my brush to lather my face once and only once. However, I do re-apply used lather from the underside of my razor and additional moisture (water) as necessary when making additional clean-up strokes.
2. The strokes that I make in my solitary, main pass are largely against the grain of my beard, but not perfectly against grain. The grain of my beard in most areas is slightly skewed off vertical, though it is primarily vertical. That is, in my lower neck has grain that runs generally upward but not perfectly so. This means that if I make razor strokes directly downward, they would be for the most part against the grain, but not precisely so.
   
   My upper neck and under my jaw are pretty much the opposite; making perfectly upward strokes are for the most part against the grain, but not perfectly so.
   
   My upper lip has grain that is pretty much downward, but I rarely shave this area against the grain. I usually do this with cross-grain strokes.
   
   The rest of my beard has grain that is pretty much downward, meaning that against-grain strokes would be upward.
   
   I tend to make my main-pass strokes either directly upward or downward (as described above), rather than perfectly against grain, because the contours of my face and neck generally make these vertical strokes less likely to wound.
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3. Though I lather once and make a single against-grain pass (or equivalent), I do make touch up strokes from various directions including directly against grain.
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4. The most important aspect of this one-pass, against-grain shave is that the strokes -- specifically the first strokes in any beard region -- must be made SLOWLY, and WITH EXTREMELY LIGHT PRESSURE OF RAZOR AGAINST SKIN. To do otherwise is a formula for wounds.
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5. I pick blade-razor combinations that are optimal for my sensitive skin. This generally means pairing a razor to the day's blade that is my favorite compromise between safety and closeness. 

My outcomes with this process have been quick, close, and low insult. I recommend that you give it a try, but pay especially close attention to point 4, above. 

Happy shaving!

A Better Way to Apply After Shave?

What's the easiest way for a product seller to sell more product? If your first thought is getting more customers, this can be difficult and expensive. However, if a product seller can manipulate existing customers to over use product? Ahhh, now maybe we're on to something.

Remember the old shampoo-use directions printed on the back of every bottle: Lather, rinse, repeat. Repeat!!! Brilliant!!! Even though that first lather and rinse may get the customer's hair clean, that repeat part causes the customer to use twice the product every time he or she washes his hair.

So how are we shown to apply after shave in all the old TV commercials? Oh yeah, right, you cup your palm, pour after shave into it, rub palms together, then rub all over shaven face.

But what's really going on here? The dispensing of lotion or balm into one's palm may dispense too much from the container; this is especially true if the seller makes the dispenser opening too large and the product is watery and alcohol based. The rubbing of the palms may cause some of the product to evaporate before it ever reaches one's face. All in all, a brilliant strategy to get customers to waste product and thus increase sales.

A better after-shave-application strategy for runny lotions is to put a finger or two directly over the container opening. Then invert the container so that some lotion is transferred to the finger(s). Then apply those fingers directly to a section of the just shaved face. Repeat this process until the entire area has been treated with the lotion.

For thicker gels and balms, a different though similar approach is to apply a smaller-than-usual amount of product to your supinated palm (that is, your upturned palm). With a finger or two of the opposite hand, dab the tips in the balm and apply the product to a section of one's face with the finger tips. Repeat this finger-tip-application process until one's entire face has been treated with the balm.

If you try this process, you'll likely save a bit of hard-earned dough by making your inventories go further, last longer.

Happy shaving!