I love hearing success stories about how shaving “across the grain“ has changed so many shavers lives. It’s a great feeling to wake up in the morning, shave, and leave the house without feeling the slightest irritation of any sort! But from time to time, I hear that some guys still struggle with a painful shave.
What I’ve come to realize after asking a few questions is that many of these painful shaves are the result of shaving across the grain without re-lathering. Not to sound like a smart &%#, but shaving across the grain is still shaving. So protecting the face from the blade is still important, especially since a layer of skin has already been removed on the first pass (hopefully “with the grain“).
A shaving cream is designed to add moisture to the skin, protect the skin from the blade, if you will, by creating a cushion. This cannot be accomplished if more than half has already been shaved off. So if you’re looking to get a closer shave by choosing to shave across or even against the grain on your 2nd or 3rd pass, the best results will be from re-lathering each time. Trust me on this, it’s a tried and true technique that works for me every time!
Great post on shaving. I’m trying to see what works for best for my skin far as shaving with a razor or electric trimmers. I go to barber and he shave my face with electric trimmers but I wonder if using a razor will give me a very close shave. Im a dark skin guy and I don’t have acne prone skin, but I wonder if I use a razor for the first time will it create acne.
Great Andre! Here’s an article that I wrote that I think should shed some light on you question! ~ https://themensroom.com/shaving/can-i-even-use-a-razor/ Thanks for the comment!