Thread: Another First Shaver...

Originally Posted by monte6177

You can feel the stubble to know what direction is necessary.
Monte

Can you tell me how to do that? Do I take a finger and drag along face, whichever gives the most resistance (for me against the grain and across the grain coming in from the right) such as when I feel the most stubble, or sharp cutting of the stubble on the finger....should be the direction to shave in?

Originally Posted by shaverdude

Can you tell me how to do that? Do I take a finger and drag along face, whichever gives the most resistance (for me against the grain and across the grain coming in from the right) such as when I feel the most stubble, or sharp cutting of the stubble on the finger....should be the direction to shave in?

The direction in which the hair is growing is the grain of the hair. "Against the grain" therefore refers to a direction opposite that of the growth of the hair. If I could shave against the grain on my first pass, I would. Alas, I cannot shave against the grain of my hair unless the hair is sufficiently shortened. In some areas of my face, I have to cut with the grain and then across the grain at various angles before I can cut against the grain. I can't explain why exactly, but I find it to be the case for me.

Identifying the direction of my hair growth tells me what direction to cut during my final pass, but I don't think it tells me anything more than that. I shave in the direction that I can until all the hair I can get is gone.

Sounds like you went for the gusto.. let me say this about the red bumps.. i have noticed in my 3 total shaves that pressure does affect it.. but so does skin sensitivity.. your skin is just getting used to straight shaving and 5 passes seems excessive for your first time.. also i have noticed that when im shaving and it starts to burn after the second pass i stop when i finish that pass so that i don't irritate my skin. BTW putting olive oil on your skin afterward and letting it sit until the next morning seems to really help that.. it does tingle for a few hours.

Good job on getting in there and doing it... Sounds like you are rocking it...

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

The direction in which the hair is growing is the grain of the hair. "Against the grain" therefore refers to a direction opposite that of the growth of the hair. If I could shave against the grain on my first pass, I would.

Well, if I all have is stubble and it is not possible to see which direction it is growing what should I do? Does the feeling test I alluded to earlier have any validty in determining the growth of the beard at the stubble stage?

Originally Posted by shaverdude

Well, if I all have is stubble and it is not possible to see which direction it is growing what should I do? Does the feeling test I alluded to earlier have any validty in determining the growth of the beard at the stubble stage?

I think it does. Right now I have some 5 o'clock stubble coming in and I can easily feel the direction of the growth of my hair. As I run my hand or finger across a patch of hair and feel the hair poking into my hand or finger, then I know I am feeling the tip of the hair. If I don't feel the hair when I pass over it in the opposite direction, I figure I must be coming into contact with the end of the hair that is attached to my face. That indicates a "with the grain" direction. Have you ever gone fishing? It's really easy to tell which way the scales on a fish grow without having to look at them by rubbing your hand along the fish.

Maybe I have overanalyzed it, but I think that even mere stubble has one end embedded in the face and one end sticking out. It sticks out in the direction of its growth.