If your shave doesn’t regularly yield nearly perfect results with little to no irritation then you might be facing the fact that you don’t know the facts about your face. Many of our customers have benefited from learning the basic principle of shaving mentioned here. For the record, the second-most cause of irritation not related to product selection is failing to lather for each pass. A surprising number of men were performing their final pass without applying lather first. Lather is used as a buffer and lubricant. It doesn’t matter how much stubble is left on your face. The lather protects your skin by reducing the friction of the blade.
The best premium lather won’t give you any advantage if your skin lacks hydration. Perhaps that is why 84% of men use pre-shave products to improve comfort. For some skin or beard types even a hot shower isn’t quite enough. A pre-shave balm or oil can help provide that additional hydration to keep your blade gliding smoothly.
The illustration below shows areas of the face and neck where the direction of hair growth is typically different from surrounding areas. Barbers shave customers according to these zones. Depending on their style and date of training they may specifically address from 14 to 25 zones on your face and neck to give you that perfect shave. The illustration depicts 20 zones. You can even use an interactive beard grain map and print the results to keep for reference to help you give yourself the best shave possible.
Let your stubble grow sufficiently so that you can see which direction it grows, or massage your lathered face and neck with the intention to discover through touch which direction your stubble is growing. Visualize or record your findings on a map such as provided here.
The most sensitive skin might not allow shaving in any other than in the same direction of hair growth, or “with the grain”. Since shaving is the gradual reduction of hair through successive passes it can be enough to simply shave with the grain, re-lather, then shave with the grain again. You won’t get that BBS (“baby bottom smooth”) finish but you will be “presentable” and relatively irritation free. Most skin types can tolerate a second pass perpendicular to the direction of hair growth, or “across the grain”. Many men, especially those who insist on a BBS face will perform a final pass opposite the direction of hair growth, or “against the grain”. This is the pass with the most potential for irritation and should never be performed until stubble has been greatly reduced. Shaving against the direction of growth can promote irritation, and a regular habit of it can promote in-grown hair although this can be reduced by using a single blade or twin blade razor. More blades provide more lifting increasing the chance of skin healing over the stubble forcing it to grown inward. Antiseptic post-shave products are recommended for those who shave against the grain. Natural alum is a popular choice for its antiseptic and astringent properties.
The road to a great shave is described in the map of the grain of your beard. Follow that map with a quality lather and sharp edge and you will be on your way to discovering a love of shaving.