01-05-2021, 02:51 AM
I have to say I really enjoy, and prefer, razors most call “aggressive”. On my face, the greater positive exposure the better. Well, in one specific area and (I think) for one specific reason I don’t see mentioned.
I know, I know. Any time people start talking about better results with a more aggressive exposure the accusations of shavers engaging in a battle to greet people named Richard via non-verbal hand gestures (or something like that) start flying. I’ll be the first to say I don’t consider myself some tough guy with a superhuman style tough beard, although the immortal words of Dallas Winston do ring true, if you’re tough like him you don’t get hurt. Anyway, I digress.
Here’s the deal, I also get along with razors on the “mild” side as well. Both sides of the coin offer something that I can look forward to. Heck, if modern science can ever figure out how to shape a blade with an edge on more than one side, I might even like those too. But where aggressive razors shine, mild razors struggle and even create issues.
My neck. I think this is a very common problem area for one reason or another. I can’t get truly against the grain on most of my neck, but aggressive razors can handle the angle without issue. The same angle with a mild razor produces quite a bloody mess, not to mention the irritation. So what’s so different about beard growth on my neck? It’s not the thickest hair, that grows on my chin. The hair on my neck has what those in the industry call a very shallow angle of emergence. That’s to say, each hair naturally grows very close against my skin rather than straight out. This seems to be a challenging situation for mass market cartridge manufacturers, too. (If you ever get some spare time, browse the scientific paper publication sites searching for shave related terms and see what you can see. Most studies are behind paywalls, but even the abstract provides interesting reading. If you’re like me and shave before showering, you’re likely to stumble across several studies validating your choice!)
My thoughts are that if a blade is held just away from the skin, as in most mild razors, the edge hits the hair at a very poor angle. More head on across the length rather than cutting “clean” across the width. This could lead to more tugging and pulling and less than clean cuts. If the blade is allowed to stick proud and glide right along the skin it can still sneak under the slanted growth and cross a more ideal section of hair.
Now, I don’t have any useful evidence for this idea, just my experience. I’m curious if anyone else notices a greater challenge for some razors depending not just on grain direction, but more importantly growth angle from the skin.
To wrap up this unnecessarily long post, is there an ideal time and place for aggressive razors? On my face the answer is a solid “yes”. The time, when I shave. The place, where I shave. But since that isn’t helpful in the least, maybe the time and place is against the grain passes where beard growth goes very flat.
I know, I know. Any time people start talking about better results with a more aggressive exposure the accusations of shavers engaging in a battle to greet people named Richard via non-verbal hand gestures (or something like that) start flying. I’ll be the first to say I don’t consider myself some tough guy with a superhuman style tough beard, although the immortal words of Dallas Winston do ring true, if you’re tough like him you don’t get hurt. Anyway, I digress.
Here’s the deal, I also get along with razors on the “mild” side as well. Both sides of the coin offer something that I can look forward to. Heck, if modern science can ever figure out how to shape a blade with an edge on more than one side, I might even like those too. But where aggressive razors shine, mild razors struggle and even create issues.
My neck. I think this is a very common problem area for one reason or another. I can’t get truly against the grain on most of my neck, but aggressive razors can handle the angle without issue. The same angle with a mild razor produces quite a bloody mess, not to mention the irritation. So what’s so different about beard growth on my neck? It’s not the thickest hair, that grows on my chin. The hair on my neck has what those in the industry call a very shallow angle of emergence. That’s to say, each hair naturally grows very close against my skin rather than straight out. This seems to be a challenging situation for mass market cartridge manufacturers, too. (If you ever get some spare time, browse the scientific paper publication sites searching for shave related terms and see what you can see. Most studies are behind paywalls, but even the abstract provides interesting reading. If you’re like me and shave before showering, you’re likely to stumble across several studies validating your choice!)
My thoughts are that if a blade is held just away from the skin, as in most mild razors, the edge hits the hair at a very poor angle. More head on across the length rather than cutting “clean” across the width. This could lead to more tugging and pulling and less than clean cuts. If the blade is allowed to stick proud and glide right along the skin it can still sneak under the slanted growth and cross a more ideal section of hair.
Now, I don’t have any useful evidence for this idea, just my experience. I’m curious if anyone else notices a greater challenge for some razors depending not just on grain direction, but more importantly growth angle from the skin.
To wrap up this unnecessarily long post, is there an ideal time and place for aggressive razors? On my face the answer is a solid “yes”. The time, when I shave. The place, where I shave. But since that isn’t helpful in the least, maybe the time and place is against the grain passes where beard growth goes very flat.
Andy
