Shaving with Mach 3 but not smooth? How is this possible?

[VictorMackey]

A couple of months back, I was doing some voluntary work and there was a guy there who had his head shaved, but it wasn't completely sly, but it was still even shorter than when I shave my head with clippers and no guard.

I asked him how he got it that short, since I can't get it that short with clippers, and he said he shaves it every morning with Mach 3 and that what I was looking at was the result of a shave just 2 hours prior.

He was BBC with a full head of hair, given the pattern on his head, but still, with a Mach 3, shouldn't it have been completely smooth?

[BillOnBass]

He's probably a WTG shaver.

[VictorMackey]

What's a WTG shaver? 

[Miguel Santos]

ATG = Against The Grain
WTG = With The Grain



Cheers!
Miguel

[VictorMackey]

Thanks for the reply.  So how does one determine which is WTG and ATG on their head?

[Miguel Santos]

Hello sir!

Well, I think you have to see in which direction the hair grows, they grow in different directions in different parts of the head.

Cheers!
Miguel

[Jack21]

If you have....I mean had very curly hair like me you really have to be careful about shaving ATG. I don't shave my face or head ATG. The last time I did (my face) I got horrible ingrown hairs - like big pimples that lasted about a month.

Thanks for the reply.  So how does one determine which is WTG and ATG on their head?

[Natedawg]

Thanks for the reply.  So how does one determine which is WTG and ATG on their head?

It's a matter of preference, and experience. Personally, I always shave my head ATG. I don't get any irritation and it keeps me smooth. Aw yeah!

[Reese80]

I went to Walgreens last night to buy a Head Blade there were none.So I bought a Mach 3 and a can of Nivea Gel for sensitive skin.---------Am I in trouble now?

[Jack21]

That's exactly what I use, but I never end up smooth and slick. I'm ok with a bit of shadow because its a lot better than a head covered in ingrown hairs.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Found this information on why curly hair can result in ingrown hairs--

Extrafollicuar Penetration

The conditions for ingrown hair begin with the presence of curved hair follicles in your skin, MayoClinic.com reports. Hairs produced by these types of follicles tend to be tightly curled. When you shave this curly hair, you give it a sharpened edge that allows it to reemerge from your follicles and penetrate your skin, leading to ingrown hair and its related symptoms. This process is known as extrafollicular penetration. Shaving your hair without water or lubrication can encourage the formation of the sharpened hair edges associated with ingrown hair.

Transfollicular Penetration

If you keep your skin taut while you shave, your cut hair can pull back into your follicles, MayoClinic.com notes. When it grows out, this hair can directly penetrate your skin without ever reaching the surface. This process is called transfollicular penetration. You can also develop ingrown hair if you don't hold your skin taut but use a double-edged razor, which pulls your hair out and then allows it to retract below the surface of your skin. If you use tweezers to remove hair, you can develop transfollicular penetration when hair fragments are left in your follicles.
Symptoms

When ingrown hair penetrates your skin, your body treats it like a foreign intruder. Common symptoms of this reaction include skin inflammation and pus formation, according to Brigham and Women's Hospital. MayoClinic.com lists additional symptoms that include pain, itching, unusual darkening of your skin and the formation of small, round bumps.
Treatment

If you have razor bumps, you can eliminate them by letting your hair grow out for roughly one month, according to the New Zealand Dermatological Society. Once you begin shaving again, use a single-edged razor or an electric razor that leaves your hair a little longer. You can also help avoid razor bumps by shaving in the same direction that your follicles naturally grow. If you tweeze or wax your hair, you can also avoid ingrown hair by stopping these procedures, MayoClinic.com notes. If necessary, you can remove unwanted hair through laser hair removal, which does not promote ingrown hair formation.


Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/257759-cause-of-ingrown-hair/#ixzz16mlNdBlA

[Jack21]

I know who I'm calling if I ever need to retain the services of an attorney. You are a researcher par excellence.

[VictorMackey]

Well I wish I could test the Sly waters.  I am still waiting for my skin to be perfectly clear.  I've only recently started my healthy eating regime (yes - on the eve of Christmas, I must be crazy), and drinking water, so hopefully it clears up.

I don't think I'd look good with a complete chrome dome so I'm hoping for a tiny bit of shade.

I still have hair on my head, it's just it's not as densely populated as my side hair, so even after 2 days of shaving it with clippers and no guard, it looks awful.  That wouldn't be so bad, except I've receded too but for what is going to be an island of hair on my forehead if those not-so dense areas get thinner or completely bald.

I'm wondering if there's a way I can just shave that part off completely smooth and guardless clipper the rest.

[GASlick]

I've always shaved against the grain on my head with no problems.  If I do that on my face though, it's horrible! Ingrown hairs everywhere.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Well I wish I could test the Sly waters.  I am still waiting for my skin to be perfectly clear.  I don't think I'd look good with a complete chrome dome so I'm hoping for a tiny bit of shade.

I still have hair on my head, it's just it's not as densely populated as my side hair, so even after 2 days of shaving it with clippers and no guard, it looks awful.  That wouldn't be so bad, except I've receded too but for what is going to be an island of hair on my forehead if those not-so dense areas get thinner or completely bald.

I'd take it to the wood, then let what you want grow out to a short buzz, but you really don't know what you're going to look like until you've done it and frankly from what I've seen here over the past 3+ years is that every guy looks better sly than w/ the "island" effect--it's really just two hairlines.  I have two, or had really, now I've just got some stubble I can't see only feel where one was--the other is gone.