Head Shaving Technique

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54
Hello,

I'm looking for advice on head shaving, specifically the back of my head. The top and sides are fine but no matter whether I shave wtg, xtg or atg the back of my head always ends up looking like a mangy fox with tufts of hair all over.

Things I am considering: 1) using a longer handle on a de head 2) buying a leaf 3) investing my life savings into yoga lessons to improve the suppleness of my limbs.

Any advice or suggestions would be gratefully received.
 
Back of the head is difficult isn't it, with all those bumps and ridges. Two things for me in getting at those mangy tufts...

Listen to the blade cutting - short little gentle strokes of the blade until the rasping sound in the echo box of your head disappears. Keep topping up the lather.

I end up doing a four pass shave on the back. Top to bottom x2 (mostly with the grain), then bottom to top x2 (mostly against the grain). Assuming I'm shaving right side of head, the first pass I use my right hand. The second I use my left hand. I'm kind of convinced using different hand for the same pass imparts a slightly different direction to the stroke, more like a subtle slant to left or right, rather than straight up or down.

Good luck with getting the head smooth.
 
For the back, I generally do 1 pass top to bottom (WTG), ½ pass centre to ear for each side (XTG), ½ pass ear to centre (XTG) and 1 pass top to bottom (ATG). That works for me, luckily being ambidextrous makes it a lot easier.
But it varies depending on the razor and length of growth. A slant seems to work better if I haven't shaved for more than 3 days.
A slightly wetter lather seems to help as well.
Perseverance is the key.
 
Thanks very much for all your advice. I'll persevere with wtg, xtg and the atg for another week and see how I get on. I'm a bit reluctant to start trashing around the back of my swede, sight unseen, with a sharp implement in my wrong hand.
 
I usually use a Merkur 15C (a mild open-comb) for head-shaving. If you allow your hair to grow past the stubble stage between shaves an open-comb might work better than a straight bar.

If I'm having trouble cutting hair it's a sign I need to change the blade. Once I stick a nice sharp Nacet in everything is fine again.
 
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I know the idea of using your off hand can be a little daunting, but your brain-hand / muscle memory soon kicks in after a couple of shaves. And you might practice without a blade in the razor.
 
I head shave with the leaf and wouldn't go back but I can't compare with a traditional DE.

I've used a oneblade which was pretty rubbish for headshaving and a feather cartridge which was OK but took more passes.

The leaf only takes 2 passes, one with and one against. Job done and very close. It also gets in the dip in the back of my head in the middle which was an issue for my other bits of kit.

The leaf handle is quite long which helps even more. If you are going to use it in the shower i would spend out on the plastic grip or make your own. The stand is nice too and reduces the amount of top space it uses as the razor is quite large.

I don't use it on my face as I've been after less blades rather than more for that function.
 
I thought about shaving my head i don't have much hair left anyway. But I just use number one guard on clippers every 3-4 weeks, keeps it looking ok. Not much hair but very wiry (if I sleep on it wrong it will stick up all day) less hassle than shaving every few days. Yea I'm lazy. :)
 
As my last head shave left me looking like Evander Holyfield after Mike Tyson got a but peckish mid-fight, this week I bit the bullet and bought myself a leaf. Will be giving it a go tomorrow. Fingers crossed it will leave my ears intact.
Funny thing is I had a head shave with my leaf last night, great shave no cuts to my head. Got sloppy and actually cut the top of my ear like an idiot.

When you have your first shave don't be put off by the complementary blades. They aren't particularly sharp. Enjoy.
 
I was toying with the idea of a Leaf but I can get good enough shaves with what I've got, couldn't imagine it being significantly better.
That's it, I think. I wasn't getting any better at it and I was unhappy walking around with a head covered in nicks and patches of hair, so I've pulled the trigger.
 
I thought about shaving my head i don't have much hair left anyway. But I just use number one guard on clippers every 3-4 weeks, keeps it looking ok. Not much hair but very wiry (if I sleep on it wrong it will stick up all day) less hassle than shaving every few days. Yea I'm lazy. :)
That makes a lot of sense. My hair has receded in what is essentially a triangle, the front has gone and it goes back to a point on the crown. What is left is thick and until lockdown I had a beard, so I went to my local barber once month to have a wet shave on the head and tidy up the beard.

When that wasn't an option and I had to wear a face mask everyday (I'm a teacher so have had to work through the whole thing) I got rid of the beard and had to deal with all the hair removal myself. This is how I found myself wetshaving and trying to improve my efficiency in getting rid of it!
 
Funny thing is I had a head shave with my leaf last night, great shave no cuts to my head. Got sloppy and actually cut the top of my ear like an idiot.

When you have your first shave don't be put off by the complementary blades. They aren't particularly sharp. Enjoy.
Gulp! Here goes nothing!
 
Well, this has been a revelation. Shaving with the leaf has made everything so much easier; it takes away so much in one stroke, allows for uneven pressure which when I'm doing the back of my head seems impossible to avoid. It also leaves it hairless, which was also the point.

All in all I'm very happy with the change. Thank you for the recommendation.
 
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