It is a rare man who is pleased with his shave, or shaves happily. And whether they learned how to shave from their fathers or a YouTube video, their technique tends to be far from perfect, executives at shaving-products companies and dermatologists say.

Gillette observes about 80 men shaving every weekday morning at its shave-technology center in Reading, England, and has concluded that men's top complaint is "not getting a close enough shave," says Kristina Vanoosthuyze, senior scientist at the Procter & Gamble Co. shaving...