Charcoal Drawing Fixatives And Why Use Them

In this post i wanted to share some of my own experience and answer some questions many many people have asked me.
One of my dark charcoal drawings:

Since i have been working with charcoal already about 4 years, i can say i still haven't learned all of its hidden secrets! But i can clearly say i have learned a lot and i know some nuances about it.
After @merej99 asked me to talk about some charcoal fixatives more, thats exactly what i will be doing.
One of the most frequently asked questions is: Should I fix my charcoal drawing?
There is no question that fixative does slightly change the appearance of a charcoal drawing, so some artists dislike it because of this. I think that correctly used, it can actually strengthen your drawing, allowing greater layering, and ensuring that fine dusting of charcoal aren't lost. So in my opinion using a fixative is a great idea and nothing to be afraid of.
Charcoal drawings are very vulnerable to surface damage - the slightest movement can damage the drawing, a touch can reduce the intensity of tone, and make some highlights dirty. I have clearly experienced this happening with my works. This is one reason why its a good idea to use some kind of fixative.
Here i will post a photo of one kind of fixative i have used:

Image source: http://www.winsornewton.com/uk/shop/oils-solvents-mediums-and-varnishes/pastels-charcoal-fixative/artists-fixative-spray-5-07-us-fl-oz-150ml-can-3034913
This is by far the best one i have found. So i would recommend this one. It also has very affordable price: Around 10 dollars.
It maybe will be strange, but i can say that i do not use fixative very often. Despite the fact that i ship my works all over the world. Actually also without fixing charcoal it is possible to ship the work safely thousands of miles away. If someone would like to, i can speak about how i package my works and send them, in my one of future posts. Just let me know!
Also it is important what kind of charcoal you are using in order to know what kind of fixative would be the best to use. Charcoal is available in natural sticks of willow and vine charcoal, and compressed charcoal in various grades in stick or pencil form. I have used all of them, and tried many different types of it. Mostly i use charcoal pencils. Its also easy to sharpen them with just a simple pencil sharpener, because in my works there are a lot of small details.
For example in this Tiger drawing i made couple of months ago:

There are a lot of small details, and thin pencil strokes. It is easy achievable with charcoal pencils. Of course than your sharpener would have to be very sharp. For me usually after about 3 hours of working with charcoal pencils-One sharpener is done. To make one 60x90cm drawing-i change about 20 sharpeners.
Here is another one of my drawings with dark charcoal. After about 10 min of drawing this my hands were dark and dusty. Extremely small details here as you can see. Actually after about 10 days after this work was finished,i noticed that it was harder to damage the work and it would take a very strong touch to damage it. I guess charcoal strengthens itself after some time.

Oh and i wanted to say that its not a good idea to sharpen charcoal pencils with a knife. It unfortunately just cant be done:( At least i haven't heard that it has worked, but maybe , who knows!
So in conclusion i would recommend using a fixative, and use it carefully. If it is done the right way it can only make the work better. I personally don't use it as often as i could or maybe should do it. But thats just the way i am drawing and certainly everything that is done the right way can help!