I was told this little trick by a breeder at the hamburg show... he said as long as it doesn't show that its disturbing the snake, and you moisturize afterwards (seems unncessary) that its ok... and go in the direction with the scales not against.......
....and I used it to get unshedded skin off for my girl and she seems to almost like it.. Some things I do seem to bother her but this isn't one of them... she is calm moves fluidly with / against my hands/arms when i do it without disturbance.....

wondering if anyone had thoughts on this... please dont say "thats bad" without some factual support.