How to Shave These Areas?!

Don't laugh too hard at this ugly mug, but how the heck does a guy shave the areas in these pictures? And make the curve around and down the jawline to the neck? Dang, I struggled quite a bit tonight and was only able to get most of my cheeks and a little on my neck below my chin. Is it just a matter of getting used to holding and maneuvering the razor properly? This was my first attempt at a straight shave after all, I'm definitely no expert and know this process takes a good little while to really get the hang of it. For a beginner, would it be easier to start with less than two days' worth of stubble? Would this be easier if I were clean shaven and not trying to work around the handlebars?

And yes, I learned that the toe will bite pretty easily if you're not careful!

Wished I could post a video, just don't have the means to do so.

But, your chin is going to give you a fight.

I don't shave my chin very often, but when I do, I do it in small increments, as I move over and down the chin. Think....shaving a tennis ball. Slow, wins this race.

As for the rest....learn skin stretching/ maneuvering. ( Making the skin flat, or moving it to a area more flat.

For me, its the area just below the jaw line, and near the ear. I've learned to open my mouth, to lower the jaw bone below this area. Thus moving it to where my cheek area, where it flatter and easier to get to.

I find it easier to shave around the outside line of my beard, before shaving the rest of my face.

It takes time, and a degree of confidence, to become proficient at this way of shaving.

Learning your face/beard will come in time, as it did with all of us. Its different for each individual.

Yes, learning all the different ways to hold the razor, comes down to each person, and what their comfortable with. Some, like myself, shave only with the dominate hand, others use both hands. But there are some basic holds, for straights.

I've even come up with what I call the x pass, this is how I clean up the spot below my jawline, now.

Attachment 340452

Attachment 340453

You'll see in the second pic, that I started at the edge of my beard, and shaved towards the ear. This may work for your cheek area.

But I do diagonal passes below the jaw to remove the stubble from the hollows of my neck. I don't recommend this to new shavers, its just to give u an idea of what some of us do to obtain the desired shave.

I don't shave like this every time, just for special occasions when I want to be BBS
( BABY BUTT SMOOTH )

So now u know why I sent the round nose's.
A square point would've sent ya for stitches, possibly.

Glad your asking questions, were here to help in every way possible. Hopefully others will chime in with their ideas, or links to threads that will assist you better.

Hang in there, bro. It only gets sweeter from here, as long as u stay in the game.

I wished I would've had the help you do, back when I started in the 80s. Mind you...the finest hone I had at that time, was maybe 1000 grt. That's what I learned to shave with, not a smooth or comfortable shave, but I stuck it out, and kept learning more n more, till I found this place. Now I have all the pieces to the puzzle.

I learned a lot of ideas, thru reading others posts on the intended subject, or found it in the library.

Hope this helps

Thanks for those tips Mike! I thought about shooting this to you as a text last night but didn't want to take the chance of waking you up. I was up until midnight last night reading up on shaving techniques and info. - that's LATE for me on a work night! I might need to shop around for a different brush too...the Omega boar brush I tried last night seemed kind of tough to make much of a lather with, and the bristles are so long it was like lathering my face with a limp spaghetti noodle :whipped:

I don't know if your naurally like it or whether it's due to you shaving technique but you face, neck and jawline looks a bit red to me.

If you can do it you might consider recording your shave and uploading it as a private video so only people with the link can see it, then put the link on here so we can all watch it.

One thing I learned quite quickly, if you stretch your skin upward enough the jaw skin is lifted to your face and it's easier to shave without trying to get around your jaw bone.

I don't know if it will help at all but here is the vid of when I first started and the great advice I was given.

https://sharprazorpalace.com/beginne...-received.html

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Originally Posted by STF

I don't know if your naturally like it or whether it's due to you shaving technique but you face, neck and jawline looks a bit red to me.

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I've got pretty sensitive skin...like a tell my wife - "what can I say, I'm a sensitive guy?" :shrug: :rofl2:

As it was said, Open your mouth wide and pull the skin up to raise the jawline skin to a flatter place. When shaving next to my stash I shave down then up then trim into the edge of the stash before going ear to stash. It all takes time to figure out. And Id bet you a year from now you will still find better ways that work for you. Just keep at it. When I first started I tried to shave every day as that is what I did with a DE or SE razor. After some time I found more comfort in shaving on two days of stubble. After a few years, I went back to shaving daily. I'm a truck driver so how I look isn't a big deal so it didn't matter at work. Some people cant miss a day and others don't grow enough to shave but 3 or 4 days. So it's up to your beard growth.

I enjoy a Boar brush but I've also run across a few boars that were just too floppy. If you are thinking of buying go with an Omega 10066. 12 bucks on Amazon. I keep a couple in stock so I can give one to new guys locally. It's got backbone and after a couple of weeks of use, it becomes soft and holds lather well. If you want to spend some money then we are happy to point you in the right direction from 50 to 300 bucks for a brush. Up to your wallet.

The last thing is to be sure you're using good soap. Quality soaps can give you more of a cushion to help protect your face while shaving. And don't be tempted to use more pressure when it's not wiping the whiskers off your face as you think it should. This is the biggest reason for redness and irritation. Shaving the lather off is all you need for pressure. Just keep at it. It takes time and more time and one day you will look back and wonder why you had such a hard time figuring this out.
good luck. Mike won't steer you wrong.

Your not tempered, yet. Your skin isn't accustom to the micro abrasion. And possible high blade angle, that most of us did.

Seems we all went to using straights, because of all the displeasures we had with other shaving means.

I've always worked outside, for the most part. And dealing with ingrown hairs, red pusy bumps, and sweat. Was like wiping your face with lacquer thinner.

Thats why I tried a straight.
Never looked back, either. And my face n skin thank me, today.

I'll say this...get a DE razor.
Learn to use those as well, in your spare time.

Reason for saying this, is because many of us have had injuries, or surgeries, that kept us from being able to use our straights for awhile. The SE or DE, is now your best friend.

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Originally Posted by lazyMlazyK

I might need to shop around for a different brush too...the Omega boar brush I tried last night seemed kind of tough to make much of a lather with, and the bristles are so long it was like lathering my face with a limp spaghetti noodle :whipped:

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Be aware that a boar brush needs to be broken in to get the most out of it. You can do this through using it everyday for several weeks. There are other ways which can be found using the search function on this site.

I have used Omega boar brushes for a very long time. I can load enough soap from a soap puck to last me for my 4 pass face lathered shaves. It also works well with shave creams. It is a matter of learning how to produce a good lather using a brush, any brush really. You may want to consider practising making a good lather to tune up your technique.

Bob

Bob's right. And that can extend to each soap or cream, you have. Some won't lather for shite, others are a breeze to create a good lather.

We have a thread on those, too. I'd post a link to "first tier soaps n creams", but I have no idea how to, with my phone.

https://sharprazorpalace.com/soaps-c...ps-creams.html

:tu

I've got a Proraso mug coming in the mail that should fit my Arko puck just right, I hope. Betting that lathering will be much better with that rather than the glass tupperware-type bowl I was using last night. Also have an order of green Proraso pre-shave cream coming, hoping it might help make the whiskers a bit easier to work with next time. I'll keep practising!

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Originally Posted by lazyMlazyK

I've got a Proraso mug coming in the mail that should fit my Arko puck just right, I hope. Betting that lathering will be much better with that rather than the glass tupperware-type bowl I was using last night. Also have an order of green Proraso pre-shave cream coming, hoping it might help make the whiskers a bit easier to work with next time. I'll keep practising!

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Not to worry with Arko. All you have to do is warm it up between your hands and it will become pliable enough to mould to the shape of your mug. All I have used for pucks of soap has been Pyrex or Anchor Hocking 1 Cup, I think, Glass container with press fit lid. They are stack-able too.

Bob

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BobH

Not to worry with Arko. All you have to do is warm it up between your hands and it will become pliable enough to mould to the shape of your mug. All I have used for pucks of soap has been Pyrex or Anchor Hocking 1 Cup, I think, Glass container with press fit lid. They are stack-able too.

Bob

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That's exactly what I was using, an Anchor glass container. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to put the whole puck in there and let it get soaked, so I was just taking small shavings off of it with my pocketknife and putting them in the cup. I broke in the brush a little bit on Sunday by letting it soak in hot water for about an hour, then brushing it back and forth over a washcloth, brushing in all directions. Is it normal for a brush to shed bristles quite a bit? I found a few bristles in my lather last night that I made sure to remove before trying to shave.

Yep, they shed some. But should stop for the most part.

Though I have a Van Den Hagen badger, that won't stop shedding. Sits on the shelf for looks, or a new knot.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lazyMlazyK

That's exactly what I was using, an Anchor glass container. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to put the whole puck in there and let it get soaked, so I was just taking small shavings off of it with my pocketknife and putting them in the cup. I broke in the brush a little bit on Sunday by letting it soak in hot water for about an hour, then brushing it back and forth over a washcloth, brushing in all directions. Is it normal for a brush to shed bristles quite a bit? I found a few bristles in my lather last night that I made sure to remove before trying to shave.

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I put a whole puck in my glass bowls. I then load the brush with soap and got to my face to make the actual lather. Sounds like you are bowl lathering where you make your lathe in the bowl and then paint it on your face. Both ways work but I just want to keep things simple and not have anything extra to clean up and put away.

I just break in a boar brush by using it. Some brushes shed a bit when new and others do not. It can also depend on how rough you are on a brush when using it. There is no need to splay a knot flat to either load it with soap or create a lather with. When you do that excessively you stress the bristles to the point where they can break. Soaking a brush in hot water for a long time, especially if the knot is completely under water, could soften the glue and allow the brush to shed bristles.

Here is a link to a video that helped my with my lather making technique and I use a variation of the dry method but either will work. There are many vids on YouTube about making a lather.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4zESTQWDuw

Bob

Good advice already. Remember you want the razor at about a 30° angle. The rule of thumb is, keep the spine 2 spine thicknesses away from your face. That and too much pressure are the most common mistakes we make as beginners.

Probably the best preshave conditioner IMO is take a shower first. Some people like creams and stuff but for me just soap and hot water.work the best, even if it is just a thorough stubble wash in the sink.

Stick with it. You'll get there. Steve's suggestion of posting a private video is a good one. You can watch his and see where he started and read the comments in the thread and that should help. Also it will probably make you feel better as he was quite new to it then and it showed (love ya Steve) and today he is an old pro.

Skin holding and stretching is an important aspect of my difficult spots and a very soft touch with my razor. Shaving the lather not the whiskers.

I found that I pressed too hard with my razor when i started.

It didn't make me bleed but it did make me red and sore in some places, my edge needed to be refreshed more often too because I was being rougher on it.

https://shavelibrary.com/w/Shaving_v...by_Lynn_Abrams
This is a link to our library. Lynn's video is no longer available here but interesting to watch. You'll find it on www like many more footage. In my experience you'll notice in problem areas first when your razor is no longer sharp enough. Pulling the skin taut is also very helpful.