Shaving after several days growth.

So ended up going 4-5 days before a shave (long story). Cheeks, neck went fine. But when I got to my chin it was like I was trying to cut down trees. I would start and the razor didn't move. I didn't want to force it so I just stopped. Relathered and tried again, same thing.

Is there some trick to shaving longer hair? The chin has been (and still is) a tricky spot that I have yet to shave it successfully but this seemed very odd to me. More so for the fact that shaving my chin with a Gillette Fusion was very easy. Interestingly enough I got a surprisingly good shave (on the chin) from the Fusion using my SRD soap. Anyone have an explanation as to why shaving the chin is so much simpler with a Fusion than a straight? I find it hard to believe that it is sharper than a straight (even my straight). It's not a new cartridge.

Thanks,
Adrian.

What does a light stroke and short little strokes do?

Lynn

Light strokes on the chin stops the razor cold. I got it to move some by reducing the angle to the point that the razor was almost flat but then there wasn't much hair removed either. Light strokes on the cheeks and neck shave the hair but still leaves a stubble. On the cheeks and neck a second stroke in the same direction (WTG) shaves it closer.

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Originally Posted by stygian

So ended up going 4-5 days before a shave (long story). Cheeks, neck went fine. But when I got to my chin it was like I was trying to cut down trees. I would start and the razor didn't move. I didn't want to force it so I just stopped. Relathered and tried again, same thing.

Is there some trick to shaving longer hair? The chin has been (and still is) a tricky spot that I have yet to shave it successfully but this seemed very odd to me. More so for the fact that shaving my chin with a Gillette Fusion was very easy. Interestingly enough I got a surprisingly good shave (on the chin) from the Fusion using my SRD soap. Anyone have an explanation as to why shaving the chin is so much simpler with a Fusion than a straight? I find it hard to believe that it is sharper than a straight (even my straight). It's not a new cartridge.

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Get your razor as sharp as you can. It doesn't matter if it's a monster sheffield or petite 5/8 solingen, just make sure that sucker is scary sharp. Newspaper and a flexy-flyer solingen are my weapons of choice, 200 laps on newspaper and the whiskers just melt away. If I shave daily then I don't need that level of sharpness and actually don't like that level of sharpness anymore because it tends to thin my skin over time, but for shaving off shrubbery there really is no substitute.

Edit: As Lynn intimated, light short strokes are also helpful.

I actualy always get a better smoother shave when I let it grow a few days. It sounds to me like maybe your razor is sharp but not quite sharp enough. In my experience it seems that chin hair is stiffer and stronger than everywhere else. Maybe try giving the razor a little lite touch up and see what happens.

During my first round of straight razor shaving, back when there was no internet to learn from, I learned by trial and error. In hindsight I was shaving with a pretty dull razor. I found if I let the hair grow a few days and then really softened the beard with hot water and soap, I got the most comfortable shave I could.

Did you take a little extra time on beard prep before shaving?

I haven't let my beard go that long in so many years I forget what it is like. In the last few years I've rarely skipped even a day I look forward to the shave so much.

So I am unsure that this gradual stubble removal technique would apply to your situation but it is explained here in the SRP Wiki and may be worth a look.

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I haven't let my beard go that long in so many years I forget what it is like. In the last few years I've rarely skipped even a day I look forward to the shave so much.

So I am unsure that this gradual stubble removal technique would apply to your situation but it is explained here in the SRP Wiki and may be worth a look.

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This is largely what I did for the cheeks and neck. For some reason, the hair on my chin is like stone; it's always been a problem. In the future I just need to not let it get that long and keep my razor sharp. If it means I need to touch up my razor more often than most, so be it.

Thanks,
Adrian.

The Fusion is probably working better cus it's getting five passes per stroke. This is also the cause of its problems. In theory, it shouldn't really matter to a straight how long the hair is, as the thickness coming out of the follicle is constant. I'm gonna go with mparker on this one. Sounds to me like you've got a blade in need of a touch up- thats sort of how my sub par blades feel.

The chin is the hardest place imo. No way around it except to have a sharp razor and lots of practice.

See if this helps: When you look at the contours of your chin, imagine them as small flat planes, when you do this you will use more and smaller strokes, but you will use them precisely.

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Originally Posted by nun2sharp

See if this helps: When you look at the contours of your chin, imagine them as small flat planes, when you do this you will use more and smaller strokes, but you will use them precisely.

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Definitely give this a go. It's what solved the chin problem for me. That and practise.

I just shave with the grain and keep the angle fixed at 30 degrees and reduce as much as I can. Then I go ATG for chin jaw line to get the finer result. When shaving the other areas of the jaw line, the chin gets extra strokes as part of the process (xtg,atg) So it gets special treatment. It took some practice to find my the best techniques for my chin.

Pabster

I can't disagree with the above advice, but I'll add something that hasn't been mentioned.

What makes whiskers really tough to cut is sebaceous oil. This oil is more heavily produced in the triangle formed by the top of your nose and the base of your chin (which is a big part of why the mustache and goatee area are so hard to shave). The longer you go without shaving, the more oil gets into the whiskers, and it collects dust, and hardens into a scale. Now, IF you do a very good prep and break down the oil and scrub it off, then the whiskers can absorb the soapy lather and get really soft.

Of course, you still need a sharp razor, as well.

Also, short stubble tends to stick out more at a right angle to the skin, whereas long growth tends to lay over some. This increases the amount of the whisker you have to cut, since you are slicing through it on a long angle.