Thread: Despite thourough pre-shave routine, stll having trouble

For me, as well, the chin was the hardest part to shave. It probably took a couple of months to sort it all out. If it helps, my routine is : shower, lather face ( lightly - let it sit for few minutes ) , then I typicaly rinse and re-lather. I always leave the chin / mustache for the end. That way I can stretch the skin anyway I need. It goes without saying your blade must be very sharp and well stropped. I sometimes re-strop before shaving the chin but not always. For me, it came down to good stropping, paying attention to blade angle and figuring out the best shaving direction ( my chin grows in every direction possible - or so it seems ! ). I would love to tell you " do such and such for perfect results ", but there is some experimentation involved.

Hope this helps

Ken

Originally Posted by BabysBottom

I began straight razor shaving recently, and have noticed the chin/mustache area is the most difficult spot. My pre-shave routine is a hot shower, during which I apply hair conditioner once or twice to my face. Then apply it once more before applying shaving cream (don't have pre-shave oil yet). Then I go straight to shaving (chin area first), so I know my hair must be pretty soft after just exiting the shower and applying hair conditioner.
But after this my razor is still not having satisfactory results on this area, and others. The hair is mostly not cut down to the skin-level, and the razor is uncomfortably moving accross my face- sometimes it feels a little like I'm hacking away (having to run the razor repeatedly over certain areas, and having the razor come to a "stand-still" when it encounters hair). This was after a good stropping (albiet being down by a newbie). This all may be to blame on my beginner-status, but maybe this is a sign that I need to send off my razor to be honed.
Thanks all for any advice.

Simplify and keep some other blades as a standard.

For most of us a simple lather after a shower is fine.
I like to set an egg timer and let my whiskers soak
for three min.

Hair conditioner and preshave oil is a mixed bag. If your hair/whiskers
are oily then the razor can "slide" and not shave. This
is most apparent with the hanging hair test where
an oiled blade or oily hair will not cut. Avoid it....
there may be exceptions but for now avoid it.

A DE safety razor or some of the Yellow handled BiC
tossable blades are handy for the problem areas as you learn.
Eventually they will begin to feel dull when compared
to a correctly stropped sharp str8 razor.

The twin, triple quad.. razors like M3 shave so differently
(badly for me) that they should be hidden and avoided.
The yellow handled BiC is the only tossable I know with
one blade (The classic BIC® shaver for sensitive skin).

Rinse twice or more with cool clear water when done.
Wait about 30 min after rinsing to applying any post shave
other than styptic.

Most problems are problems of excess: too many
passes, too many products, too much pressure.

Another hint is to shave with a single pass of short little
strokes. OK this is in fact three strokes but they
are short LIGHT precise strokes to reduce the whiskers
over a postage stamp wide area. Then move on.
Rinse and if needed touch up with the BiC or DE.

Angle... hold the razor flatter than you think you need to.
Try: Lift the spine off your face about the height of the spine
maybe twice that more or less and with the intent of gently
wiping the lather off shave.

Lather... lather lightly and often, wet but not runny.
lather keeps your whiskers wet and reminds you
where you are going and where you have been. When
growing up the barber would shave the back of my neck,
he would apply lather, set it set while he stropped a little
then he would WIPE it off with his thumb and shave the
back of my neck. Wipe, shave, wipe shave... the point
is that the razor does not need soap as much as it needs
moist hair.