Thread: Heavy Beard - Need Help/Advice

I've had a couple days with my first pair of straight razors, but I am having no luck shaving the heavier parts of my beard near my chin. I bought a pair of basic Dovo 6/8 pre-honed by Lynn, so I don't think sharpness is an issue. At first I shaved a small patch of hair on my arm, and the razor proved very sharp and cut through no problem. So I took a shower and put some on some Proraso preshave and lathered up with the regular Proraso cream.

I decided to follow the SRP beginners guide and only start with the right sideburn/cheek. I shaved the flat part of my right side no problem, but as soon as I got down to the right side near my chin where my beard is heaviest the razor just stopped. So I pulled back and tried again and again it would not go through. I tried different angles and different approaches, all with no luck. It would simply stop the razor in its tracks. I even tried to give it some push, probably more so than was safe, and all that happened is the razor stuttered over that part of the beard. I realized at this point I was going to cut myself so I decided to try again the next day.

Since the razor worked well on other parts of my face, I sort of ruled out sharpness. I checked the razor to make sure I didn't fold the edge and compared it to the other, untouched razor and it looked fine. So I thought beard prep was probably the issue. The next day I took a shower and did the full hot towel, lather, hot towel, wipe, lather treatment. But again, same issue. The razor simply does not want to go through that part of my beard no matter how I approach it. It's worth noting that even using a DE with brand new feather blades that part of my face will tug at the razor.

At this point I'm kind of at a loss and I'm not sure what to do next. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome aboard! The chin is probably the trickiest area to shave. What a lot of us find works is to shave the chin in very small sections w/ short strokes (fractions of an inch), making sure to pull the skin tight as you go.

My chin area behaves the same and I have to stretch the skin, use short repeating strokes and sometimes, apply a little more cream or soaps to that area.

Pabster

I usually advise people to take on the chin in three parts. Under the lower lip going straight down and then the two sides going straight down and save the actual chin itself for last. The problem is that the chin is rounded and you have to build up the skill to keep the cutting angle as you shave around the rounded part. This takes some practice. As the guys advised, stretching does help. Take your time, it will get there for you. Sounds like you made a great start already.

Have fun,

Lynn

I agree with the others here. Chin is tough. I'm about to do it for the third time today (I'm a beginner). The first attempt was exactly like yours (I actually filmed it on Page 6 of my beginners thread here on the forums).

The second attempt was easier. Here is what I am doing, to sum up what others are saying:

- VERY LIGHT on the pressure. If it's tugging too much, pushing harder is not the answer.

- Adjust the angle and glide over it. It will still have a scratching sound, not a smooth gliding sound, but it should be cutting nevertheless.

- Lather up heavy and do small strokes.

As a beginner, the first two things are harder to do, but we can all lather up heavy and take small strokes quite easily. When you feel too much pulling, lower the angle and mentally recite in your head, "light pressure, light pressure."

Works for me, and it's a work in progress. Remember, the chin is arguably the hardest part of the face, along with the neck and then mustache area.

Keep it up and it will start to come naturally. Like you said, it's NOT your razor so it has to be one of the things mentioned above that is causing the discomfort.

Make sure that you are shaving with the grain. Most people, myself included, have what seems to be random growth patterns on the neck and chin. Let the beard grow for a few days and study the pattern of growth.

Originally Posted by Lynn

...The problem is that the chin is rounded and you have to build up the skill to keep the cutting angle as you shave around the rounded part. This takes some practice....
Lynn

Exactly. I had kind of forgotten how difficult that was at first. When I was starting out the chin was a challenge for sure. I have the additional issue of a bunch of scar tissue from where I tramatically sheared off the end of my chin bone when I was a kid. A work around that helped me while I was building up the skill to maintain the cutting angle as I went around the rounded part of the chin was to do a XTG pass along my jawline starting out by my ear and coming in to the middle of my chin.

When I test shave a razor it's the chin I use because it's the toughest place. If the chin goes good I know it will shave the rest of my face with no problems. You just need to keep practicing. I usually go N-S on the top and front and S-N on the sides of the chin and sometimes either E-W or W-E along the front. In the end you have to be able to guide the razor down and around the contours of the chin to get it right.

I had the same experience - it may or may not be for the same reason as you.

Having read the 'how-to', watched vids, read the wikis, I saw that WTG blade angle was supposed to be about 30 deg. Like yourself, this worked great, until I hit heavy growth, at which point the blade just stopped - like hitting a wall. I tried techniques that limited the length of the cutting edge that engaged the heavy growth - angling the edge so only a small portion was engaged. 'Had limited success from these techniques. What turned out to make much more of a difference was the blade angle. I was fixated on keeping 30 deg. At 10 deg, I could feel resistance, but it cut more normally. Before learning that, I had trouble using a flexible full hollow blade, turning to the heavy grinds. If 30 deg gives too much resistance, try the section with much less blade angle.

'Seems frustrating now, but you'll have it licked VERY soon. 'Took me about 6 wks - probably take others about 6 days.

Originally Posted by bmcgrath

........as I got down to the right side near my chin where my beard is heaviest the razor just stopped. So I pulled back and tried again and again it would not go through. I tried different angles and different approaches, all with no luck. It would simply stop the razor in its tracks. I even tried to give it some push, probably more so than was safe, and all that happened is the razor stuttered over that part of the beard.

You've perfectly articulated my problem as well. I have two straights, one honed by Lynn, the other by Hi_bud_gl (Thanx guys!). I KNOW they're sharp, but I get to certain regions and it's like hitting a bog. They just stop.

I'm making some progress as I become more comfortable with the straight razor as a tool and slowly develop the motor skills to use it. Stretch, blade angle, and pressure (or lack thereof) seem to be the issues.

It's a slow and sometimes frustrating process. Thanks for highlighting the problem and thanks to the "experts" for weighing in.

~Dan