New shaver trouble

So I have recently within the last month or two started shaving with a straight razor. I have no problem on the WTG shave, but I have some trouble with the XTG shave and the ATG shaves. I have a very pronounced jaw line, and so it and my neck are very difficult places to shave for me. the hair on my neck also grows from right to left, and while i stretch as well as i can, I don't know what else I can do to get a closer shave without those nicks and cuts. I also seem to get little dots of blood on my moustache area where i'm guessing the hairs are being pulled instead of being cut. I am using a solingen razor, and almost always shave after a shower, building a lather on my face instead of in a bowl. If there are any tips, I would be very thankful, I'm very tired of the nicks and cuts on my neck and jaw.

Don't expect too much too early. You can work on the jawline better by using skin-stretching to move the skin around, pulling the skin near the jawline up and then down so it is easier to get at it.

As for the neck area, I've learned to not worry too much about getting it perfect for the ATG passes there can be difficult. I'd go for satisfaction with this area more than for perfection.

The "little dots" are referred to here as "weepers", and, in my opinion, come not from pulling whiskers out instead of cutting them but from trying to get the area too close, especially with ATG passes. I can get that area very close with ATG passes but usually settle for close enough with WTG and XTG passes.

Don't try for too high a standard. It's your shave (and your face). Do it the way that pleases you. As your skills develop, you'll find ways to improve your shave. In the meantime, experiment and enjoy.

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Originally Posted by fieldbarren

So I have recently within the last month or two started shaving with a straight razor. I have no problem on the WTG shave, but I have some trouble with the XTG shave and the ATG shaves. I have a very pronounced jaw line, and so it and my neck are very difficult places to shave for me. the hair on my neck also grows from right to left, and while i stretch as well as i can, I don't know what else I can do to get a closer shave without those nicks and cuts. I also seem to get little dots of blood on my moustache area where i'm guessing the hairs are being pulled instead of being cut. I am using a solingen razor, and almost always shave after a shower, building a lather on my face instead of in a bowl. If there are any tips, I would be very thankful, I'm very tired of the nicks and cuts on my neck and jaw.

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Watch this guy shave and imitate some of his "moves" into your routine. Note the preparation, skin stretching and light touch with the razor.

‪Chimensch's Shaving Video‬‏ - YouTube

This video remains one of the greatest shaving how-tos by a master that's available.

Fieldbarren,
After reading your OP, I have a few things you might take into consideration: Pressure, angle, and stroke.

Pressure
Use only enough pressure to "wipe" the lather off your face...the blade will wipe the whiskers as well. Many think that if you don't use enough pressure that they won't get the whisker close enough. It is much better on your skin if you just make another pass of light strokes versus a single stroke with pressure. Less pressure equals less razor burn, weepers, and so on.

Angle
Don't worry about the "degree's" of angle your blade is at. A simple rule of thumb is the thickness of the spine of your razor off the face...or less. The lower the angle the less chance of "scraping" your face...thus leading to razor burn. I am also in the opinion that the lower angle is, the less you will be apt to nick yourself.

Stroke
Take your time. I personally use a short & overlapping stroke that probably never exceeds 1". Getting in a hurry using those long sweeping strokes just doesn't work for me. I've tried it and keeping the angle & pressure right seems more difficult while trying to trace the contours of the face.

Hope you can understand my gibberish...Scott

Thank you all for the tips, I am going to try a few of them and see what works best for me. Thank you for the video, it helped a lot, but like I said I have a much more pronounced jawline than him and I dont think I could do some of the storkes he does. Thank you everyone, you were a great help.

By pronounced do you mean defined? I've noticed in a lot of shaving videos, the men have more mass around their chins than I do. Lately, my shaves have been going exceptionally well, aside from some irritation (a caveat here to state that I've had about a dozen and a half shaves). Shooter's advice is what has worked for me. Pay attention to which part of the blade you are shaving with. Instead of trying to use the full blade on your neck and chin, use the heel or toe of the blade. I've found that by limiting which part of the blade I use, I gain a real feel for each particular area of my face. My neck hair lays left to right, what I usually do is skip the ATG and do XTG passes instead. First, a simple neck to chin shave. The second pass goes at a diagonal angle. For example, it starts at the corner of my jaw and ends up somewhere along my jaw bone. This stroke seems to catch the hair somewhat ATG. Again, I'd stress short strokes using the part of the blade with which you are comfortable for this pass.

Yes I mean defined, and I too have noticed that they have more mass on their chins than I.That's a good idea to use the heel, because I find that I cut myself when using either the edge or the point of the blade. Thank you for the input, some very good ideas escott. I got a much closer and better shave using everyone else's tips, but accidentally went overboard and ended up giving myself a nice little cut on my chin lol. Well next time I'll try it with the toe and see what happens.

I am no expert (only 4 shaves in) but I want to share whats working for me. my grip on the razor was to tight and stiff. I was scraping the blade over the contours of my face. razor burn. I eased up on that death grip and relaxed and let the razor do its thing. closer shave and no burn now. good luck.

I have the same 'problem' i.e. NOT a Charlie Brown face that 'melds' with my neck (not that there's anything wrong with that :-). I found lately that a scything stroke is very effective in that area; it allows me to shave with one pass; yet do a ATG pass on the jawline and just above the jawline. That video is classic, but I could never emulate it at this stage (9 weeks in). Also, he uses different hands that I (I use RH for right side, LH for left). I have a razor with a spike point (apparently not good for beginners but I'm sticking with it), so find the heel invaluable for cutting in around my goatee, moustache and the hair under my bottom lip. Try scything at the jaw line, pulling the skin up; or course, I think you'll find it helpful...

BTW, +1 on the overlapping stroke, when I started I was doing long strokes, overlapping is the way to go. Don't overdo it though, too many overlapping strokes may also lead to taking too much skin off, 'cause shaving with a straight razor DOES remove skin; unlike a disposable where the blades sit ABOVE the skin and 'pull' the hairs out (or so I'm told)...

I also have a very defined jawline, neck, chin and I too have noticed that a lot of the shavers in videos on YouTube have soft, rounded or baby faces that in my opinion (although I could be wrong) would make for an easier shave. I try and poke my tongue out inside my mouth in various places where I can to make my unrounded face become flat. Also as a beginner I try and stretch the skin up over areas like my jawline but my fingers and face are that darn soapy and slippery I have great trouble performing this even when I try and wipe the suds away, so I scrape the razor along my jawline towards my ears and then back towards my chin which works quite well.

I'm glad you made this post because it is a good reminder for me to slow down and use short strokes. I was running way early this morning and for whatever reason I rushed my shave this morning. The result? Three small nicks and I can still feel some stubble in spots; I still had a decent shave, however, I have done better in my previous shaves using slow and short strokes.

Time for me to slow down and smell the lather.