Completed first full shave with Straight

I completed my first full shave with a straight. I was able to finally deal with my chin, which was the area that was giving me the most problems and have been doing that area with a DE. With that being said I still got lots of improving to do. My cheeks are easy and can get a DFS/BBS shave on them, my neck and chin I can only get a socially acceptable shave at the moment. My neck whiskers grow left to right and I find it hard to go WTG and ATG but I am able to XTG easily. Ill just keep at it and then hopefully everything will just click like shaving my chin did.

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Originally Posted by Larch

...My neck whiskers grow left to right and I find it hard to go WTG and ATG but I am able to XTG easily. Ill just keep at it and then hopefully everything will just click like shaving my chin did.

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Congratulations!!

Like you, my neck grows from left side to right. I am right hand dominant,though I can use both hands. There is a patch on my neck, left side just under my jaw bone and in front of my ear lobe that is the most challenging to clear.

When I am doing my cheeks, I do a strong stretch up while opening my mouth. This pulls the skin on my neck up onto the flats of the jaw bone, making it easier to clear. Most important is that when I release the stretch the line I just cleared goes well below my jaw bone, so I don't have to navigate the angles. Then I do first pass on my neck XTG, in a downward stroke, stretching from below my whisker line and pushing my chin out. The chin is a WTG stroke, down and around. It's challenging.

The second pass is the same as far as stretching but is XTG on my cheeks and an upward stroke on my neck.. so another XTG. And it includes most of my lower chin in an ATG. On the last pass, I do XTG on my entire chin and lower lip area, with a clean up ATG on my lower lip. And to finish the neck, I do a scything stroke, so sort of diagonal, on the lower right and center of my neck, then switch hands and do a scything diagonal on the lower left side and that hay-wire challenging spot, while stretching.

Maybe confusing, but it works..

Questions are encouraged!!

Hi Larch

Congratulations on your first full shave. I still remember mine...all of eight shaves ago! I'm still finding I'm thinking about so much stuff I haven't finessed the shaving direction yet. Most of it is to do with hand position, which bit of the razor to use and trying not to slice anything open. But, it's getting better fast - the best thing about being on the steep bit of the learning curve. Good luck!