Thread: Chin giving me fits

I've been at this Str8 trip for 4 mos. and get mostly DFS's have a real problem with hollow on one side of neck and can't seem to position the razor to clean up, but the chin is never easy. Can anyone give insight as to why I'm having so much trouble with this?

I've been experimenting with different angles. Seen a vid where Lynn gets a great shave with one pass, I fear I'll never get that. I seem to have to go over it several times and then there is usually irritation (good thing I use alum, witch hazel) things seem better later in the day

As you can tell the chin is getting me frustrated.

My first thought is your razor needs a fine hone. My chin always gives me trouble and why not. The toughest part of my beard and round in all directions. I have found if I pull the skin tight enough I can get it going across the grain. I have also some what mastered the rolling chin pass :<0) . You have to keep that angle. Some of my razors work best with the guillotine pass on the chin. A brave move at first but not that bad really. I go against and across at the same time on the second pass and then on to against. I think I spend more time trying to get the chin smooth than anything else. I know one thing,,,,I very very sharp edge cuts down the hassle and the burn from aftershave.

Cheer up, you'll get there Most of us take at least half a year to develop a proper technique, and then some more time to fine-tune it. The chin is often the hardest part, for the reasons 10Pups mentioned. Also, sideways growth in the neck is a very common phenomenon and has many people puzzled.

To reduce the irritation, I think you'll have to reduce the passes and pressure. Use the lowest angle that you can get, with the spine (almost) touching your face. And like 10Pups, I use a slicing motion rather than a pure scraping one.

Yea, the chin is where I find the toughest part of my beard to be hiding so the razor needs to be very sharp or you wind up using too much pressure to compensate causing irritation. To go WTG I stretch my upper lip over my teeth and raise my head to make the chin jut out. Going from the lip down in narrow bands like trying to peel a spud to just under the chin.

For XTG grain same stretching routine working from the center out to each corner with diagonal strokes. For ATG same stretching routine with the spine nearly flat to my face very lightly and extremely carefully in short strokes. I follow that with XTG going from the corners in.

ATG is the hardest part and I would no attempt till you feel very comfortable doing so. It is very easy to give yourself a very good cut. The sharper the blade the better.

Bob

My chin and mustache area is also tougher than the jaw, cheeks, and neck areas. On my first pass I will start just below the middle of my bottom lip and go straight down, clearing a small strip in the center of my chin. Then with my off hand I will put a finger in that area and pull it to the left to do the right side of my chin and the opposite to get the left side. I find that even though this is mostly a WTG stroke, the hairs are standing straight enough from the skin stretching to get DFS. If I try a second pass, I will stretch the skin just above the right side of my chin up and do a stroke down along the jaw line towards the center of my chin, effectively ATG. Just another method for you to attempt, good luck!

Don't worry, you're not alone on this one. I'm 9 months in and the chin and upper lip still give me tons of trouble. I still have to finish with a safety razor to get BBS. I'm really starting to understand how certain facial hair growth patterns emerged. If my only option was a straight razor I know I'd have a goatee by now. I've gotten WTG, and XTG down, but ATG still eludes me at the chin. The hairs are really tough and my skin is incredibly flexible so even pulling it 'tight' can't quite do the trick. Right now I'm just taking it slow and really focusing on how I'm holding the razor. I see small improvements every time and I know I'll get there eventually. I'm sure you will too.

Nice to know I'm not alone, thanks again for your post!

I have some success in tough areas of my chin with a small buffing stroke. Light pressure keeps the irritation down while buffing.

Don't worry, I'll never get a good shave from one pass either - not because I lack the skill but because my beard dictates that it takes more than that to get smooth.

For my chin I'll do the initial WTG pass, followed by 2 XTG passes (one in each direction). Follow that up with a bit of ATG on my lower lip and from my Adam's apple to my chin and it's a DFS every time.

Appreciate all the advice, got my best shave in weeks, thanks to you gents. Tried a few of the tips given and chin and neck hollow came out real good, probably didn't hurt that I used Tabac and my favorite str8.

You're not alone. The chin is a hard area to master for most guys. There are so many angle changes, especially if you're on the thin side. If you shave your chin last, make sure you don't have dried out lather on it. Also, if you have a trouble spot, you may be too tentative when shaving that area. What finally worked for me on my chin, were touchups using only water. If you've made a good lather, and made a couple of passes, water is all you need for the final touchups, at least that has been my experience.