Thread: Shaving the Chin

I have just started using a straight razor and all seems to be going well except I am having trouble getting around my chin. I have watched Lynn's video a number of times but I just can't get the knack of it. Can anyone offer any suggestions?

Yes. First be patient. That is probably the area that has taken me the longest to figure out. Second, try to use just a small portion of the blade shaving a small area at one time.

I do my chin in multiple steps. Down pass to get everything to the jaw, then I ignore it while doing my neck. Do another specific down pass holding my neck tight to get the bottom jaw, under the chin. I've given up trying to do upstrokes on the chin as that seems to lead to cuts. If I do 2 down passes focusing on the chin alone, I get a good shave there. But I treat my chin like I'm holding a surgeon's scalpel, as it's by far still my most difficult area. Even if it takes me 3 down passes, it's better than getting impatient and cutting yourself.

Skin stretching and holding was the biggest asset to getting good shaves. This is particularly true with my neck and chin.

It and the neck are the last areas most master. Just keep at it slowly and carefully. Sometimes VERY short strokes from a number of directions are needed until you find just the right approach.

The chin seems to give us all fits when we begin.

Go grab an apple and a knife and note how many times you would have to change the angle of the blade if you were to be shaving it. More than a few times I am guessing .

Your chin is round. When I started, I would change angles OFTEN to get all of my chin. It seemingly took forever!

But heck, when I leaned to drive, a three point turn took me 18 points until I learned to begin turning the wheal while moving too.


It's the same with your chin. Eventually your wrist or fingers will subtly change the angle needed to shave your chin and get all of its roundness in one pass. But that is as natural as learning to do a three point turn or pealing an apple in one long fluid cut.

Cut yourself some slack and be methodical at first. It's not as cool as seeing a dude do it in one fluid motion - but believe me, we all started hacking piece by piece before we got the muscle memory to do it fluidly. Embrace the monotony of it - in a month or three, you'll wonder when it was you began to simply pass over the chin in a stroke.

Check out the buffing stroke in the shave wiki here on the site. It works a treat on the chin.

+1 to earcutters great post...it takes time but will come to...

Smooth shaving...

Like Cory, I use short buffing strokes, changing the angle as I go. It did take me several months to arrive to that point, though.

You need to have really good facility with the razor to do the chin and have the confidence to execute the maneuver. I go straight down my chin and around to the underneath of my chin. It took me a long time to be able to do that. It comes with experience.