Thread: Left side of chin still defeats me

I have been using a straight razor on and off for a number of years now. I am retired so I don't need to shave every day - once a week tends to be my frequency and I have very wirey stubble. I stopped using my straight for a while after I had heart surgery because I was on blood thinning medication and was worried about bleeding but I am off this now. I can get round more or less all of my face and neck except the left side of my chin. With the grain direction being different from the right side and having to use my left hand I just don't seem to be able to find a way. On the right side I pull the skin tight and draw the razor from the chin towards the ear. Shaving down from the front of the chin to the neck is also an operation which I have difficulty with and feel nervous about but this is less of a problem. Because I can't do everything with the straight I finish off with a safety razor but I would love to dispense with this last step. Any tips would be gratefully received.

Yes, the chin can be difficult. I only use my left hand to do the down word side burn stroke on my left side and my right for everything else. Have you tried it with your right hand? (which direction is the beard growth on you left (difficult)side?

This happens

My left chin takes more work than the right chin. Nature of the beast!

Re. "having to use my left hand": are you left-handed, or switching to your left for that side of your face?

If the latter, i.e. you're naturally right-handed, then I'd suggest just trying to use your right hand on that troublesome bit. I never did get around to learning to shave left-handed, and so I make use of a fair bit of contortion to get those tricky to reach spots. But it *is* totally doable with one hand. You just have to find which (admittedly weird at times) combination of reaching, stretching, and shaving works for you.

I'm naturally right-handed, and I am really glad I decided not to consider my off hand as an all but useless extremity. Thankfully, I no longer have to master advanced yoga moves in order to get a great shave. During the learning process, I do think I wound up with more cuts owing to my dominant hand. Go figure!

I'm a staunch believer in mind over matter.

I am a right handed shaver. In order to get some spots, I have to use the contortion method. Left side burn is not a down stroke but the ear is pulled back and a pass is made from the ear junction out toward the eye. It works well and leaves a very straight clean line. The chin takes an additional pass as it is an awkward spot. My problem mostly stems from my poor eye sight. Putting on my glasses to find out that I have a few renegade whiskers by my right ear or directly under my nose, seems to be my fate.

And just to piggyback on the above post, I think trying a heavier blade might be good too. The least it does is give you a good reason to buy a new razor. I used to shave with a full hollow Geneva, and then switched to a pair of Thiers Issard blades from AOS. I have totally fallen in love with my old Joe Eliott that Outback worked on. Heavier blade and sharp as can be. I enjoy it way better than the finer blades.

Try some alternative grips. Perhaps something like a pencil or reverse hold will allow you to reach this area. I find that my angel of attack really gets effected by my beards direction. Really look for which way it goes and then practice strokes WTG using a butter knife find what is comfortable then switch to the razor. This for me helped a lot. I also have, very recently, found that a heavier blade with a different tip really made my control better. Perhaps another heavier razor with a less hollow grind will handle your wired beard better too.

I’ve been doing this for many years but I still spend more time on my chin and the line around my lower lip that I do on the entire rest of my face.

It took me a while to get used to shaving the left side with my left hand,

I am right-handed, but I learned to shave with both hands. When shaving WTG (north to south), I shave with the hand on the same side of my face. When shaving ATG (south to north), I find it far easier to shave with the opposite hand.

My chin is shaped like a golf ball, including some of the dimples and there is no clear grain direction, the hair stick straight out in some places. I have found the best way to shave my chin is to shave two passes with a straight razor and then make a final clean up pass using a DE razor.

Like you, I am retired, but I have found that if I go too long before shaves, my beard becomes even tougher than it is normally, at least for the first pass. Thus, I would suggest you try shaving every couple of days and see if that improves your shave. Make sure you use a good shave soap that creates a slick, protective lather.