Thread: Trimmed/shaved beard off without touching the disposable

So I have worn a short beard for a while and decided on a whim to shave it off today. My cheeks, throat, and sideburns were pretty straightforward. The mustache, lips, and chin were a different story though.

The mustache was particularly tough to shave off even though I went over it beforehand with a trimmer on the shortest setting. I thought my prep was decent: stropped for about 8-10 minutes while listening to some tunes, took a shower, put some mineral oil on my face, and worked up a good lather of ProRazo.

The lips and chin definitely took more finesse but wasn't too bad. My mustache was a pain though. The blade did not want to move even though I trimmed the hairs as much as possible. I think I reapplied lather to my mustache about 3 times before I said to myself f*** it and went for it. I had to apply a lot more pressure to the blade than I was really comfortable with. But I made sure to pay attention to what I was doing the whole time and not let anything else distract me.

I ended up finishing without needing to grab the disposable to do my mustache. However, I did draw a little blood and have a bit of razor burn as well. This is a milestone for me because years ago when I was starting out with this hobby, I always chickened out when it came to shaving the mustache and more difficult areas.

I don't think there was a problem with the razor since I stropped it thoroughly and recently had it honed. I also didn't have too much trouble shaving everything else on my face.

What can I do for my prep or technique to make the next shave better?

Thanks!

Edit: When I was shaving my mustache, I was shaving downward the whole time.

I think Noxema as a preshave cream works great. As always skin tight and low blade angle is a big help, oh and wet lather.

a lot more experience helps a bunch, you had a beard so how much experience do yo have shaving? just a thought, I would have a problem with my mustache too and I shave all the time, but haven't done my stache in years Tc

Maybe your razor needs honing?

What is recently honed.?
How thick and course is your beard.?

And as Tc said...I've only shaved mine once in my whole life. So I'd expect it to be a challenge, but not a chore to do

Originally Posted by JOB15

Maybe your razor needs honing?

I got it honed about 2-3 months ago and I have been using it once per week ever since. It shouldn't need to be honed again this early should it?

Originally Posted by outback

What is recently honed.?
How thick and course is your beard.?

And as Tc said...I've only shaved mine once in my whole life. So I'd expect it to be a challenge, but not a chore to do

As mentioned to JOB15, I got the razor honed about 2-3 months ago. Since I had a beard, I only shaved once per week. My beard was average in thickness except for the mustache. That area is definitely more dense.

Congratulations on not slicing yourself up too bad!
I'd guess your number one problem would be that you have never shaved your upper lip before and so you don't know the areas quirks.
I razor burned my upper lip for about 2 weeks straight while I was learning that area.
Keep at it.

Your next shave will tell you if the blade needs to be honed or not.

A re honing is in order I fear, 8 to 12 shaves and who knows how well honed it was to start with.
Also is your stropping up to scratch?

It should have sliced effortlessly through your tash.

I use shampoo and conditioner on my head/face and leave the conditioner on my face to soften the hair before shaving. Might give that try, though the 2 times I shaved it all off my wife and children objected very strongly with the look!

I also refresh my razor every 8-10 shaves with diamond and CroOx on a paddle with pressed wool.