Thread: Am I missing something?

Been shaving with a straight for about a week now. I shave once a day but it seems I still have some stubble under my jaw line even after making 2 or 3 passes. Since I'm new to this 2 or 3 passes are all my virgin skin can handle right now. So what am I doing wrong? Ideas anyone? Thanks in advance.

Angle of blade, prep, sharpness of razor and/or stretching of the skin can all be contributing factors. Beyond that, practice, practice, practice!
Just a little note: it took me almost 2 years before I got a consistently good shave.

Give it some time. I've been at it about 8months and still have spots on my neck and jaw that don't come clean every shave. Actually they hardly ever come clean. There's a butt load of techniques to try as well as prep methods so just be patient and you'll get what works best for you.

I'm in the same boat. Just keep it up!

kipper,

I used to be obsessive about getting a level of smoothness that would make a babies butt look rough !!

My face really suffered; now I just go with the flow, and I really enjoy my shaves as a result. There is some residual ATG roughness on my neck, but hey, does it matter ?

Just enjoy your shaves - that is what straight shaving is all about - much more than just removing hair from your face.

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

The hardest part for me was remembering what strokes worked, and which ones did not. Sometimes I would study my neck for up to a minute before the next stroke to get it bbs without much irritation. I cannot shave every day. If a blade touches my neck two days in a row its not pretty.

Originally Posted by kipper

Been shaving with a straight for about a week now. I shave once a day but it seems I still have some stubble under my jaw line even after making 2 or 3 passes. Since I'm new to this 2 or 3 passes are all my virgin skin can handle right now. So what am I doing wrong? Ideas anyone? Thanks in advance.

For what it is worth, I only shave every few days, longer stubble for me is easier to handle. My first pass is against the lay of the whiskers, I stretch my neck skin down and it pulls the skin that would normally lay along the jawline to below the jawline. Like wise I pull the skin of the side of my face up when I pass the razor down my cheeks for the first pass. Practice and good prep of the face, not to mention a lick or two on the strop as required. As I said earlier if work allows longer whiskers I find easier to handle. When away at work I only use one pass, at home two passes in different directions.

Cheers and good luck, keep persevering it gets quite easy eventually.

Lots of things at work here. As mentioned, the edge, angles, pressures, etc... Face prep is just as important. The fact that you have been shaving for just a week fits into it, too. Time will allow your skills to develop properly. You can't rush that. In time you will be getting your BBS. Patience young Jedi...

I'm not sure what you mean by "under your jaw line." If you're talking about that area that's about a third of the way down between your jawbone and you collar bone then I may be able to help. In that area I do the opposite of stretching the skine. I pull my chin in as far as I can and that causes that area to tighten up and stick out. That may be the portly condition of my neck but that helps me.

Rich


“If it’s empty, fill it – if it’s full, empty it” - Christian Bale as Deiter Dengler in “Rescue Dawn”

Its the angle in which you shave this area. It may need more than one pass and from different angles. This is an area that I can miss as well if I don't go through the usual steps of shaving.

Pabster