Problem area, any tips.

I'm a couple of months into straight shaving (twice a week) and I'm getting good shaves now however there is a patch below jaw line which grows in a swirl on each side of my throat. With a DE I do some diagonal passes then horizontal from out side to in to get it smooth. That along with J hooking and blade buffing.

However I can't get my hands and neck into a position to make a horizontal pass and I don't think attempting J-hooking or blade buffing with a straight is wise. One thing which catches part of the area is pulling the skin up as high as possible which gets part of it onto the jaw line, where I can do a horizontal pass, but it still leaves a portion below which I cant reach.

Any advice? I've pretty much sorted out what works for the rest of my face its just this last remaining bit which is frustrating me.

Have you tried also stretching your skin downward? I typically stretch upwards to bring some of the area up above the jawline, and then downwards to do the rest as stretching will flatten the area and make it a bit easier to maneuver.

Are you just trying to get it WTG?

buffing with a straight is a good technique. Its is possible and I use that often. Give it a try but with light touch

Yep, I hav the sme problem....try the buffing tech..It works for me. I am a one handed shaver and can't do all those wierd angles. so I just use kind of a buff and stretch tehnique for a close on. Some times if I can't get the neck in the first pass, I will just lather up agian and try to go the oppoite direction...But buffin sems to take care of it.. Good luck! ou wil find your comfort zone.

The usual advice... skin stretching, slices and scything actions, etc. In addition, two things less often mentioned helped me. A small width blade, and shaving cold.

I have a razor that is 4/8 wide, and for some reason it does a better job under the jaw than any other razor. However, with the use of stretching and slicing/scything motions, I do pretty well now even without the narrow blade.

My skin seems to swell up over the whiskers to some degree when heated. After my skin cools down, it retracts down the hair shaft a small amount. I think this is what is happening, because in some areas, a BBS shave at the end of a shave is not quite BBS 15 minutes after the shave.

Now, this stubble reappearing phenomenon doesn't matter for most areas on my face, as I am getting a close enough shave that even after 15 minutes or more, it is still BBS. But, under my chin it is a different story! I am getting a nominal shave in the tough areas you mentioned. For this reason, now, I shave regularly. But, before my last pass I sometimes splash cold water on my skin. It seems to give me a better shave, as I am clipping the whiskers off just a tad bit lower than if my skin were hot.

Thanks for the replies, interesting about the cold splash!

I'll certainly try the buffing and scything.

I've got the same sort of swirl; my first pass is a straight N-S, and the second is an ATG/XTG scything motion, starting S-N, and ending E-W, or W-E, depending on which side of my adam's apple. It works, but do be careful.

+1 on having a smaller razor. I was using the Feather Nape Razor, and then got the little Dovo Jubilaum 3/8 (cutting edge <2" long). I use that for these more knotty spots.

I also find that these problem areas yield only to my most wickedly sharp razors. Most razors will get most of my face okay, but a few areas yield only to Chuck Norris-sharp razors, where the whiskers just cut themselves upon seeing the edge...

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Originally Posted by LarryAndro

The usual advice... skin stretching, slices and scything actions, etc. In addition, two things less often mentioned helped me. A small width blade, and shaving cold.

I have a razor that is 4/8 wide, and for some reason it does a better job under the jaw than any other razor. However, with the use of stretching and slicing/scything motions, I do pretty well now even without the narrow blade.

My skin seems to swell up over the whiskers to some degree when heated. After my skin cools down, it retracts down the hair shaft a small amount. I think this is what is happening, because in some areas, a BBS shave at the end of a shave is not quite BBS 15 minutes after the shave.

Now, this stubble reappearing phenomenon doesn't matter for most areas on my face, as I am getting a close enough shave that even after 15 minutes or more, it is still BBS. But, under my chin it is a different story! I am getting a nominal shave in the tough areas you mentioned. For this reason, now, I shave regularly. But, before my last pass I sometimes splash cold water on my skin. It seems to give me a better shave, as I am clipping the whiskers off just a tad bit lower than if my skin were hot.

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heheh..yer whiskers get scared of yer blade..they give up n fall off!..nice!

pcdad