Thread: Help with my chin and other areas

I've been shaving with a straight for about a month now and am able to get BBS on my cheeks and most of my neck. There are some problem areas though that are still giving me trouble. Namely my chin (where I end up getting nicked most often), the corners of my mustache area near my lips and the two sides of my throat near my adams apple.

The mustache area always leaves whiskers at the edges near my lips and I usually try to do a WTG and two different XTG to get it, but can't quite ever get it smooth.

Chin is just a problem. I try to curl my bottom lip over my teeth and stretch the skin for the top of my chin and then for the underside I stretch the skin near my neck to try and get the bottom of my chin. Regardless of when I do my ATG strokes, I still leave some stumble.

Next areas are around my throat. I don't have a lot of body fat so I have two very concave areas on each side of the adams apple. It seems that no matter which way I stretch my skin and try to shave over it, I leave spots of lather (and stumble) as the blades just goes over the area leaving the concave areas untouched.

Just trying to get the hang of these areas as the rest of my shaving areas go quite well. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Yea..thats an issue for many of us..so don't feel bad..hehe...
Try going lighter with the blade or change the angle a little..nicking yerself would b a sign of a little too much pressure..plus make sure your face is lathered enough

pcdad

Welcome to SRP. It does take time and practice. The knob of the chin is the most difficult area to figure out IME. Read my sig below to avoid nicks and cuts and keep experimenting with blade angle, direction of attack and what have you. Eventually you'll figure out what will work for you in the problem areas.

I may be just a half step ahead of where you are, but some days still just puzzle me in those same chin and lip areas. I've started using the heel of the blade with small "buffing" strokes on the lips with some success. Some days, I get a great shave in those areas, so knowing it's possible helps. Confidence also helps, but I learned not to get too coc*Y, or blood will flow!

I also find that when I get frustrated, technique falls apart, lather gets dry and I need to re-group.

As the experienced guys said, just keep trying and you'll soon have that breakthrough. It's amazingly satisfying when it happens.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll keep at it. The areas on my neck are notoriously difficult even with my DE

I've been shaving for years now with a straight and I still have to watch two areas. I have a full mustache and the hair is like a wire brush and if I'm not careful the hair will cause the razor to deflect a tad causing a cut.

My adams apple is very prominent and has a very sharp tip and I gave up on that a long time ago. I wouldn't use a straight there or even a DE. It's the electric trimmer at that point.

Originally Posted by DBurnette

I may be just a half step ahead of where you are, but some days still just puzzle me in those same chin and lip areas. I've started using the heel of the blade with small "buffing" strokes on the lips with some success. Some days, I get a great shave in those areas, so knowing it's possible helps. Confidence also helps, but I learned not to get too coc*Y, or blood will flow!

+1 for buffing I have about the same time in as you and have recently (last 5 shaves) discovered a buffing stroke is perfect for my upper lip XTG. Until then I couldn't get my lip area to feel smoother then about 1/2 a days growth. I still haven't found the key for my chin though I find attacking it from all different directions till I find the one that eliminates a specific patch is all I can do. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

One thing I have done is purchase a smaller straight for the mustache and chin. It's a Dovo Jubilaum Anniversary model. They advertise it as a 3/8 but I think it's bigger. It's still a small razor, though and I've been happy with what it does.

Here's a picture. Also, this zone is where the sharpness and smoothness of the razor will really show themselves.