Thread: The Best Way to shave top lip

Hi All,
New to using str8's but i can shave both sides of my face & most of my jaw.
moving onto throat & under the jaw(feels like i've been slapped with a bear claw but i'll get there as my technique improves) but for the life of me i can't even start the razor on my top lip, is there a stroke which is easier than others & i won't even mention my chin i'll save that for the very last.
Thanks for your input.......

check out the videos section for coupe de maitre.. or is that right? i'm unsure.. i'll try to find it and link.

Yep,
found it,does he actually keep his razor at 90 deg while he's scooping????, my razor wouldn't budge at that angle,or i should say i wouldn't budge when i felt it tugging & my razor is well sharp.I'm sure its just my technique but a few more close up videos of lip & chin shaving would be appreciated from you seasoned vets(i don't mean anything to do with animals,i know some of you would).

Thanks....

Yup, You start with the razor flat up against the bottom of your nose and twist it to an increasing acute angle as you bring it down your upper lip. It's daunting at first, but it's definitely doable. There is a reason it translates to "blow to the head," or something like that.

Coup de maître isn't that hard, really.

As long as you're paying attention to what you are doing there won't be anything to worry about.

Fool's pass is a different story though.

Hi Morty,

I'm fairly new to this myself, and YMMV, but I like to do a really light pass coming in from my cheek/under my eye at first. That makes the Coupe de Maitre a little easier for me.

Good luck and take it easy!

Originally Posted by morty1

Yep,
...my razor wouldn't budge at that angle,or i should say i wouldn't budge when i felt it tugging & my razor is well sharp....

Sounds to me like your razor isn't sharp enough. Especially since your 1st post in this thread also mentioned a lot of razor burn under the jaw.

If you bought it from SRD, Vintage Blades, or one of the SRP honemeisters, then try refreshing the edge on a pasted strop. If not, you should probably send it out for honing.

You can also try leading your downstroke with either the heel or toe of the razor so that the edge is slanted like a guillotine (the spine is still 1-2 spine widths from your face). This works well for me on the tough chin wiskers, and allows me to get another few shaves in when the razor is starting to need a touch up.

Originally Posted by morty1

Hi All,
New to using str8's but i can shave both sides of my face & most of my jaw.
moving onto throat & under the jaw(feels like i've been slapped with a bear claw but i'll get there as my technique improves) but for the life of me i can't even start the razor on my top lip, is there a stroke which is easier than others & i won't even mention my chin i'll save that for the very last.
Thanks for your input.......

I would have trouble believing it if I didn't experience it myself. Over time you develop a feel for straight razor shaving and will find yourself being able to do things you couldn't do before. What you see on the videos are people who couldn't do what they're doing when they were beginners.

Sounds to me like you are doing great and you're well on your way to mastering the shaving game. Just keep shaving.

The first time I tried coup de maître I removed the majority of a mole on my lip but I haven't nicked it since.

Thanks for all your input guys, much appreciated,i'll try it with less than 1 days growth.maybe that was part of the problem,like i had 2 days growth or am i just rambling????