Thread: What's your hardest area for you to shave? (of your face)

for me- the hollow of the neck towards the bottom of the hairline. there's almost always irritation especially when i go down against the grain(hairs are pointing up and towards my ears). unless my razor is scary sharp which i only achieve occasionally by dumb luck, the razor will pluck these hairs out by the roots and the hairs will come in ingrown. any technique tips?

My hardest area is my right undercheek/jawbone area. It's a kind of hit and miss area. Sometimes I'll do one good stroke and whip it all away in one, other times, all the blade-buffing and scraping in the world doesn't get the stubble to budge. I've found it's generally an indication of the sharpness of my razor, so the moment I can't make this stroke, I know it's time to hone.

the hollow just under the jawline. Everything else is easy.

The right and left areas just below the chin/jawbone. The hair changes growth pattern. Under the chin, the hair grows down and then changes directions and grows toward the ears for half the distance and then finally changes directions to due south.

To get BBS, I often revert to a Jagger DE 89L for a final ATG touch-up after the WTG, XTG, & ATG straight razor passes.

My ear lobes. I don't shave them very often, and when I do it is unintentional and very ugly.

I tend to have problems with the two little spots directly under the nostrills. I can't even count the number of times that I've cut my lip or nose trying to get those spots.

Originally Posted by ace

My ear lobes. I don't shave them very often, and when I do it is unintentional and very ugly.

But for me, it's the chin, hands down, thanks to a serious cleft combined with whiskers that grow due south. Approaching my chin as a series of very small, flat planes helps, but the stroke that would really work best for the cleft--ATG--is very difficult. It's tough to get the skin there stretched so that it's flat across. I usually manage to get it done, but it takes more time than any other area on my face.

Originally Posted by Shangas

My hardest area is my right undercheek/jawbone area. It's a kind of hit and miss area. Sometimes I'll do one good stroke and whip it all away in one, other times, all the blade-buffing and scraping in the world doesn't get the stubble to budge. I've found it's generally an indication of the sharpness of my razor, so the moment I can't make this stroke, I know it's time to hone.

this one is tough for me too and it seems like a tricky spot for others as well- mainly b/c i don't like to shave the right side under-jawbone area with my left hand since its too shaky (i can get the corresponding left area with my right hand on the atg pass. ) For the right side underjaw atg pass, i use an unusual grip with my right hand. the razor is open to about 280 degrees. with the edge pointing up i put my thumb on the side of the tang and my index and middle on the other side of the tang. the ring and pinky is under the monkey tail down to between the 2nd and 3rd knuckle of the ring finger- locking the blade in my hand. then shave up on the right underjaw with your right hand with the heel closer to the chin and the toe pointing to the ear. i kind of curl the razor up to keep the edge angle pretty small. hope this helps

I agree with under the jaw bone being tough. Although my problem isn't getting that area smooth, it's the irritation and multiple weepers I've been causing with my ATG pass that is the issue. I think I may try two XTG passes from opposite directions (n/s and s/n) because under my jawline the hair grows from the middle towards the ear on both sides.

Well gentlemen, I proved my hypothesis, that if I can't shave my jaw-area, it's because my razor's dull.

I sharpened up my straight-razor, stropped it to within an inch of its life and with hot lather, went to town on my face.

Two good strokes and I got my right under-jaw area nice and smooth.