Can somebody please tell me what is going on with my goatee area!

A bit of history first. So I ditched my Fusion back in December sometime and went the way of wet shaving. I started with the full Proraso green line and a Merkur 38C with Merkur blades. First 2 shaves as you could imagine were a little sketchy but after that it was all downhill. The biggest problem was on the sides of my neck where the grain was like a crop circle. It looked like I walked behind F-22 Raptor with the afterburners maxXxed. So I went back to the interweb to look up the CCGS(crop circle grain stroke) and it didn't exist yet. Luckily, I just needed to go south to north and that was that. So over time I got my whole system nailed down solid: WTG directions all mapped, awesome prep, sweet lathers, technique, etc. I'd say the learning curve was about 4 shaves. Maybe a few more if you want to count ironing out some minor details.

I've expanded my product line and now I'm learning str8s but getting a bit frustrated. From sideburns down and rest of cheeks no problem. Pretty straight forward. Neck - I'm more patient in this area because I'm going south to north which is trickier than the north to south but I'm pleased with how it's coming along and each time I shave, I'm improving.

What concerns me is the goatee area. On many occasions, I feel the razor catch hairs and skip over them and nothing or very, very little gets shaved away. This happens especially on the front of my chin and to a tiny bit of a lesser degree on the moustache. Heck, I lean forward and watch closely in the mirror as the razor glides over doing nothing. I've tried many different angles, toe, heel, mid blade and haven't been able to come up with a solution. I find it very curious how the blade will catch and put up a lot of resistance that just begs for more pressure. When I give into that, it'll cut the whiskers but also skip from the pressure. The more I re-lather and pass over this, the closer I'm getting to irritation. I end up finishing off with my DE. It's been about 10 shaves I guess now and the combination of this area holding me back, blade feedback and visual feedback is really making me wonder what's going on.

The str8s I've been using are both 'vintage'/older Solingen's. A 6/8 and a 5/8. Both pro honed, finished on Eschers. The 6/8 is imno(in my n00b opinion) 'scary' sharp as it passes HHT 5 in most spots 4 in others - even after I stropped it! lol :p I do 40 x's red latigo very gently before I shave. The 5/8 is toned down a little but definitely 'shave ready' by the standards here.

I don't think I'm growing super-human alien hairs in my goatee area but maybe this is the missing variable? I can say it is coarser there as I'm sure it is with most. I don't think more pressure is the best answer but maybe I'm wrong? The easiest answer is that it's my technique but my poor ego is going to be very angry with you if that's suggested :cen lol jk. Technique wise what should I be doing in this area?

:mexwave:Sorry for such a long post & thanks for reading.:mexwave:
:mexwave: Any and all suggestions welcome! :mexwave:

If your sure the razor is sharp, it may be the angle your holding it at. Also, is the lather still wet once you get to the goatee? I would take a look at some video's for tips and improvements, its what I do when I get stuck or need inspiration to try a different tactic.

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Originally Posted by MSkiba

If your sure the razor is sharp, it may be the angle your holding it at. Also, is the lather still wet once you get to the goatee? I would take a look at some video's for tips and improvements, its what I do when I get stuck or need inspiration to try a different tactic.

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I'm using the standard grip: 1st and thumb pinching tang and middle on monkey tail. I lose my middle finger off the monkey tail and straighten out the scales to get close to my nose. Pass: WTG. Lather: Fresh or refreshed.

Most peoples goatee area is denser that the rest of their face. It may not be the thickness of the hair, but how much is packed into that tiny space. Try dropping your WTG angle a bit, and hold the razor tightly. Then use short, meaningful strokes. Non of that Mach 14 commercial stuff from sideburn to jawline...short short passes, as in about a 1/2 inch.

If that doesn't work, try rubbing a bit of hair conditioner on your goatee area during your pre-shave. That may help.

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Originally Posted by Maxi

Most peoples goatee area is denser that the rest of their face. It may not be the thickness of the hair, but how much is packed into that tiny space. Try dropping your WTG angle a bit, and hold the razor tightly. Then use short, meaningful strokes. Non of that Mach 14 commercial stuff from sideburn to jawline...short short passes, as in about a 1/2 inch.

If that doesn't work, try rubbing a bit of hair conditioner on your goatee area during your pre-shave. That may help.

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Thanks Maxi. Speaking of that Mach 14 sideburn to jawline stroke, I always cringe when I see someone in a shaving video do that. Years ago, I was doing that stroke, messed it up one time, the blade caught and ouch was that painful. It happened so fast and it was more of a tear than a nick/cut so I ditched that stroke lol! I just got careless.

Hair conditioner was part of my prep. Important to note for anyone new reading this, don't use conditioner that is 'strengthening' or 'repairs damaged hair' as this will defeat the purpose. Just regular conditioner to soften and hydrate whiskers making them easier to shave off. After realizing I have a bunch of Nivea canned goo to use up since switching to nicer wet shaving products, I now use it as a pre shaving beard soak in the shower. When that runs out, I'll definately at least use conditioner or get more canned goo if there is a noticeable performance difference.

I find that almost everyone has much more dense hair on their chins. I personally have to apply quite a bit more pressure to get the job done there. But do remember it is about hair reduction with each stroke not hair removal!

I've had a goatee and moustache for 15 years for this very reason. At Christmas, I shaved it all off and have been trying to master this area with a straight. Let me be honest here and now.... I have grown my beard and moustache back as of this week....

All I can say is that the razor needs to be sharp, technique needs to be good, experience level needs to be high, practice needs to be consistent, styptic pencil needs to be at the ready!!! :D

I found the best results I got initially were with a simple WTG stroke followed by an across the grain. Whenever I tried ATG there were tears and tantrums (did you know that when you throw a straight out the window it can sometimes act like a very lethal boomerang? Depends how tight the scales are...).

Another thing that worked for me was blade buffing in that area.

I hope you have better luck than I did!

James.

Heh was blade angle :gth Once I really concentrated on keeping it low it was much easier. There's hope for me yet! :)

Thanks gents,

A

So, it was technique after all.:p

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Originally Posted by HarleyFXST

So, it was technique after all.:p

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Holy Moly....you actually do "post" once in a while! Wowzers!

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Originally Posted by AndrewK

Heh was blade angle :gth Once I really concentrated on keeping it low it was much easier. There's hope for me yet! :)

Thanks gents,

A

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I may have been too quick to claim success. Lowering blade angle did help for sure but something still doesn't feel right. Still have some tug and pull going on and edge gliding over and missing easy stuff. It's only been 3 shaves since so I'll see where a few more get me and depending on what happens I was thinking of doing a video clip that would hopefully show where I'm going wrong.

That's a fantastic idea. After reading about and watching all these you tube videos I also came to the idea that an excellent learning tool would be to take your own iPhone video of yourself shaving. I'm surprised that more guys who are having problems don't do this..

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Originally Posted by AndrewK

I may have been too quick to claim success. Lowering blade angle did help for sure but something still doesn't feel right. Still have some tug and pull going on and edge gliding over and missing easy stuff. It's only been 3 shaves since so I'll see where a few more get me and depending on what happens I was thinking of doing a video clip that would hopefully show where I'm going wrong.

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I am new as well making the switch in December. I also was having the problem with the tugging or catching on the hair. What has been working for me is really laying the razor down. Starting on the outside of the goatee area doing not only short strokes 1/4"-1/2" but also focusing on only moving into my beard at 1/4" - 1/8" at a time and using repeated strokes working my way over. my thoughts are that you are just getting more focused of limiting the number of hairs your trying to cut at one time. this has stopped the razor catching. good luck, don't quit, quest for the perfect shave.

This is interesting. I've found that I need to raise the blade angle when working over the tougher-hair zones. I do WTG then ATG; I don't try XTG on the goatee area.

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Originally Posted by roughkype

This is interesting. I've found that I need to raise the blade angle when working over the tougher-hair zones. I do WTG then ATG; I don't try XTG on the goatee area.

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Very interesting! First shave with a str8 today where I did not fall back on my DE. I used a bit too much pressure and my lather sucked at the end so I razor burned the heck out of myself:overkill: lol but w/e. Lowering blade angle helped to get the ball rolling for sure but then after that, I tried raising it and it seemed to do better at catching the leftovers that the low angle wouldn't get especially around the front contour of my chin down to around the scar underneath my chin. This is cool. Now I think all that is left is some fine tuning and I will be good to go I hope. Ideally, I am aiming for a 2 pass WTG w/a touch up or 2 like I normally did with my DE.
:mexwave:

Are you stretching the skin when you shave your chin?

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Originally Posted by robellison01

Are you stretching the skin when you shave your chin?

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I do the typical facial contortions as I work down to the chin but once I'm there, I don't really feel like there is much to stretch but I'll see what I can do.

When I shaved my chin (I normally wear a goatee, moustache and soul patch) I only went WTG and XTG on the chin. Even now (when I have the goatee) I only shave ATG on the neck up to the goatee line every second day. I generally go for a WTG all over, then a ATG along the chin line. I found a steep angle over the chin best, rather than a shallow. I also like a thinner lather when going ATG, as I like less drag. For me, if an angle or technique causes too much bother and the chance of nicks or rash, I don't do it. I like a clean close shave, but I also very much value smoothness and comfort.