Newbie issues

So I've been using my straight for a week now and have learned a lot. I only get nicks or abrasions from either lack of attention, too much pressure on the blade, or multiple passes. Multiple passes with a safety were my old habit and I guess old habits die hard. But either way I'm getting better, and getting a closer shave every time. Anyway, I'm having chin issues. I cut myself twice today in the process so I'm hoping that someone here has advice.

I'm a pretty slender guy, with a bit of a thin face. My chin isn't a cleft chin, but it definitely has a depression in the middle. I just can't seem to navigate this thing! Either I skip it and do it with my safety or I make the attempt and either abrade part of it or nick my lower lip area. I've attached a picture to see if anyone has any advice on a plan of attack.

Thankyou!

Attachment 101633

Hi enderwiggen. Skin stretching and facial contortions are your friends. Most of us, especially in the beginning, have the most trouble with our chins. If I'm going to get razor burn, that's where I'll usually get it. Be gentle, use a light touch and stretch the skin from side to side, up and down or however you need to get the razor to glide. Keep at it; if I can do it, anyone can.

Ed

I can't be of much help, I've had a long goatee for years. I just wanted to say that I too love Orson Scott Card!

Try puffing your lower lip full of air. That's how I get that area out for the razor. For the center of my chin, I have to shave across the grain and also stretch the skin by pressing back on the lower corners of my chin.

Hope this helps, and welcome to SRP.

I've always had the best luck with problem spots like that with stretching.That means moving the skin to a relativly flat spot and small short strokes with the razor.And don't be afraid to re-wet the skin and reaply lather to a small area.Once the skin and lather begin to dry you will burn,nick or cut yourself.

Yeah, I agree. I do more puffing of the face myself these days than stretching. I've only shaved my chin with a straight once; just so i could say I'd done it; normally I have a moustache, soul patch and goatee. So I don't know about that.

Go really light on the chin. Check the angle. Make sure your lather has slip. Go WTG for weeks before you try ATG.

From the picture I'm thinking you don't really NEED too many passes. I don't, really. I tend to do ATG only under the jawline and on the neck. I don't bother with XTG, I just go With and Against.

When I started I didn't even attempt the chin for probably a couple of months. The more you use the razor the more facility you will attain and you will find the chin to be easy. One of the main recommendations when learning a strainght is start with the easy areas and progress when you are ready. Pushing the learning curve is never a good idea.

Yea, the chin took a long while to work out and still not perfect. I find puffing my cheeks out for the bit just below where my mustache starts helps. For the part under the lower lip to chin using my tongue to take the curve out helps. All this with short strokes and not much angle on the blade. I think it is like peeling a potatoe, you just take a many narrow slices as you work around the curve going WTG. Getting the angle right is the hardest as you come around the jawline on the chin. I do pretty much the same XTG but have never gone ATG in this area. I sub a diagonal cut for ATG. Maybe hold off a bit getting to this difficult area till you are more used to your razor.

Bob

Bob, your potato comparison is brilliant. I'll try your approach on my next shave. It would truly take a lot of little strokes to chase out an ATG path there for me.

Now I'm also envisioning the photoshop opportunities for Mr. Potato Head and a straight razor.

Thanks for the suggestions. Today I tried a lot of the tips here and got a much more satisfactory result. It's still a work in progress, but much improved. I puffed the lower lip (which helped a LOT), and stretched the skin as well to help with the underside. I went in small, light strokes and even tried the 'buffing' thing I saw on here (drawing the blade backwards to redeposit a bit of lather). That little bit alone did wonders to the rest of my shave. It allowed me to do two passes where I needed to touch things up and I came out today without any new nicks or abrasions.

All I can say is that I love shaving with a straight. I will NEVER EVER EVER EVER go back. I still use my safety to touch up my chin and other things, but I needed it less today on my face.

maddafinga: I've been an OSC fan for a LONG time. I'm not very old (early/mid twenties) but I've loved him since before I was a teen. Ender's Shadow and its sequels are my faves but I didn't like the idea of using 'bean' as a screen name. Don't want to give the wrong impression if you know what I mean. ;) haha.

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Originally Posted by roughkype

Bob, your potato comparison is brilliant. I'll try your approach on my next shave. It would truly take a lot of little strokes to chase out an ATG path there for me.

Now I'm also envisioning the photoshop opportunities for Mr. Potato Head and a straight razor.

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Thanks, but I only go lower lip down to the chin and around the jawline WTG. I do "NO" ATG strokes in that area as I like my nose the way it is and where it is.

Bob

Do it like an adams apple and stretch the skin to one side or the other and shave that way.

Just looked up the science fiction novels you're on about. Looks interesting...

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Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Just looked up the science fiction novels you're on about. Looks interesting...

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Start with Ender's Game. It's excellent!

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Originally Posted by maddafinga

Start with Ender's Game. It's excellent!

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Yeah, it looks like a very interesting plot...

I too would start with Ender's Game, and then if you want to read the whole story chronologically you then have to read Ender's Shadow (and its subsequent books) before reading Speaker for the Dead and the remainder of the Ender saga.

I loved speaker for the dead, it was my favorite of the books. I didn't like the books after too much until he wrote Ender's shadow. Then they were good again.

Cool, I'll have to go book shopping. Of course by now you've probably gathered I'm infamous for going off topic all the time :-)

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Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Cool, I'll have to go book shopping. Of course by now you've probably gathered I'm infamous for going off topic all the time :-)

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That's ok, I suffer from that same syndrome.

Attachment 102173
I too have focus issues....

Back to subject, I have been experimenting a bit and have found things that work quite a bit better. My neck has been difficult as well but mostly because there are so many contours to learn. Been trying out the whole 'scythe' thing (I think that's what its called... shaving with a slight arc in my stroke instead of straight) and at a slight angle (not quite AGT, but not completely WTG either). VASTLY improved results. Now I only have to touch up back by my ears under my jaw (that little cranny is still tricky) and just teensy bits around the chin.

Little by little I'm getting better.

I still have some amount of trouble with my neck, the hair there grows in seemingly random directions all over. I'm 7 months in to this now and still experimenting with stretching. Good on you for working it out.

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Originally Posted by enderwiggen

So I've been using my straight for a week now and have learned a lot. I only get nicks or abrasions from either lack of attention, too much pressure on the blade, or multiple passes. Multiple passes with a safety were my old habit and I guess old habits die hard. But either way I'm getting better, and getting a closer shave every time. Anyway, I'm having chin issues. I cut myself twice today in the process so I'm hoping that someone here has advice.

I'm a pretty slender guy, with a bit of a thin face. My chin isn't a cleft chin, but it definitely has a depression in the middle. I just can't seem to navigate this thing! Either I skip it and do it with my safety or I make the attempt and either abrade part of it or nick my lower lip area. I've attached a picture to see if anyone has any advice on a plan of attack.

Thankyou!

Attachment 101633

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It sounds like you're on track to pick this up faster than I did. The problem I had as a beginner was thinking so much about technique that I distracted myself and made mistakes. Over time you won't have to think so much and you will be able to just relax and let your fingers and the razor do the work. During my learning experience I found that I was able to reach places on my face with the razor that I couldn't reach at an earlier stage.

The suggestions about stretching the skin and not applying too much pressure with the razor are very good ones.

You're on your way.

Yeah, I also do a bit of scything ATG on the neck only. Also, in regards to ATG, make sure it IS really ATG. I find if I come directly ATG on EACH hair on my neck I can get really smooth there. The trick is to work out the way the hair grows and go directly ATG on it. When I started I was really just doing N to S and S to N; thinking S to N was ATG for me, but it isn't really at all...

I've spent a good bit of time thinking about technique but in the sense that shaving is really... very simple. I try not to over-think it. As I shave I just try to keep in mind a few different principles: 1. take your time, it's not a race. 2. keep low angles (for a while I flattened out too close to 90 degrees... ouch) 3. small, short strokes and use one sweeping one to finish the section to make sure it's tidy. 4. Very little pressure is needed.

Aside from that I just keep the mindset that I'm new and that if it doesn't go so well today... tomorrow is a new day and I have a DE/safety to clean up any rough patches and a styptic pencil to fix any mistakes. I just try to mimic what a DE safety does naturally. The angles are built in, and the head pivots with the contour of your face (so naturally your angle of attack must change as you change facial contours).

I'm only about 2 weeks in and I think I'm making great progress every day.

It's great to make progress, it's also great that there's no end to improvement. One just keeps getting better and better...