Mustache and Chin Area: Damn Hard to Master...
Hi folks,
I am now on my 5th shave with my straight razor. Prior to start SR shaving, I had been shaving with a Fat Boy safety razor (and badger brush and real shaving cream or soap) for 3 years already.
As recommended by Lynn, I only did sideburns, cheeks, and neck for my first 3 shaves. Those went pretty well actually. I am able to shave sideburns and cheeks reasonably well, almost BBS, with no irritation or close to no irritation at all, even managing WTG and XTG passes. Neck is going almost as well, including an ATG pass (from south to north), although the neck is less forgiving if I got the wrong blade angle, either resulting in irritation or small nicks.
But the tough spot is the mustache and chin area. I can't believe how HARD that is! I realize I'm not alone there as it seems all SR beginneers struggle quite a lot with this area.
The first time I tried the mustache, I just couldn't get it done. The blade was pulling like crazy, not even cutting whiskers. I stopped right there and switch to the DE. Then I watched some more videos and realized my angle was far too low: a lot of people seems to start out with a much greater angle on the stache when comparing with cheeks (like 45 degrees or more on the stache). However the trick here is to have just enough angle as having too much a large angle scrapes the skin more than cutting whiskers. The chin is no more easier, and the curves makes it a tough process. Today was my first shave of this whole area. Results were: lots of stubble left, and a case of real bad razor burn like I haven't had since when I started with a safety razor a while back.
Lessons learned:
A) I think my biggest problem is that since I'm slow, by the time I get to the stache and chin, the lather is all dried and I have no lubrication to help the razor. I think I will need to wipe out the dried lather, wet the skin thoroughly again, and reapply lather as if I'm just starting the shave.
B) I also need to continue experimenting with angles: the angle the blade has can make a dramatic difference in comfort and smoothness of shaving. It is not always obvious which angle is best depending where you are on your face. I guess I have no other choice than experimenting, stepping back and repositioning when I realize what I'm doing is just not working.
C) Handling the razor: I also realized that keeping the razor straight (with the scales in line with the blade) makes it much easier in some places where having the scales perpendicular to the blade makes you bump in your neck, the head or whatever. I was surprised when I noticed that, I thought you had to keep the blade always perpendicular to the scales. Not so.
D) Practice and experience makes perfect. I think it will take me months to get proficient enough with a SR to have a close, comfortable shave, with no nicks and no irritation. This way of shaving requires tremendous patience and concentration. You can't rush your learning there, or your face will let you know. It actually took me months to develop the necessary ability to shave with a DE with no irritation and BBS quality. I guess straight razor shaving is no different. I need to hang on tight for the long haul on this if I am to be successful. Quick results won't happen.
Mustache and Chin Area: Damn Hard to Master...
A goat tee solves the problem for me :)