I tend to push out my upper lip with my tongue as I shave my upper lip. No pressure whatsoever. By pushing out, it pushes the skin out taut and I get an irritation free shave. That use to be one of my problem areas as well.
<-------------------------- is how I deal with the upper lip. It's been bare maybe a month total since 1983.
i go WTG and XTG (both ways) and sometimes kind of a J-hook if needed...if i have issues there its because i used to much pressure.
i have always been afraid to go ATG on the upper lip. Years ago, someone here posted how that is called the "fool's cut" It just seems he chance of slipping and cutting my nose is just too great.
Prior to growing my mustache last November, I mainly went WTG on my shaving pass (ie nose to mouth direction) and from the side (XTG) to get the ends. ATG with a DE razor gave both irritation and often blood. With a straight razor, the ATG 'fool's pass' is something I've attempted once and won't be repeating it. Now that my upper lip is furred, the point is moot.
Going on seven months in July— started it last Movember—and so far, so good. It started getting a bit too Dali-esque for my tastes, so trimmed it to amore reasonable length. Most importantly, my wife likes it so that's one major obstacle to it staying being removed.
I wanted to try something similar, but my wife's preferences were the ultimate obstacle there for me. She let me try it with about 6 weeks of growth for a Western-themed murder mystery dinner we did, and immediately told me she wanted the circle beard back.
Alot of lather and perform the "Fool's Pass"! It works for the closes shave you can do. But then again, your upper lip could be extra sensitive no matter what you do or use. Skin can vary from spot to spot on the face. My neck for instance is more sensitive than my other areas of the face.
Scroll ahead to 6:30 in this video to see the straight razor 'fool's pass' put to good work. I'm just glad I now have a mustache and don't need worry about it.
He does it a little differently than I but still the same outcome. It works but as you can see he actually moves his hand with the blade. I hold the blade perfectly still and move my head. I was taught to never move your hand. But if he is use to that method of the "Fools Pass" then he should stick with it. It works but alot of folks are deathly afraid to use it. I started it from the begining and I am use to it. Ironically and knocking on wood, this has never caused me a issue or cut other than a slight nick. However, I have sliced myself on other things!!!!
I have used soaps that irritated the skin on my upper lip. its weird because the rest of my face was fine.
I hold my nose in the air using my index finger and make little north to south chops. Sporting a Van Dyke for years but that is how I used to execute the move.
Been doing the fools pass for a month now with no cuts, no pressure, agaisnt the grain with a 37 merkur slant and rapira blades. I did rough up my lip once early on with the feathers installed
In my limited experience (DE shaving under 4 months, only Maggard v3 & slant, but over a dozen blades), the blade can also make a difference. For example, a PolSilver Super Iridium blade will let me go ATG on my lip or anywhere else no problem (even if I'm not riding the cap). I have virtually no issues, as long as I don't do something stupid like apply firm pressure, do tons of extra passes or attempt touchups on dry skin. A Rapira Lux (2nd favorite blade at the moment) gives me a closer shave than a PSI, however technique matters a LOT all over my face & especially neck... *have* to ride the cap. When it comes to the nose, however, WTG & XTG appear to be the only options, no matter what the blade angle... the blade basically snags and draws the razor closer to the skin, causing irritation and/or weepers. Tomorrow I'll probably try some of the cheek-/nose-pulling tips and/or pressing out with my tongue, see if that makes any difference. Thanks to all for the input on this thread.
Yeah, I spent about a year with a full beard before going DE. My problem was that the "strainer" was more of a "holder" in practice... liquids dribbling after the fact if I didn't make aggressive use of napkins. Finally got fed up with with it. Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
I don't bother with ATG unless I REALLY need to. I use WTG on the upper lip, then I'll go east/west, as has been mentioned before. (very lightly)