I'm still in my first week or two of learning this fine art, but I sure am struggling with the chin. The neck is also troublesome, as the grain is mostly horizontal, which is a hard direction to shave along my skinny (read "bony") exterior. But, man, that chin is just impossible The hairs are so coarse (also a problem in the mustache area), and getting the angle right, following the contour... sheesh! I'll stick with it. Just venting If there's some secret to easy chin shaving, please let me in on it
Venting is allowed. Quitting is not! :rolleyes005 No secret. Since every face is shaped differently, and every beard is not only different in coarseness, but also in the direction it grows, the only thing you can do is experiment and find what works for you. Hang in there! You'll get it!!
I have the same trouble round the chin, can take me 4 passes or more. There is no easy fix I'm afraid but how long does it take to extra touch up, not a problem. I don't know if you have a sensitive neck but you could try across the grain. I never shave ATG. All my stubble grows the same direction so I shave downward on my neck. To get it to puff up I lift my chin high then move my Adams apple down as if to hum a low note. That puffs my neck up and smooths contours. Hope this is helpful :happy005
I'll try that Adam's apple trick. Thanks for the tip! I re-watched one of the early Mantic videos and decided I've been too shy about my angle lately, which makes the chin curves especially difficult, as well as forcing me to make more passes. A slightly more aggressive angle helped everything this morning. Two N-S passes and a little touch up and I was good to go Thanks for the help, guys! btw- I imagine there's significant overlap in membership between this forum and some of the others, like B&B. True?
Yes, B&B among others, but here seems like it is a little friendlier and slower paced. Also there seems to be fewer people that will flame you here than there. With B&B I feel like I am a tiny fish in a huge ocean and here I feel like I'm known. As with all things in traditional shaving, YMMV, even in the forums you frequent.
I've been having the same problem as well and am a newbie as well, my main problem is that I've got no problem with sticking with it over time and trying to correct it in a shave but it seems that if I go over the same area too many times (esp. my neck) the skin breaksbecause it's so irritated, I don't know if I'm doing aything wrong or if it's just cos I've got really sensitive skin but it's causing me serious pains. I know I can get a close shave but at what cost! I'd prefer to still feel the hair than have little specks of dried capillaries all over my neck. It's annoying because going with the grain it seems that I can only go WTG so many times before it doesn't make a diff., I then try Across or ATG and it just irritates - any pointers would be greatly appreciated!
My formula for success on my neck was one pass WTG followed by one pass XTG and I left it at that for a while, whiskers left or not. Eventually my skills developed to the point I could clean up my neck without any problems with 1 WTG and a couple XTG passes. I never go against the grain on my neck. Sometimes it's best just to settle for a good enough shave rather than pushing for more especially when you're just starting out.
I seen lately a few posts about the neck part. Does one need BBS round the neck? Check you neck, chances are it looks clean so why keep going over and over it? The few places I need BBS is around the mouth and chin so as not to scratch a lady when kissing. (well just in case) a bachelor of nigh on 10 years The rest of my face and neck just needs to look clean.
Personally, the neck and jaw are the areas I'd most like to get BBS, partly because a poor shave there gives me a particularly ragged appearance—more so than the cheeks, perhaps due to my dark hair—but also because I find collars uncomfortable against my neck if there's stubble and/or irritation. Irritation makes it more uncomfortable than stubble, though, so I'll continue to tread lightly and let the BBS come to me I gotta say, I'm enjoying the learning curve. The problem areas can be frustrating, but then it's all the more rewarding when you figure them out!
I don't either, yet it happens all too often. Some folks just think their way is the only way and don't take kindly to "YMMV" ideas.
You stole my answer almost verbatim Steve, and thank you for it. Yeah, I'm not sure why people flame over shaving either. I'd rather avoid those types of places. I love confrontation too, but thus far shaving is so subjective on an individual basis, I find it hard to hate on others. Its those damn (insert inflammatory comment about a stereotypical representative slice of humanity here) that I can't stand!:happy102
Your skin has to adjust to different types of shaving. It would be like raking your yard without gloves. After the first day, you probably would have a blister or two. Keep doing it and your hands adjust and toughen up. The face is similar to shaving. Just try different techniques. XTG is a good way of shaving the neck. If that hurts, then just stay with WTG and let the skin smooth down and toughen up a bit, then try XTG and eventually try ATG again. If it still hurts, then stay with the way that is most comfortable for you. Technique is all important, but what works best for YOU is most important.
For the chin, I have found something that works for me. After I finish my initial N-S pass, I re-lather and do a ear to chin jaw-line pass, as I approach the chin, I wipe a dap of lather from the brush on my left pointer finger. I then slowly slide that finger S-N on the side of my chin, gently stretching the skin and lifting the hairs, while simultaniously making short N-S strokes with the razor, following immediatly behind the sliding finger. It is most important to GENTLY slide the finger, leaving some lubrication behind for the razor strokes, and to not stretch the skin too much as you don't want to shave too close and cause irritation. I barely stretch the skin, I mainly think of it as helping the hairs stand up for the blade, and as always don't use any pressure on the razor. I have found this technique shaving my chin consistantly gives me BBS with No irritation. I tried the same technique with a proplem place on my neck, but got just too close a shave with irritation, and a couple ingrown hairs ( Neck still a work in progress...but still enjoying the process )
