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Troubled spots driving me crazy

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feasent_plucker

Hello all ... I am hoping a guru can help. I have a few newbie questions and maybe one of the experts can share some of their vast knowledge. I will number them for convenience.

Some info, I use a Merkur DE HD slant safety. I shower before, oil up with sandalwood pre-shave from The art of shaving, then use a badger brush with Nivea soap. Shave 3 times, 1 WTG 1 XTG 1 ATG and apply a soapy lather each time with the brush. Then finish with Nivea balm (no alcohol).

1) How the heck do you get the area along the jaw line shaved?? I shave 3 times and can not get close to getting rid of the hair.

2) With the slant razor, is there a certain way to hold the razor depending on which side of the face?? Which side does the slant go on?

3) With the soap, I build a good lather first in the small package the soap is in, then build it up on my face. Is it better to have a mug and bowl??

4) And lastly ... should the skin be pulled tight when shaving or not? There are mixed reports about this in the forums.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers.
 
First of all, welcome to B&B. You are in the right place to have questions like those answered. Here's my thoughts for you.

1 - Jawline = toughest spot to get right. You might be able to pull it of by manipulating your face. Try making an exaggerated "o" with your face. That will put the skin from your jaw up onto your cheek. I hope this makes sense, it is hard to describe without showing you.

2 - Never used a slant razor, I can't help you there.

3 - Face lathering vs. mug lathering is personal preference. If you are getting good results doing what you are doing, then keep doing it. You could always try other methods just to know for sure which you prefer. I use a mug, personally.

4 - With DE razors, it is not necessary to pull your skin tight. That is mainly for straight razor shaving. With DE's many guys pull their skin to simply flatten the area they are shaving. I can get a good DE shave with practically no skin pulling.

I hope all of this helps. I'm sure a slant user will chime in soon to answer question 2 for you. Just remember, the shaves will keep getting better with time, and have fun.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
First of all, welcome to B&B. You are in the right place to have questions like those answered. Here's my thoughts for you.

1 - Jawline = toughest spot to get right. You might be able to pull it of by manipulating your face. Try making an exaggerated "o" with your face. That will put the skin from your jaw up onto your cheek. I hope this makes sense, it is hard to describe without showing you.

2 - Never used a slant razor, I can't help you there.

3 - Face lathering vs. mug lathering is personal preference. If you are getting good results doing what you are doing, then keep doing it. You could always try other methods just to know for sure which you prefer. I use a mug, personally.

4 - With DE razors, it is not necessary to pull your skin tight. That is mainly for straight razor shaving. With DE's many guys pull their skin to simply flatten the area they are shaving. I can get a good DE shave with practically no skin pulling.

I hope all of this helps. I'm sure a slant user will chime in soon to answer question 2 for you. Just remember, the shaves will keep getting better with time, and have fun.

+1

On the Jawline, another way is to tuck your chin down, as if you were trying to look down without moving your neck. This flattens your neck sides and brings them flush with your jaw. Experiment with stupid faces, aside from helping with the shave, they are entertaining.

On the slant - hold it like any other razor, the slope of the slant doesn't matter. Just make sure the blade is centered in the head before you start.
 
Good responses so far, but I'll toss my two pence in.

1) Like stated before pull the skin from under your jawline so that it is on the cheek. It might be an awkward maneuver but it works well. Basically just put your fingers on your cheek and pull upward till the skin moves where you want it.

2) I am also of no value to you here.

3) Again, do what you like best.

4) This is where I might disagree with others. I'm still pretty new, but pulling the skin in the OPPOSITE direction that you are shaving works very well to lift the hairs and get them where you want. Watch some youtube vids of straight-shavers. They pull the top of their cheeks to get the cheek hairs upright.

You might also try what I call the 360 (I'm not sure if there is another name for this) which is where you shave or blade-buff over an area starting WTG and moving the blade clockwise or anti-clockwise until it goes XTG and finally ATG. Oh and blade angle actually plays a very pivotal part in how close the shave gets, not just in how angry your face is afterwards.
Lastly I would, if you haven't, watch Mantic's videos on "advanced techniques." to learn more. >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQco5PWc2JU

Hope that all helps.
 
3) With the soap, I build a good lather first in the small package the soap is in, then build it up on my face. Is it better to have a mug and bowl??

I have heard of people trying to load the brush/ build lather with the soap still in the small container it comes in. I can't believe this is very effective at all, considering that is not what the container was designed for.

The container seems too small to me to allow the brush to move around enough to effectively load the brush, or build lather.

Put the soap puck into a mug, and load your brush there. Then either move to a large deep cereal bowl to build lather, or build lather directly on your face.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
Whichever way you go about it, be conscious of if and when you are pulling your skin. Pulling the skin works for some, but can create ingrown hairs in others.
If you start to develop irritation from pulling the skin and cutting, stop it!:lol:
 
For your 4th pass, add a little extra water to your lather and do blade buffing in multiple directions--it's very effective and you definitely know when you start getting the hairs.
 
1) Try moving your face around to get a good angle on it - its a practice thing

2) Same as any razor, its slanted on both edges

3) Some say yes, some say no. I get soap on the brush and then lather up on my face, lots of guys here do the same

4) With a DE - no, with a straight - yes. Too much skin stretching can give you ingrowns
 
+1 on the advice. These guys know what they are talking about. The key words are Practice, Practice, Practice. and when you think you know it all, ask some more questions and practice some more
 
Excellent advice above (they always beat me to it!) :biggrin:

Tell me about. Everyone should quit being so darn helpful! :biggrin:

4) With a DE - no, with a straight - yes. Too much skin stretching can give you ingrowns

+1 I'm thinking this is where some of your confusion is coming from. Now that's to say that a little stretching can't be helpful for those troublesome areas, but don't overdo it if you're using a DE. Anyway, welcome to B&B.
 
I shave the jawline and below first with each shaving pass while my face is at it's wettest and the lather at it's freshest for that pass, it sounds silly but it works for me
 
Welcome to B&B.

To try to answer your questions:

1. I do my jawline by going from ear to chin on my second or third pass. Remember you don't just have to shave N to S and S to N -- you can go in whichever direction you need; 360 degrees.

2. Just use the slant like you would any other razor, keeping in mind that it is more aggressive than most others.

3. This is a matter of personal taste. I almost exclusively face lather because I don't get any benefit from using a bowl. Others feel strongly the other way.

4. There is no single answer for everyone. It all depends upon the shape of your face and the "flexibility" of your skin. I do some face pulling, but not a lot, just because it makes it a little easier for me, particularly below the jawline. You need to experiment to find what works best for you and your face.

Enjoy!
 
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