The Touch Up

Guys,

I'm about a week into wet-shaving and liking it so far (not quite loving it yet, but I can see the attraction). For clarity's sake I'm still stuck with the canned goo for a couple more weeks (see this post) and I've been using an old Flare Tip with Dollar General brand blades.

I've been working on my technique and angle with some smashing successes and some weeping not-so-much'es. I've found that after shaving, regardless of number of passes and grain-relative directions, there are always a few patches that need a little work, specifically the corners of my chin and the "goatee area" between the corner of my mouth and my chin. I've tried a little blade-buffing with limited success and multiple, multiple passes, but I've found that when I get to that point, it is easiest to touch up by feel. "Okay, there's a little strip here that goes in that direction so *swipe*," and "It's still pretty stubbly here so *scrape* *scrape* *scrape*."

I'm not in a hurry, but I really don't want to lather up my whole face again and probably miss those spots again and again. I know <yoda>the journey is mine and mine alone</yoda>, but is there a more conventional method to getting those elusive patches, or am I on the right track? Are there other methods to try?

No bad but I would strongly recommend a razor blade sample pack, shaving brush and a shaving soap or shaving cream.

I use rinse water from the sink to re-wet my face and check for nubbies with my fingertips when starting touch-up. After rinsing 3 facefuls of lather off the razor, this is very slick stuff for gliding my buffs. It's important to resist the urge to dig in this phase; find the grain of the remnants and use careful ATG stroke orientation and blade angle. BUFF LIGHTLY to avoid irritation, especially in the spots you mentioned. DO NOT SCRAPE!

Another recent thread (about sink-lathering) revealed that many of us are a bit germophobic about our sinks. I keep mine clean, the water and soap are clean, my razor and blade is clean, and my face is freshly washed from the shower before I start. IMO, worrying about that rinse water is akin to being afraid of one's own shadow...pun intended!

P.S. I suppose you'll have to wait for the real soap before you can give this a try, if you so decide. Shouldn't be long now!

I say lather up 6 times a shave and use up that canned goo as fast as you can. Then stop shaving until your SO begs you to go buy some shave cream. A cheap boar and nivea is all you need, less than ten bucks.

man00ver said:

I use rinse water from the sink to re-wet my face and check for nubbies with my fingertips when starting touch-up. After rinsing 3 facefuls of lather off the razor, this is very slick stuff for gliding my buffs. It's important to resist the urge to dig in this phase; find the grain of the remnants and use careful ATG stroke orientation and blade angle. BUFF LIGHTLY to avoid irritation, especially in the spots you mentioned. DO NOT SCRAPE!

Another recent thread (about sink-lathering) revealed that many of us are a bit germophobic about our sinks. I keep mine clean, the water and soap are clean, my razor and blade is clean, and my face is freshly washed from the shower before I start. IMO, worrying about that rinse water is akin to being afraid of one's own shadow...pun intended!

P.S. I suppose you'll have to wait for the real soap before you can give this a try, if you so decide. Shouldn't be long now!

Click to expand...

Excellent advice from John. Before your equipment arrives take a look at this post. It provides an excellent road map to your shaving needs.

Also, take a look at the wikis on this site. The one on lather is particularly helpful.

And here is a good post that will help you on blade angle.

It's great you have dived into Wet Shaving but your going about the job all wrong. It's like going to build a house and all you bring is a saw. You need your hammer and nails too! Shaving Cream or Soap and Brush are key!!! You can not get the right shave until you drop the goop!!

As for the problem with touch ups you may want to try and tuck your lip into your mouth and look up to tighten your skin. I have some pesky hairs that always seem to hide out until I really tighten the skin to see them. One thing with DE shaving is your not shooting for a BBS on your first pass you need to take multiple passes to get the job done right. Here is a great video on how to clean up just those pesky areas using a rich lather. Forward to 6:50 to see what I am talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/user/mantic59#p/u/32/-qSIP6uQ3EI

Good Luck!

Okay, allow me to digress.

I understand that what I'm doing isn't exactly wet shaving. My purpose is to begin taking my time, practicing good technique with the DE, and creating good habits (canned goo notwithstanding).

I am confident I will have at least most of a kit soon, brush, bowl, soap, the whole shebang. I will refrain from going over the why's again; there's a link in my OP.

@man00ver: Thanks for the good advice. I'll try the sink water. I'm not too concerned about the germs in it, given that I swash the razor around in it and then sometimes cut my face with it. Also, it's nice to know that I seem to be on the right track with the feel method and the grain direction. I learned pretty quickly about the *scrape* *scrape*. No pressure, no blood... usually.

Make sure you know the grain of your beard all around your face. Map it out on a chart if you need to. I have a couple spots on my neck where the grain changes direction every inch. Once I really knew my grain pattern well, I found I could target it better with my XTG and ATG passes and I needed less touch ups.

The other factor might just be your technique.. if you blade angle is a little off in those areas, you might not be getting close enough with your regular passes.

Practice, practice, practice!