Tip for shaving Under the Nose/Mustache area

For most of us the whiskers under the nose are very coarse and tough. I used to nick myself all the time but I found a solution a while back. This is what I do:

I shave in three passes (WTG, XTG, ATG) plus touch up. On the third pass while shaving under the nose, I lightly go against the grain (at times light blade buffing) shaving the upper half of the whiskers on the mustache area. During touch up I do a normal ATG under the nose.

Again I always used to cut myself under the nose. This will work well with any DE/SE razor including very "aggressive" razor. My daily razor is a Muhle R41 (2011).

Also a general rule is to never hunker down. If at any time I feel the blade flex or pull/tug on the whiskers, I stop and decrease the pressure and resume with a very light touch.

So, just to be clear, you're talking about shaving the upper half of the whiskers themselves, i.e. each whisker will be half the length it was beforehand? As opposed to shaving the whiskers on the upper half of your mustache area, which is how I read it at first glance.

So really, it's Targeted Ultra-Light Beard Reduction—TULBR! Patent it!

yes, this is one of the toughest areas, and my own technique is similar. very short, light strokes, and i never do a complete ATG there. a simple tip that can help is to make sure that the mustache area is one of the last places you shave, so that the lather has had some time to sit on the whiskers and soften them up a bit.

The upper lip is the only thing I still can't get to BBS. I have yet to be able to go ATG because if I do, even with super short strokes, I end up getting a really puffy upper lip. I still do three passes but they're WTG, XTG and XTG. It's frustrating because I've tried pretty much every tip anybody has and just can't get there.

N2theBreech said:

So, just to be clear, you're talking about shaving the upper half of the whiskers themselves, i.e. each whisker will be half the length it was beforehand? As opposed to shaving the whiskers on the upper half of your mustache area, which is how I read it at first glance.

So really, it's Targeted Ultra-Light Beard Reduction—TULBR! Patent it!

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Yes the upper half.

Targeted Ultra-Light Beard Reduction (TULBR) I like it!

Saturn said:

yes, this is one of the toughest areas, and my own technique is similar. very short, light strokes, and i never do a complete ATG there. a simple tip that can help is to make sure that the mustache area is one of the last places you shave, so that the lather has had some time to sit on the whiskers and soften them up a bit.

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Yep.

chado006 said:

The upper lip is the only thing I still can't get to BBS. I have yet to be able to go ATG because if I do, even with super short strokes, I end up getting a really puffy upper lip. I still do three passes but they're WTG, XTG and XTG. It's frustrating because I've tried pretty much every tip anybody has and just can't get there.

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Just try it! Don't worry you'll live.

I've never been able to do a true ATG pass under my nose. My best solution has been a horizontal pass followed by am inverted "V" XTG pass.

Thanks, Noah, for offering a solution. I will try it. After two years, this area is still the biggest problem for me.

Using a straight razor under your nose solves any problem due to "difficulties to reach".

Thanks for the info on your method!

So... I used the TULBR Technique this morning. Not on my lip, but on my own trouble spots. It worked. I got the most uniformly even shave that I have to date! Not perfect, but was pretty happy with it.

Thanks.

Marco said:

Using a straight razor under your nose solves any problem due to "difficulties to reach".

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Umm... at this point in my shaving experience... using a straight razor under my nose would also solve any problem due to "my nose getting in the way".... ever again!

N2theBreech said:

So... I used the TULBR Technique this morning. Not on my lip, but on my own trouble spots. It worked. I got the most uniformly even shave that I have to date! Not perfect, but was pretty happy with it.

Thanks.

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Happy to read that the TULBR worked!

I just tried the TULBR method on my upper lip this morning and I've gotta say... YOU'RE THE MAN! Finally no red, puffy, burning upper lip! I really didn't realize that I was using too much pressure, thought I couldn't back off more than I already was. But concentrating on just whittling away at the whiskers made me reduce the pressure that much more. TULBR needs to be added to the wiki for sure.

chado006 said:

I just tried the TULBR method on my upper lip this morning and I've gotta say... YOU'RE THE MAN! Finally no red, puffy, burning upper lip! I really didn't realize that I was using too much pressure, thought I couldn't back off more than I already was. But concentrating on just whittling away at the whiskers made me reduce the pressure that much more. TULBR needs to be added to the wiki for sure.

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Thanks!

I can't shave ATG under my nose, so I don't - just WTG and then XTG.

xmacro said:

I can't shave ATG under my nose, so I don't - just WTG and then XTG.

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Did you try the method described in post #1?

I'm confused as to how to do this lol. I always have trouble on the corners of my mustache. There is always pulling and tugging and its always red after whenever I try to go ATG.

joeboom said:

I'm confused as to how to do this lol. I always have trouble on the corners of my mustache. There is always pulling and tugging and its always red after whenever I try to go ATG.

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On the third pass (ATG) shave only the upper half of the whiskers, in short light strokes. During touchup (relather) do a normal ATG on the mustache area. I hope that helps, if it doesn't ask away!

I do something similar, Noah. On my final pass, I go South to North (ATG) on the upper lip, in two stages: first on the lower half of the lip (bottom to middle); after that, on the upper half (middle to top). I use very short, light, buffing strokes. For me, this two-stage approach was the key to avoiding a bloodbath and being able to go ATG on the upper lip at all. Now I consistently get BBS on the upper lip this way.

Don't try this, by the way, without first reducing the whiskers on the upper lip on earlier passes. I go North to South (WTG) on the first pass, and East-West (XTG) on the second pass -- or sometimes I just do two WTG passes. If you try to do ATG on the upper lip with any significant growth, you will bleed, in my experience.

chado006 said:

TULBR needs to be added to the wiki for sure.

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The wiki was down for maintenance last week. Now it seems to have moved/disappeared.

I do exactly the same upper lip routine, but since I have been a cold water shaver, it's easier for me.