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How do you shape a Goatee?

Hiya,

I've got a nicely growing beard right now. I think the only compromise that I could live with would be a goatee. So....

Does anyone know how to shape a goatee? Can you a DE to shape it? And how would you do that? A DE has a straight edge...except for the "devil's razor," I mean the Slant. (loaded with a Feather)

Thanks for the help.
 
I'm no expert m'self and somebody else would probably be better off giving you advice but when I had a goatee I used to just shave from the outer edges of the mustache straight down and do the simple part around the goatee first.
 
I always had a tough time shaping my goatee. . . it became more trouble than it was worth so I shaved it. . . maybe an experienced goatee wearer will chime in with some sage advice.
 
I've only had a goatee for ... ok, I didn't mark the date of when I started growing it (rather stoppes shaving it), but it has been less than a year.

Sometimes it gets a little wider than others, but a bit of XTG work usually does the trick. The problem areas for me are the bottom corners at the chin, and the corners of my mouth. For some reaosn it's just too easy for me to take a bit too much. But the problems mostly come when I'm a bit rushed or inattentive.

It is difficult to go WTG and ATG at the sides of my goatee, that is right to the line, so I leave a folicle or tow, and take those off xtg, towards the goatee.
 
I've only had a goatee for ... ok, I didn't mark the date of when I started growing it (rather stoppes shaving it), but it has been less than a year.

Sometimes it gets a little wider than others, but a bit of XTG work usually does the trick. The problem areas for me are the bottom corners at the chin, and the corners of my mouth. For some reaosn it's just too easy for me to take a bit too much. But the problems mostly come when I'm a bit rushed or inattentive.

It is difficult to go WTG and ATG at the sides of my goatee, that is right to the line, so I leave a folicle or tow, and take those off xtg, towards the goatee.

Did you trim it with a DE or Straight?
 
I have had a goatee for the past 8 years or so and I always have it trimmed and shaped . First thing to know when you go for a haircut have the barber do the trimming for you . when ever I do this home it starts a war not matter how much I clean the sink area I am always told I missed a lot of hair .
after the trim it is easy to keep the shape weather you are using a Mach 3 a DE or a straight . Granted now that I use a straight I find it much easier to shape my goatee then it was before .

Just take it slow and make sure you know where you want to shave to clean it up and where you want to leave it . it really has no real trick to it . hope this helps




Nick
 
I've had a goatee for the last 6-7 years and I have to agree with papasmurf just take it slow. It wasn't tough with a mach 3 but I find it easier with a DE
 
I trim my circle beard in the shower with a pair of clippers and a shave mirror. That keeps the hair confined and makes for easy clean up. I use a number two on the front and a four on the bottom. I then use a hair comb as a straight edge and straighten up the sides with the clippers at the 0 setting. When I shave I use my straight to get those nice straight lines on each side, and underneath on my chin. It is a pretty simple process. I have been threatening to convert to a Van Dyke for the summer, basically disconnecting the mustache and beard, and will do so with a straight.
 
I've had one for years, and I've never had problems shaving around it. I don't think there's really much of a trick to it: just shave around it. I think if you regularly run your hands over it during the day eventually you'll just know by touch where the outside lines are, and then you can shave around it simply by touch.

Several others have mentioned the domestic distress that can be caused by trimming the goatee, because no matter how well you clean up SWMBO will inevitably find left over hairs and express her displeasure with you. So, sometimes I trim in the shower, sometimes I'll go out onto the deck, or sometimes (like this weekend) I was traveling alone and trimmed in my hotel.
 
I use a Tech to shape my goatee no matter what other razor I am shaving with. The small head does a good job and moving around everything and shaping the inside.
 
I still use my mach 3 for shaping of the gotee. But it looks funny now because I lost the handle so it has one of my wive's venus handles on it now.
 
I have always worn a goat tee attached with thin lines around the jawline to the sideburns like an aspiring beard..
The goat tee i must say is probably the easiest to do because its right in front where you can keep an eye at what your doing..
The sideburns and the jaw line are really hard to do in a straight line because as you turn your head what you think is close to a perfect line doesnt come out so because of the distortion your round (or should I say not flat at all) face gives off a mirror..
...Most of the time if I want that killer straight line I dont use a mirror at all and go by feel and a really sharp straight razor so when you stop your stroke theres always a perfect line.

Well thats my way of doing things so YMMV, but I found that this Weck modification will allow you to do precise moves in the alotted small space under your nose....
 
Agree with just taking your time.

Plenty of times I'd notice a day or more later that each side isn't symmetrical. I use an electric to get the actual shape I want, I get more control with that personally, then just use the razor to get the stubble leftover shorter.
 
I've had a goatee for 7-8 years now. I use an electric trimmer to keep everything neat, usually in the shower so SWMBO doesn't pitch a fit. I use the trimmer without the guard to shape the edges which brings everything unwanted down to stubble and then I just use my DE. I've only been DE shaving for a couple of weeks now, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I'm not finding it any harder to follow the edges of my goatee.

For the sides I usually do a NS pass first, and then I do a XTG pass towards my mouth. With a light touch I can stop exactly where the beard starts. For the neckline I start with a side to side pass (my neck hair grows all wonky) and then finish with a SN pass towards my chin. The only time I've shaved a little more than I wanted to was when I was in a hurry and made one side a little thin.

As others have said, take your time and everything will go smoothly.

spiffy
 
I had a goatee for 25 years.I found the best way to trim it is to work evenly from side to side until it disappears.:smile::smile:
 
I have had a goatee for the past 8 years or so and I always have it trimmed and shaped . First thing to know when you go for a haircut have the barber do the trimming for you . when ever I do this home it starts a war not matter how much I clean the sink area I am always told I missed a lot of hair .
after the trim it is easy to keep the shape weather you are using a Mach 3 a DE or a straight . Granted now that I use a straight I find it much easier to shape my goatee then it was before .

Just take it slow and make sure you know where you want to shave to clean it up and where you want to leave it . it really has no real trick to it . hope this helps
Nick

Hey, Nick

You could also define "The War," by: if your razor unintentionally meanders off course. (Even by this much.) You're still going to have to wait for those 3 or 4 follicles (or worse,) until everything looks great again. In my case, 20 days.
 
Or a Van Dyke :blink:

I should have given the cosmetologist more direction, as to what I wanted. But as it turned out, I did a perfectly fine job of messing things up all by myself. :001_rolle

The amount of hair that extends just under the chin, I think that line is messed up.

Quick question: How do you shave in that area, (under the chin,) and not destroy the line under the chin? --Thanks!

I encroached on the left hand side of the goatee. Just by a touch. And I have to even out the job she did, not that you could tell, if I didn't say anything, but I know, and that's enough.

When I was shaving the residual stubble, I was really nervous, to the point of it being an unpleasant experience for me, when I was working around the goatee area.

My opinion has always been that DE shaving should be a pleasant experience. Something to be enjoyed.

Speaking of which, maintaining the goatee, really cuts down on the "quality time" I get to spend with my razor in the morning. :blush::lol: I think I was done in half the time. (almost nothing) One pass, and I was done. Smooth As Glass (SAG) done. So, if I shave it off, that will be a major reason why.
 
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