Recommendations for a Tough Beard

I seem to have a very tough beard, and have trouble getting it all off in the morning, especially on the neck. I always shower before I shave, and often use hair conditioner to try to help soften it. However, even really sharp blades( feather, gillette yellow) tend to tug at the hair on my neck, no matter the angle, which means I usually have to leave my neck with visible hair. Any other recommendations to try and soften up the beard?

Thanks in advance,
Dakota

With a heavy beard and light skin — mine for example — the hair will always be visible. All we can do is cut it down to around the skin level, but the root goes deeper and skin is translucent.

Talc covers it up a little. So does a tan.

mblakele said:

With a heavy beard and light skin — mine for example — the hair will always be visible. All we can do is cut it down to around the skin level, but the root goes deeper and skin is translucent.

Talc covers it up a little. So does a tan.

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Yeah, I look like I have some shadow even with bbs. However, at least on my face I can get most of the hair, on my neck, I can't even cut everything without tugging or pulling

Ah, sorry if I misunderstood the problem. Have you tried Polsilver blades yet? For me they are about as sharp as Feather, sharper than Yellow, and more durable than either.

You might look into advanced techniques, when you feel ready. Blade-buffing, the Gillette Slide, and j-hooking can all help. The bullfrog technique works especially well for me: pull your chin in so that the skin sticks out just enough to flatten the surface. This seems counter-intuitive, because it is almost the opposite of skin stretching. But it can be pretty effective.

Then there is the temptation of RAD. What are you using now, anyway? Myself I seem to do best with lots of prep, a mild razor, and three well-directed passes. But YMMV. A slant could reduce the tugging. An injector or a GEM could put a little more metal behind your strokes, which might help.

It sounds like you just need a bit more patience and practice to perfect your technique. Once this happens, there shouldn't be any tugging unless the blade is dull or your angle is off.
What gear/razor are you using? You could always consider a cheap straight razor for the neck or one of the CJB razors that use the Single-Edge blades; similar to the Feather Artist Club razors. They might help in that area.
Best of luck.

celestino said:

It sounds like you just need a bit more patience and practice to perfect your technique. Once this happens, there shouldn't be any tugging unless the blade is dull or your angle is off.
What gear/razor are you using? You could always consider a cheap straight razor for the neck or one of the CJB razors that use the Single-Edge blades; similar to the Feather Artist Club razors. They might help in that area.
Best of luck.

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+1

Thanks gents, definitely some suggestions to try. Right now I am using an '46-7 aristocrat, and proraso green cream.I will definitely give the polsilvers a try. I was also considering the proraso pre/post and/or swithcing to proraso red. I also was eyeing a shavette like the parker srb or sr1. Any thoughts? Thanks again.

dakotajfarley said:

Thanks gents, definitely some suggestions to try. Right now I am using an '46-7 aristocrat, and proraso green cream.I will definitely give the polsilvers a try. I was also considering the proraso pre/post and/or swithcing to proraso red. I also was eyeing a shavette like the parker srb or sr1. Any thoughts? Thanks again.

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I have a couple straights, one of them being the CJB "kamisuri". I love that razor. I use feather professional blades in it and get VERY smooth and stubble free shaves. My beard is like wire and I have sensitive skin to boot, but I get irritation free shaves from it pretty much every time. The only irritation I have gotten was operator error when I was still learning my angles.

dakotajfarley said:

Thanks gents, definitely some suggestions to try. Right now I am using an '46-7 aristocrat, and proraso green cream.I will definitely give the polsilvers a try. I was also considering the proraso pre/post and/or swithcing to proraso red. I also was eyeing a shavette like the parker srb or sr1. Any thoughts? Thanks again.

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I would perfect my DE technique first.

Map your neck so you are sure how to go WTG and ATG. Stretch the skin in sections to get as flat a shaving plane as you can. Good luck.

sfeile said:

I have a couple straights, one of them being the CJB "kamisuri". I love that razor. I use feather professional blades in it and get VERY smooth and stubble free shaves. My beard is like wire and I have sensitive skin to boot, but I get irritation free shaves from it pretty much every time. The only irritation I have gotten was operator error when I was still learning my angles.

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I really like the look of the cjb, how many shaves do the feather professionals last? they are more expensive than de blades.

As for perfecting my technique, I'm definitely working on it, and I really believe that will help the most. Luckily, I don't end up with irritation after any of my shaves (anymore), I will leave stubble before I irritate the skin.

However, wtg and xtg passes don't remove much hair on my neck, can't even get a close shave with 4-5 passes wtg and xtg on my neck, even when using aggressive angles. Atg at a shallow angle tends to pull and hurt, but doesn't irritate my skin much, just looking for a more comfortable shave on my neck