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BBS with a Goatee?

My girlfriend likes me with a van dyke beard, so needless to say I have a van dyke beard. Since I joined up here, I have always been totally cleanshaven and BBS is no problem whatsoever, but now with this beard, I can't get a bbs shave around the beard itself, the rest of my face is BBS, but about 3/4 of an inch around the beard is definitely not BBS. How do you guys do this without screwing up the shape of your goatee? And speaking of not screwing up the shape, any tips for keeping it even?
 
Good question TimmyBoston,
I'm in the same boat....:em18: BTW I like your choice of Avatar, memorable performance by Mr. Kilmer....:em17:
 
it just takes practice, and a very detailed understanding of where your goatee begins and ends, as well as the feel and location of your blade within your razor.



I didn't have a goatee, but I do have a chinbeard, and I don't have a problem with it. Actually, I never really though about it until now. I shave with a straight razor now, but even when I was shaving my face with a DE, it was never really an issue.
 
The area around mine is also not BBS, but I'd say mine is more like a quarter of an inch. After I finish my shave I rinse clean, and then I take a step back from the mirror. If I can't see any stubble in that area from that distance I consider my shave finished. BBS be damned.
 
My goatee feels your problems. What helps for me is knowing where the goatee starts and not caring about the grain.

After an initial WTG-pass (N-S) I shave towards the goatee along the side and jawline and get a very smooth finish. A single XTG and single ATG (if you can call it that) won't do the job for me, but blade buffing does it very nicely. It remains one of the spots I have to check for stubble, sometimes I need a second round of blade buffing.
It's easier to accomplish with my Merkur HD than with my Futur for obvious reasons.. The Futur's head is quite big and you never know where the blade starts.

My grain doesn't help either, on (my) leftside the hairs grow downwards and on the rightside they grow along the jawline. If I keep the beard trimmed, that isn't a problem. Sometimes I feel with my right hand (razor in the left) where the hairs start and pull them away. This makes the 'problem area' more visible and easy to reach.
 
I have a goatee, not a van dyke, bu let me tell you my steps. First, after lathering my face, I gently clean the area around my goatee, so as to clearly see where it begins. Then, after the first WTG pass, I do an across the grain pass (XTG), towards the goatee; that is from ear to mouth, or East-West if you prefer. Blade buffing in this direction helps. I also apply the lather in the area around the goatee with my fingers, so as to have a thin layer of lather, and to have much more precision. With this process I manage to have near BBS around the goatee.

Hope this helps.
 
I usually keep my goatee fairly short (I use an adjustable trimmer set to 2), and that helps with the "keeping it even" problem, but I feel your pain on the BBS issue. I find that I can get a good shave by the "feel" of the blade, but I can't really go ATG that close to the goatee, so yeah, it's never quite BBS.

Sorry I don't have a miracle cure.
 
M

modern man

I have to see photo evidence of this. :lol:

Sorry, can't help ya Tim. Only thing I am allowed is a stash (that I look ridiculous with but still grow every now and then) and side burns and they are easy to keep trim.
 
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