Lip and Chin Difficulties

I just had my second straight shave yesterday. I'm glade to say that my WTG pass was a lot better as I used a steeper angle. My WTG pass was better as well, but not quite as improved as my WTG. I even got ballsy and did an ATG that didn't end in bloodshed (even on my lip!)

Unfortunately, that improvement deals mainly with my cheeks and neck. When it comes to my lip and chin I cannot seem to slice through my hair. I tried using a steeper angle, but I find that I just meet resistance and the blade won't cut anything. Is the blade just too dull or am I doing an incorrect movement?

Hey there
I'm by no means a seasoned straight-user and have accepted the fact that, while at the moment I can get an acceptable-to-quite good shave, its going to take me a long time to surpass my DEs, so I only straight-shave on the weekend or when I'm feeling self-indulgent. For me at least, getting used to the unsupported hand was most challenging, and against the grain its worse, like writing on a blackboard. I think this is just something your arm gets used to, like playing a guitar or something. I'm now XTG-ing on my cheek with barely a whisper, but keeping smooth and effective, but going ATG from the base of my neck up to the edge of my jaw is still un-natural for me.

For me, my blades go through the chin and lip stubble the best when they are really sharp. Experiment with different angles of attack. 'Right to left' followed by 'left to right' and then try a 'down' stroke.

It will take a while to find the sequence that works the best on YOUR face with any particular razor. I even have different sequences for different razors.

Just had a similar 'case' in a German wet shaving board. Be sure to really strech your skin taught. The more flat you can pull your skin the easier your str8 will cut and the less irritation you'll get.

Roll your underlip, lay your head into your nape, and with your free hand strecht the skin. -> Chin

For upper lip shaving roll it and shave right away. Be sure to not to press hard, mostly the upper lip hairs aren't as hard as the chin hairs.

I have been using a straight for half my life and I wandered into an unusual technique for shaving my chin.

I open my mouth and tilt my head down slightly. I then place the blade on my chin. At this point I close my mouth and tilt my head up. During this time my hand remains motionless but rotates the razor to maintain the correct angle. When I go ATG I do the same thing but don't include the opening and closing of my mouth.

That is right I hold the razor still and then move my head against the blade to shear off the whiskers. It sounds and look bizzare but I have never dinged myself on the chin.

I suspect that your razor is not sharp enough - if it is catching on the hairs and not cutting them. ALso, you may way to try a little shaving oil in that area, it may help slick it up.

Shave prep is key, if you are not properly prepping your face and getting your whiskers saturated, it will be a much harder cut as well. Re-examine your shave prep as well.

Pull your skin taught - if not it will catch on the hairs and not cut through the hairs and you will likely cut yourself as you will likely apply too much pressure to get it to cut and the razor will skip.

If you have these things addressed, especially the sharp razor, it should cut through the hair fairly easily.

Turns out my str8 wasn't anywhere near sharp enough. I just got a pre-sharpened Wapi the other day and it shaved like a dream. I got a near BBS shave on my face and neck and an okay shave on my lip and chin.

The only other problem I ran into was some razor burn, which I normally don't get with a DE. But then again, I only get razor burn on my lip and chin which are the two areas I go over and over and over.

Venom8431 said:

Turns out my str8 wasn't anywhere near sharp enough. I just got a pre-sharpened Wapi the other day and it shaved like a dream. I got a near BBS shave on my face and neck and an okay shave on my lip and chin.

The only other problem I ran into was some razor burn, which I normally don't get with a DE. But then again, I only get razor burn on my lip and chin which are the two areas I go over and over and over.

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Your razor burn and repetitive passes over your lip and chin will dissipate as you get a better handle on using the straight. Try different stroke patterns (direction) in these areas to see if they work any better and make sure the skin is taught or the razor will not cut these areas - they hair is tough in these spots. Try very short strokes (verify hair direction) 1/4" long with skin taught and use light pressure with the blade very flat against your face (as much as possible but still cut the hair) - the tendency is to apply more pressure if you don't think it is cutting well. DOn't do it - razor burn is not worth it.

It sounds like you are getting the hang of it - congratulations! I still get razor burn on occasion as well - some days it seems you were meant to get it no matter what.

When you get it all down, I will send you one of my Zowada's to try a few times so you can see if you like his razors.