any tips for wiry, difficult to cut whiskers on upper lip?

[Mike Williams]

The whiskers tend to be wiry and hard to cut on my upper lip toward the corners of my mouth. I have been irritating the skin there try to get them smooth. Any insights or tips are appreciated.
I am shaving with a Henson mild presently, but I get the same problem with my Edwin Jagger DE 89.

 

[StewB]

I do OK with sufficiently slick product (cream/soap/etc.), a very light touch, correct angle, and short strokes.

 

[silverlifter]

I bullfrog around there, and for right in the corners, push them out with my tongue so the skin is completely taut.

 

[Big_T]

Best advice I have is slick lather, a sharp blade, a light touch, and push out with the tongue with mouth wide open.

 

[DEgeezer]

Grow a mustache, problem solved!

 

[NorthernSoul]

That area is a problem for lots of folks. You can stretch the skin with a yawning facial expression. The will help flatten the area. Then, try shaving in two separate diagonal directions, instead of directly against the grain.

If the yawn doesn't work well, try the "bullfrog puff" or the "tongue press" at the corners of the mouth.

 

[Butch Waxx]

A good slick lather, (with a sharp blade), and a tongue induced flat area should take care of it. Try a little Witch Hazel, followed by a splash of alcohol free balm after shaving and I am betting it will help!
After finishing up, a touch of lip balm in the corners of your mouth should help through the day as well.

 

[shark86x]

uhhh, keep a stiff upper lip?

All of the above. Try a beard softener, and let it soak a while, see the link below - highly recommended. Shave after you shower.

Pre-Shave Cream: Nourishing for Coarse Beards - https://proraso-usa.com/collections/nourishing/products/pre-shave-cream-moisturizing-nourishing-formula

 

[Mike Williams]

A good slick lather, (with a sharp blade), and a tongue induced flat area should take care of it. Try a little Witch Hazel, followed by a splash of alcohol free balm after shaving and I am betting it will help!
After finishing up, a touch of lip balm in the corners of your mouth should help through the day as well.

I've been putting a very small amount of Aveeno lotion in the corners of my mouth

 

[Mike Williams]

I've been putting a very small amount of Aveeno lotion in the corners of my mouth after whatever after shave splash I'm using, and it helps a lot.

 

[nemo]

Wash face and next apply a warm washcloth compress, then let your wet and slick lather sit on the troublesome area's stubble extra time. Hydration (for me) is key.

 

[Possum092]

As others noted I use a light touch, slick lather, skin stretching, along with a shaving sharp SR.

 

[gpjoe]

Also, on each pass, shave your chin and around your mouth last. By shaving your cheeks and neck first, the lather around your mouth and chin has a bit longer to soften the whiskers (as long as your lather is wet enough to not dry out). But don't just take my word for it, here is Gillette's recommendation:

 

[nav]

The whiskers tend to be wiry and hard to cut on my upper lip toward the corners of my mouth. I have been irritating the skin there try to get them smooth. Any insights or tips are appreciated.
I am shaving with a Henson mild presently, but I get the same problem with my Edwin Jagger DE 89.

Blackland Blackbird...thank me later!!

I hated shaving my goatee area as i couldn't get as close as I'd like and the more I tried, the more irritation I got, especially as I started getting bigger blade gap razors, the worse the irritation got!

The blackbird gives me the closest, most comfortable shaves I've ever experienced...the biggest difference being on the goatee area.

 

[rbscebu]

The whiskers on my upper lip and corners of my mouth grow vertically down. I shave them with two passes, first WTG and then ATG (a.k.a. fool's pass). I do this daily with a proper shave-ready traditional straight razor. I find it the most comfortable and closest way to shave that area.

It is also a great way to check the condition of the edge on your SR.

 

[wibbleandstrop23]

An open comb remedied this problem for me. Also as mentioned above slick lather and a good beard soak.

 

[Kyle89]

Sharp blade + aggressive razor solved my DE skin issues.

 

[Mitzie]

Rub-in into the whiskers some glycerin to increase whisker hydration thereby making them softer and easier to shave

 

[Iridian]

Some mechanical advice besides the shaving advice given already:

The razor ideally...
1. clamps the blade tightly and stiff so that it is very rigid and not vibrating/flabbing
2. has quite some blade exposure and gap
3. go steep and do a scraping shave downwards

This is very much emulating basically a straight blade razor as @rbscebu does.

Now the Henson does clamp tightly, but you cannot vary the angle much by default, part of the design. The DE89 isn't clamping tightly. Hmm...

Still, one can get a perfectly clear upper lip with them, too. I would suggest trying a stiffer blade. Feather are usually very sharp, but they are not as rigid, presumably "thick" as a Gillette Nacet. I would try the Nacet, and if this doesn't work, try the Feather, but it is likely to result in irritation.

If the great advice to give lather time doesn't work out, try smearing some shaving gel under your nose instead as extra protection.

 

[BigJ]

Great tips in this thread.

I would add that using a lower profile (or more nimble) razor helped. Then I changed my typical 3 pass routine for my upper lip: ATG, then two XTG passes in opposite directions. Works for me!!