Chin

[Contact_vs_Feedback]

Hello @Eben Stone

Today the bumps on the cheeks had calmed down enough to attempt ATG pass.

I went for ATG on chin area as well, it took me some angling and I managed to get BBS all around.

I found that if I find that razor is getting stuck due fo coarse hair, ke less than optimal pressure, then I don't eliminate contact of the edge and skin and come at the hair again.
This allows me to cut hair, and then I take another clean stroke to finally see if every hair is cut or not.

I hope you see the desired progress soon.

 

[Eben Stone]

Hi @Contact_vs_Feedback

Based on your advice, I tried one of my slickest soaps, Southern Witchcrafts Druantia, and tried ATG everywhere.

I had to make 3 WTG passes before I could go ATG, as usual. But this time I was able to go ATG over the chin and almost over the mustache area. I cheated a little on the mustache and didn't go completely ATG, more of an angle somewhere between XTG and ATG.

Turned out well I think. No nicks or cuts, just a few weepers. No alum burn. Skin feels pretty good.

I still didn't get a super close shave everywhere. Theres a few spots I missed. But I'm pretty happy with the results.

Thanks

 

[Biltong & Boerewors]

Contrary to what most would advise, I don't try to follow the curve of my chin. I tried it, but found it difficult to maintain the right angle, so in some cases it was too shallow, not shaving, and in others too steep, resulting in the razor biting and shaving off some skin.

Now I use short, straight buffing strokes, changing the angle slightly when moving to the next area, feeling when I am shaving, taking care not to go too steep. Basically treating the chin like a series of flat planes, rather than a curve. By buffing I mean going over the same area several times. Only two passes WTG. This gives me the best results, but it is not fool-proof and sometimes there is some stubble left.

 

[Eben Stone]

I found that if I find that razor is getting stuck due fo coarse hair, ke less than optimal pressure, then I don't eliminate contact of the edge and skin and come at the hair again.
This allows me to cut hair, and then I take another clean stroke to finally see if every hair is cut or not.

Now I use short, straight buffing strokes, changing the angle slightly when moving to the next area, feeling when I am shaving, taking care not to go too steep. Basically treating the chin like a series of flat planes, rather than a curve. By buffing I mean going over the same area several times. Only two passes WTG. This gives me the best results, but it is not fool-proof and sometimes there is some stubble left.

Last night I used short buffing strokes on my chin. I was worried it might cause some irritation, because I went over the chin area so many times I lost count, but there was none. Good results.

 

[Contact_vs_Feedback]

Good results.

Congratulations, that great.

 

[2bit_collie]

I’ve spent this month in FFFMM, so using the same razor every day and working on technique. I still have blood more often than not and 80% of the time its on the chin. I am getting better, using some of the advice above. Under the lower lip is getting pretty good, but I have a dimple on my chin and the area in and around the dimple is a real challenge.

 

[Biltong & Boerewors]

I was worried it might cause some irritation

Buffing does not cause irritation, pressure and steep shaving angle does. I use light buffing motions on my whole face, instead of long strokes. I keep buffing, until I feel I am not shaving any more whiskers.

Always two passes WTG and XTG, both buffing until there is nothing left to shave. The only part I do a daily ATG is under my jaw. Gives me good results, but not exactly BBS.

My face does not like ATG too often. I can do it once in a while, too often and I get irritation. What's the point of BBS? I shave daily and nobody notice the difference between BBS and a DFS.

 

[Jakebullet]

Contrary to what most would advise, I don't try to follow the curve of my chin. I tried it, but found it difficult to maintain the right angle, so in some cases it was too shallow, not shaving, and in others too steep, resulting in the razor biting and shaving off some

Now I use short, straight buffing strokes, changing the angle slightly when moving to the next area, feeling when I am shaving, taking care not to go too steep. Basically treating the chin like a series of flat planes, rather than a curve. By buffing I mean going over the same area several times. Only two passes WTG. This gives me the best results, but it is not fool-proof and sometimes there is some stubble left.

I find the chin and top lip are so tricky because of their almost spherical shapes.
The top lip from the nose curves north to south as well as west to east. It’s like shaving the top half of a snooker ball, a snooker ball covered in super coarse hair and quite meaty skin.
To make it even more difficult the hair on my top lip grows in 3-4 different directions. So I need four passes.
I find the contact area here, shaving the curved surface, is small so I do several upwards side by side passes, like mowing a lawn. Until I’ve hit everywhere. I also do a little buffing there where needed.
The chin is similar but seems a more muscular area so I worry less about cuts here. But it’s still very tricky. Again it’s like shaving a ball, and again the hair direction varies.
I too, buff the area with lots of short curve hugging atg passes round the curve of the chin and up to the top of my bottom lip.
It took a long time to learn to do it well atg but once I learned it my shaves have never looked back.

 

[Eben Stone]

@Contact_vs_Feedback how's your progress with the kamisori?

May I suggest you choose the soaps with more slickness, as that is needed to get a good glide of razor.

Currently, TBS maca root is my best performing soap. I'm pretty happy with the results. Still not getting super close, but I'm getting closer. I can actually finally see some progress.

Hopefully this will help you take the leap to ATG in atleast the moustache area, for starters.

Surprisingly, I can go mustahce ATG no problem. I find the chin more challenging (not in technical difficulty, but getting it close). I can buff my chin maybe 100 micro strokes (I lost count) and there is still stubble.

 

[Contact_vs_Feedback]

I have recently started shaving with Kamisori again after 2 months of using different DE razors.

I got 2 cuts on the chin area, it was my lack of 'Flow in stroke'.

I enjoyed the shave nonetheless, it was the gap of months between the usage of Kamisori that resulted in the misadventure.

I was able to weild the Kamisori naturally and the strokes were very nice.
I have changed the shaving routine from daily to every 2nd or 3rd day.

Chin area is a trouble area for me too, I realized that in my last shave.
The reason is the direction of hair growth is multi - directional, and because of this if my stroke is not confident or with less efficient angle, the razor gets caught up and results in cut.

As for the hair remaining even after buffing, I have yet to get BBS in chin area with the Kamisori.

There seems to be some hair growth always left behind, even when I search for them while shaving.

 

[2bit_collie]

I can go ATG everywhere except mustache and chin. Everywhere else takes me about 3 WTG passes before I can go ATG. I made it XTG over the mustache and chin, currently that's the best I can do.

I've been using MdC so far except today I used TOBS. TOBS is good, but doesn't have the same residual slickness. Still no alum burn, so I guess that's good.

I’m about 200 shaves in, for me the only problem areas are the tip of my chin (I have a dimple), the tips of my mustache (at the corners of my mouth) and sides of my Adam’s apple (where the hair direction is sideways rather than up or down). I can do Fool’s Pass on must of my upper lip, but it tends to be irritating and not entirely necessary - if I do a WTG, XTG and something part-way in-between, that gets almost everything.

For chin my most successful pass is XTG. In particular I will stretch the skin upwards and then run the razor along the jawbone from the hinge to the chin with the blade nearly vertical. This does a great job of getting the hair in the region along the edge of the jawbone. Then I attack the chin itself trying to keep the blade edge parallel to the contours, so coming down and in from the corners of my mouth and going straight down from the center of my lower lip.

In addition to skin stretching with my fingers I move my face around quite a bit. In particular I will puff out my cheeks a bit on the WTG pass and I will swing my jaw sideways to draw the area right below my lower lip across the blade on the XTG pass (usually with my tongue pushing against the skin in order to make sure that the lower lip does not protude past the area just below it.

 

[steveclarkus]

I read the SR shaving guide, and it mentions if the razor pulls/tugs then either the blade is dull or the technique is bad. But it doesn't offer any suggestions on how to improve the technique, at least not that I could find.

I'm using a Feather AC SS with Feather pro blade #2.

This is my 2nd SR shave. Obviously my technique is bad.

I tried micro strokes, maybe 1mm, that seemed to help. After maybe 5 passes (I lost count) on my chin, I was finally able to go over the entire chin area in one stroke. But there is still stubble. I'm using the shallowest angle I can while still being able to feel the blade.

Is there any special instructions for the chin area?

Keep shaving and you will work it out. Eventually, you will find the chin quite easy to shave perfectly clean. Straight shaving is mostly a learn as you go self taught thing. After a couple of hundred daily shaves, you won’t even think about it. Same as a DE but takes longer. You will improve in small increments all on your own.

 

[johnmrson]

I've always found short, buffing style strokes with the razor around the chin works for me.

 

[Frank Shaves]

I've always found short, buffing style strokes with the razor around the chin works for me.

Same for me. And the shape of your chin has to be a factor - like whether you have a pronounced chin line or not. For me, the flat area below my bottom lip is quite sensitive. @Steve56 recently cited Iwasaki describing shorter strokes tending to apply less pressure than longer strokes. You might want to apply this principle to shaving your chin.