Dealing with chin hair

[awbryce]

Hey everyone,

Just started using a SR, and everything is going well. The razor seems very sharp to me and I experience no tugging on my cheeks or neck. However, when trying to shave my chin, it seems as though the blade gets jammed. I'm not sure if this is from technique or just coarser hair, but I'm wondering if anyone else has similar issues and how they went about solving them.

Thanks!

 

[Teppanyaki]

I'm not sure what you mean by SR (I thought straight razor but you later mention that the blade gets jammed).

For my double and single edged razors, I stabilize my chin skin by puffing my cheeks out or pulling my lower lip into my mouth, and then shaving north-to-south. By being careful I can get a pretty good shave on my chin.

Hope this helps!

 

[alex2363]

Hey everyone,

Just started using a SR, and everything is going well. The razor seems very sharp to me and I experience no tugging on my cheeks or neck. However, when trying to shave my chin, it seems as though the blade gets jammed. I'm not sure if this is from technique or just coarser hair, but I'm wondering if anyone else has similar issues and how they went about solving them.

Thanks!

Welcome to B&B, here is a SR clinic, theses guys know SR
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/forumdisplay.php/79-Straight-Razor-Shave-Clinic

 

[awbryce]

I did mean straight razor. I have no problems shaving with my DE, however it seems that when I shave my cheeks and neck, the straight has no trouble slicing through the hairs on each pass. But when dealing with my chin , it seems the blade gets caught on the hair and becomes very uncomfortable, I guess pulling on the hairs.

 

[Fuzzy Chops]

I did mean straight razor. I have no problems shaving with my DE, however it seems that when I shave my cheeks and neck, the straight has no trouble slicing through the hairs on each pass. But when dealing with my chin , it seems the blade gets caught on the hair and becomes very uncomfortable, I guess pulling on the hairs.

There are three things that determine how easily the blade will cut whiskers: technique, preparation and blade keenness.
The thicker and tougher the whiskers, the more important these become. ATG requires more than WTG. Getting a close comfortable shave on the chin with a straight razor usually requires all three things to be right.

 

[dpmtherrien]

Shaving the chin area with a straight is something that requires an easy, light touch, and is something that will require some time until your technique is developed for this area. Just go slow and easy, and accept a passable shave until you get it down. If you try to rush things there will be blood for sure.

 

[Chaloney]

The chin is tricky. I think hairs can be thicker (or maybe they just seem that way), they tend to grow in different directions, the skin changes contour a lot so it's hard to keep the blade at the proper shallow angle, you are working against gravity so it's easy to use way too much pressure, and it can be difficult to get the skin stretched properly. Keep working on it. It took quite a whole (4-5 months) before I was getting as close around my chin as everywhere else, and I'm still not consistent--yesterday and today were awesome, the prior few days not so much.

 

[jasonb8736]

Hey everyone,

Just started using a SR, and everything is going well. The razor seems very sharp to me and I experience no tugging on my cheeks or neck. However, when trying to shave my chin, it seems as though the blade gets jammed. I'm not sure if this is from technique or just coarser hair, but I'm wondering if anyone else has similar issues and how they went about solving them.

Thanks!

It's funny you mention about the blade jamming. I am very new to straight razor shaving and my chin hair is thicker/coarser. The times where my blade seems to stop or "jam" are when I'm not attentive to the blade angle. The chin (at least my chin) is not a flat surface and shaving on contours is necessary. As I'm shaving around even slight contours, I realize now that the blade angle requires continuous adjustment.

Good luck with the straights!

 

[awbryce]

Thanks for the feedback gentlemen. Much appreciated!

 

[Attila]

Always use a shallow angle. No more than one or two spine widths away from your face, especially around the chin area. As long as your blade is sharp enough, there should not be any tugging if your technique is right and your lather and prep is decent. You can also try going XTG in both directions to knock the hair there down.