The Jawline, etc.

[Tirvine]

I noted in a current thread that some members use multiple razors during a single shave, one of the more common ones appearing to be the use of a slant, especially for the jawline and neck. This sent me looking for similar threads, and I noted one about weight loss making it harder to address the jawline and neck. I am very interested in a slant and am also having a devil of a time getting the area just below the jawline. I have lost a good bit of weight over the course of the pandemic, dropping from about 5'10" and 195 to 150. Does anyone have any thoughts on the ability of a slant, as compared with a regular DE, to tackle jawline and neck? Any favorites? I use an Above the Tie Windsor with a mild plate.

 

[emwolf]

I can't comment about the weight loss (although I really need to focus more on that). The Merkur 37c is, for me, the gold standard of slants. I do have several, but have found that one to be near perfect for not being too aggressive yet very efficient. I generally choose one razor for a shave, unless I'm A-B testing. For comparisons sake, I use the old ATT razor which has a mild, regular and heavy plate. I've found the mild far too mild and the heavy far too much.

 

[Andris83]

I have a skinny face so there are concave areas on my neck. The hardest to get places is right under my chin. Skin stretching and a cleanup pass is required to get it. It is harder to shave my neck with a slant as it has a bigger, wider head then a regular DE. I.e. the RR Lupo SS has a head that can get to any place easily, so does the R41 or R89. The Wunderbar has a wider head that makes it harder to use (you need to figure out a direction that works). The 37C is in the middle imo, slightly wider head than regular DEs, but the short handle makes it very maneuverable.

 

[tube_guy]

Experiments to improve your technique are what's likely to deliver the best results. I've found I get the best results on my jawline and neck with a very pronounced Gillette slide motion in various directions. Sometimes, it almost feels like I'm moving sideways too much and I'm going to slice myself, but that's exactly when I get my best results. I've found that if I get my lather right, I don't slice myself and it works quite well. I will say that this sideways motion does seem to work particularly well when I use one specific slant razor. I'm not sure if that's because the razor is a slant, or not, because it also works pretty well with normal razors, too.

 

[silverlifter]

I'm quite lean, with a prominent jaw and what works best for me, slant or not, is a combination of bullfrogging and stretching. Doing both, I can get consistent, uninterrupted passes from the lower chin to about one third down the neck from the ear to the part of the chin under the corner of my mouth.

It's important when bullfrogging to push the air through to the back of the throat, to inflate the area under the corner of the jaw. If you look at a jazz player like Dizzie Gillespie in full flight, you'll get the idea. This way, you are essentially removing the angle of the jaw from the equation, and you can stroke either N/S or E/W across relatively smooth, linear lines.

FWIW, I also find that a slant (much as I love them) makes little difference in the ability to access these areas.

 

[Happy Jack]

The only slant I have is the Wunderbar, which is supposedly one of the most aggressive slants. It's not quite aggressive enough in some spots for me; very similar to an R41 in terms of results.

I've had better results shaving under my jawline with more aggressive DE razors. My favourites are the Merkur Futur (set to 6), the Ikon B1 Standard and the Ikon Tek. Those would likely cause nicks if I used them on my chin though, so I switch razors during each shave to get the best of both worlds.

 

[LJBraaten]

I noted in a current thread that some members use multiple razors during a single shave, one of the more common ones appearing to be the use of a slant, especially for the jawline and neck. This sent me looking for similar threads, and I noted one about weight loss making it harder to address the jawline and neck. I am very interested in a slant and am also having a devil of a time getting the area just below the jawline. I have lost a good bit of weight over the course of the pandemic, dropping from about 5'10" and 195 to 150. Does anyone have any thoughts on the ability of a slant, as compared with a regular DE, to tackle jawline and neck? Any favorites? I use an Above the Tie Windsor with a mild plate.

The chin is definitely the most difficult part of my shave. When I switched to a DE razor I had trouble going over my chin, to a lesser extent the rest of the jawline. Then I discovered that slant and handle length made a huge difference for me.
SLANT: I can shave with ease with my old Trac II. Second best is my Leaf Razor with a pivoting head.
HANDLE LENGTH: I have an easier time shaving over the hump with my Gillette Super Speed and Old Type Open Comb with a Tech handle. The shorter handle is less awkward in my hand for changing the angle smoothly as I glide over the chin.
And, as always, the less pressure on the razor, the better all around results. This is especially important for me when I am trying to navigate smooth transitions of angle in difficult places.
Bottom line: when I get a new blade I start with the Parker Variant. As the blade gets duller I switch to a short handled razor. If my blades are fresh and I have a lot of stubble I may do the chin area with the Leaf, the only time I use two razors during the same shave. I may also just use the Leaf for a couple of weeks.
Exception: if I have a bad nick I may shave that area with an electric razor and do the rest with blade, until my face heals.
Note: my face is quite lean.

 

[Sweeney_]

I'm quite lean, with a prominent jaw and what works best for me, slant or not, is a combination of bullfrogging and stretching. Doing both, I can get consistent, uninterrupted passes from the lower chin to about one third down the neck from the ear to the part of the chin under the corner of my mouth.

It's important when bullfrogging to push the air through to the back of the throat, to inflate the area under the corner of the jaw. If you look at a jazz player like Dizzie Gillespie in full flight, you'll get the idea. This way, you are essentially removing the angle of the jaw from the equation, and you can stroke either N/S or E/W across relatively smooth, linear lines.

FWIW, I also find that a slant (much as I love them) makes little difference in the ability to access these areas.

+1 on the bullfrogging.

I also have the lean face combined with a very angular jawline which was my biggest difficulty: stretching was only getting me mediocre results. Adding the bullfrog to the mix was a gamechanger. Cheers to @pdillon for bringing that technique to my attention many moons ago.