Your Beard Pattern

[TraderJoe]

I thought I would post up what I have found to be my beard pattern, or at least what works for my beard.

Cheeks, upper lip, and chin -> North to South

------->(Shave with the grain only)

Upper neck -> North to South

------- >(Shave with the grain, twice, and against and/or across the grain on final pass)

Lower neck -> South to North

-------> (Shave with the grain only). This is key, as I used to get major irritation/razor bumps/burn this part of the neck until I stuck to with the grain only. I don't get this part 100% BBS every shave, but darn close enough.....and the times I only get "close enough" is better than getting irritation, etc



Post 'em up, let's see 'em :happy088

[TstebinsB]

Cheeks, Upper Lip, Chin: North to South growth
- With the grain on Pass #1
- Ear to chin (angle) Pass #2
- Ear to nose (across) Pass #3 (Not needed when using straight razors)

Upper Neck: North to South growth on one side; South to North on the other side
- With the grain on Pass #1 and Pass #2 (DE shaving)
- N to S pass for both sides and I ignore the S to N hair growth (Straight shaving)

Lower Neck: South to North growth
- With the grain on Pass #1 and Pass #2 (DE shaving)
- N to S pass and I ignore the S to N hair growth (Straight shaving)

BBS Shave - Possible Irritation
DE Shaving: 3 passes for Area 1; 2 passes each for Areas 2 and 3
Straight Shaving: 2 passes each for Areas 1, 2, and 3

Serviceable Shave - No Irritation
DE Shaving: 2 passes for Area 1; 1 pass each for Areas 2 and 3
Straight Shaving: 2 passes for Area 1; 1 pass each for Areas 2 and 3

[Baloosh]

Joe, you and I have eerily similar beard patterns:

Cheeks, upper lip, and chin
North to South 1st pass (WTG)
None to Ear/Chin to Ear 2nd pass (XTG)
Ear to Nose/Ear to Chin 3rd pass (XTG the other way)
South to North 4th pass (ATG, but only sometimes (special occassion, etc.) I find I'd rather shave more often than be more BBS, and a true ATG shave means over 24 hours before I can shave again)

Upper neck
North to South 1st pass (WTG)
Nose to Ear/Chin to Ear 2nd pass (XTG)
Ear to Nose/Ear to Chin 3rd pass (XTG the other way)
South to North 4th pass (ATG -- see above for similar ATG comments)

Lower neck
South to North 1st pass (WTG)
Ear to Adams Apple 2nd pass (XTG)
And that's it for the lower neck. Easily my most problematic area, which is true of most guys, I think.

[TraderJoe]

Joe, you and I have eerily similar beard patterns:


Must be an Aqua Velva thing ::

[Baloosh]

Must be an Aqua Velva thing ::

Word.

::git :happy088

[qhsdoitall]

My beard pattern is all over the place. I mapped it out one time and went "Damn, that sucks." No full section of my face has the same pattern so I have to use a generic shave technique to cover all the spots to best advantage. Directional references are from the perspective of looking in the mirror.

Pass 1
Everything North to South

Pass 2
Cheeks - Ear to Mouth
Upper Lip - East to West
Lower Lip - East to West
Chin - East to West
Jawline - Chin to Ear
Neck - NW to SE on right, NE to SW on left

Pass 3
Cheeks - Mouth to Ear
Upper Lip - West to East
Lower Lip - West to East
Chin - West to East
Jawline - Ear to Chin
Neck - NE to SW on right, NW to SE on left

Pass 4 - Cleanup
This is the critical part. The one where I can make or break a shave. After 3 passes, there is still going to be noticeable stubble in several places and slight stubble in others. Under the chin, hollows of my neck and jawline are noticeable.

Under Chin - Around the world blade buffing
Left Hollow of Neck & Jawline - West to East followed by ATG Blade Buff
Right Hollow of Neck & Jawline - East to West followed by ATG Blade Buff
Everything - ATG blade buff any stubble left. Usually almost none at this point.

Further Technique
Unless I'm blade buffing, I use the sharpest blade I can with a particular razor and use short glide strokes on the first pass and long glide strokes on passes 2 and 3 except for the upper & lower lip and chin. This means I have to let the razor/blade do the work and just provide guidance. Pressure is the enemy.

If I've done this right, I'll have either near BBS with zero or almost zero irritation or BBS with some irritation. My skin turns red just from water or even rubbing moisturizer in or a scritchy brush so, I can't judge irritation by color. The alum block or aftershave tells me that. I also get with a DE razor one weeper a month. Maybe. A weeper tells me I got sloppy. Str8 learning does not count. :D

[macdave]

Hi guys,
Never really realised my beard pattern until the other day when I came across DE shaving. Thought I knew it but was surprised when I felt it!
My cheeks go from East to West
Chin North to South
Each side of my neck East to West and down the middle north to south. Well just ordered my first DE razor today cant wait to try it out.

[Queen of Blades]

Welcome to The Shave Den, macdave!

We are here to answer any questions you might have. So ask away!

[TraderJoe]

Well just ordered my first DE razor today cant wait to try it out.

Congratulations! Much excitement awaits you :D

....and....Welcome to the Shave Den :eatdrink004

[IsaacRN]

Welcome aboard.and let the fun begin :)

[macdave]

hey thanks guys for the welcome. cant wait to get my parcel next week. all i need to order now is a shaving brush!
david

[PalmettoB]

Welcome to The Shave Den, David.

[MCsommerreid]

Cheeks, upper lip, chin, upper neck
- North to South

Lower Neck
- West to East
I think thats how one might describe it. Grows from just outside the ole' adams apple to just inside the ear line

Addams Apple Area
- Far as I can fathom, the beard grows straight out here. I can't seem to get a decent smooth shave there hard as I try, and one can only do so many passes over one area.

Luckily I seem to be able to get away with shaving any direction and repair it with some after shave, but it's always least painful to do WTG, XTG, and then ATG. Gets everything nice and smooth, and my eyes don't water when the after shave goes on.

[rick]

Up Top:
1P N-S WTG
1P S-N XTG

Jawline to mid-neck:
See above

Mid to lower neck:
1P S-N XTG
1P N-S XTG

Grain on my lower neck runs from the Adam's Apple to the ear.
So Ive had the best success using these 2 XTG passes that remove 90% of the stubble and dont irritate the tender neck area.
NEVER will I go ATG on the bottom ! Bumps and ingrowns are inevitable. :mad:

[Mottern Man]

Cheeks = N-S (wtg, xtg pass)
Neck = S-N (wtg x2 or 3 pass)
Jawline = E-W on right side W-E left side (wtg,xtg pass)
Chin = ??? all over (what ever works)

With a Slant I do 1 WTG, and touch up as needed.

[IsaacRN]

My neck area is a mess. I cant ever get it smooth..wtg or xtg. I even have two spots where it grows in a hurricane swirl type pattern....very frustrating.

[jbcohen]

Do you find that this technique depends on the type of razor you use?

As always I seek all shaving knowledge.

[qhsdoitall]

Do you find that this technique depends on the type of razor you use?

As always I seek all shaving knowledge.

Razor and blade combination will affect what technique you use. An example is the Futur. I don't do ATG with a Futur.

[TraderJoe]

Do you find that this technique depends on the type of razor you use?


For me, I shave like this with all of my razors, but this is subject to change in the future (given the possibility of trying out ?new? razors) :D