TromboneChat

Hello everyone. I was wondering if anyone else experiences problems playing after shaving. Since I'm a bass trombonist in high school, the effects of shaving on my flexibility and low notes have become more and more apparent. After shaving, my double trigger notes have no front to the attack no matter how hard I try and the mouthpiece sticks to my face stopping me from moving it around at all. Is there any tips or tricks to minimize the effects of shaving. Thanks everyone.

I play much better after shaving, especially down low.

Make sure you're moisturizing in some way!

I used to have that exact same problem but it doesn't bother me as much now.
My solution is to shave at night so the skin has a chance to normalize before I play again.

I should have mentioned that I always shave at night.

My low register becomes shaky and hard to play loud if I don't shave regularly. And I get way worse at flexibilities.

Maybe you're shaving in the wrong direction. Use a good razor and good shaving cream.

Or try an electric.

I play better after I shave!

Funny enough, I nicked my lip shaving under my handlebar mustache this morning. Antibiotic ointment to the rescue!

I can't shave with a razor blade, I have to always do it with an electric trimmer. I get VERY irritated pretty much everywhere whenever I do shave with a blade. I've known this for a long time and I actually decided to try a razor blade again a few months ago and it made it difficult to play with all of the redness and irritation.

I play better when I’ve shaved. I have a mustache and beard, but shave the portions of the upper and lower lip where the mouthpiece rests. Over the years, I’ve found that Nivea products work best for me. Fewer additives, and they are made for “sensitive” skin. I also keep a Braun pocket electric shaver in my case for the 5 o’clock shadow.

I have a beard and need to shave at least where the mouthpiece is. It is the low bass register especially below contra F that I completely loose if I don't shave. I do not use an electric razor. Be gentle with the razor blade and you could wait an hour before you practice.

/Tom

Makes no difference to me. Everybody's different. Blistex or ChopSaver may help.

HELPFUL HINT;

It is better to shave your face BEFORE you shave under your arms.

I have had a moustache since college and a beard or goatee with a soul patch most of the time. I shaved both off once and it took me a while to get my embouchure adjusted, and once I went back to a furry face another week or two to get used to it again. That includes small bore, large bore, and bass t-bone playing.

Grow a mustache and soul patch. No more shaving near lip line! Worked for me.

I had a full beard for a short time and could not play a pedal note for the life of me. Darndest thing!! Everything else was fine. Once I removed the beard, pedals came right back.

Don't shave right before you play. I solved the problem by growing it out. I still keep it short, but never right down to the skin.

In my current hermit-like existence, forswearing human contact and be-masked when in public, I don't shave regularly and I've gotten used to having stubble or more when I practice.

When I do shave closely with a blade, the mouthpiece feels like it's sticking to my lips and never quite stuck in the right place. I don't like it.

I hate shaving. I remember when I was little watching my mom wax her face hair off. She had this pot of beeswax she'd heat up and a spatula she'd use to paint a Groucho Marx thing across her upper lip. She'd let it cool for few minutes, then...

R-R-RIPPPP!

Ouch! I was never brave enough to try that myself but I suppose after having three kids it was nothing to her.

And, unlike other moms in the neighborhood, she wasn't going around with a visible mustache.

TMI.

I had trouble with nicking the cusp of my upper lips when shaving. I keep a stubble beard now using a number one attachment on professional electric shears. Shaving time is one minute once or twice a week.

I have no problems now. I also clean the mouthpiece after each use. I use plastic tuba mouthpiece holders with a small paper towel inserted that was used to dry the mouthpiece and that also replaces the previous paper towel, every time.

Also, you might try using a gold plated rim, as they tend to slide around a little more.

I play way better without stubble or a beard. It took me about 20 years to find a shaving system which I‘m really happy with and doesn’t irritate me and everyone‘s different but here‘s what I ended up with in case it gives you some ideas.

Equipment:
Shaving brush (synthetic, from The Body Shop)

Shaving soap (Eucris from Geo F Trumper, a bit expensive but lasts ages and less packaging waste than cans of foam/gel, also like the shaving cream from The Body Shop)

3-Blade razor (Wilkinson sword Hydro 3, I tried razors with more blades but my skin prefers a bit of space between blades it seems)

Cooling balm (Tried loads, all seem to work ok)

Process:
Soak brush in warm water whilst in the shower
Knock off most of the water, then pick up soap with brush and form lather
Apply to face with brush in circular motion
Gently shave in one direction, with the ‚grain‘
Re-apply extra foam from brush for 2nd pass, if necessary
Apply balm

The brush and soap may seem a bit old-school and takes maybe one minute longer than instant foam/gel but it makes a big difference to me, the theory is that the brush helps prepare the stubble for a clean shave and also exfoliates.

Shower and ivory soap.

When I was younger (80s) all the older guys had soul patches to avoid irritation.

I didn't do a scientific comparison, but I'm fairly convinced I wore through my mouthpiece's gold-plating faster with stubble than I otherwise would have. Didn't do a side-by-side comparison, so it's not a hill I'd die on. Now, I try to be diligent about shaving.

The difference in slippery-ness immediately after shaving is inconsistent as you've noticed. Seems to settle down after a few hours. Humans are weird.

Always shave at night and remember to moisturize. That's what i do.

On tenor, I have to shave the “soul patch” area at least every 2 days.

On bass trombone, I have to shave that day if I want to play my best.

Face moisturizer is your friend.

Hello All .

I have always used razor blades , and I was very uncomfortable on playing after shaving , many years ago . So I asked to a professional barber .
He told me that the best moment to shave is as soon as one wake up , because the skin is more relaxed than at the end of the day . Also , not to shave against the hair of the beard .

More , in my opinion , the best thing is to use some high quality shave foam and after shave balm
(instead that a liquid one , that usually contains also alcohol ) .

I am using the Vichy ' shave foam and after shave balm ( they are made in France) . They are expensive , but I have no more problems; after one hour I am shaved , I can play whit great comfort .

Regards to everyone .
Giancarlo

I use a pretty decent electric razor and it doesn't bother my playing. But the reason is not for my playing first: straight razors tear up my skin underneath my jawline. The hair follicles are too bumpy.

I have been experimenting with the shave or not to shave dilemma, my wife God bless her is unaffected either way so keeping her happy is not part of the equation. I have found that I MUST maintain a very clean shaven area where the mouthpiece contacts my face. I tried letting it grow out, mostly laziness I guess and the stubble was pretty uncomfortable when the pressure of the mouthpiece was applied. When kept clean shaven, no issues other than it sometimes makes repositioning the mouthpiece while playing somewhat distracting when it wants to stick in one place...oh well, deal with it and drive on.

I use a hair trimmer which always leaves short hair, rather than a smooth shave like a shaver does. I find it’s both way easier, requires less maintenance (like moisturizer), and works best for my playing. However, the only rims that I can seem to make work with that are lexan.

willy66 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 23, 2023 7:11 am Keep exploring and experimenting, and don't hesitate to ask for advice or support from your musical community. W

Willy,

Are you a real, trombone-playing person, or an AI Bot?

I’ve got a big ol bushy mustache right now and shave an open hairless spot under it and around my lips, think like an undercut.

You get used to it and can get back, it was very weird for a long time, especially when I was younger and it looked patchy and the hair wasn’t as thick. I can also recommend that if you’re planning on growing the hair out, find some facial hair care items that work for you, a scruffy rough beard plays worse than a well-maintained one imo. If you decide to shave, do it at night, try different shaving techniques and finding some shaving cream and aftercare that’ll help you. Fwiw I always use an electric razor around the chops, less irritation.

I’ve also tried gold and steel pieces as a solution, didn’t work for me or my wallet.

Being the tightwad that I am, I try to get a year out of my razor blades. That being said, I only use it in the shower Sunday mornings right before leaving for practice. I use my electric razor thru the week. No issue for me shaving right before playing, and usually I start with trumpet before switching to low brass. Dad played baritone in the Army band in the late 40s, most brass player in his group then sported a moustache, primarily as a precaution against shaving cuts. I played with a ‘stache for years with no issues, but tried a full beard and anything under my lip ruined any notes on any horn. Do regularly grow a beard in the winter to help keep my face warm doing the farm chores, but I keep it shaved under my lower lip. Haven’t had my winter growth since my trombone Bach 12SC was given a gold rim and cup. Probably that’s not much help for anybody, but just letting you know what works for me.

Electric shavers! Braun-style, or the rotary Philips-style.

Have used them both over many years. Both styles work great. Just switch it up once every few years to have fun.

You might find that electric shavers relieve a lot of concerns compared to the old-school shave.

No worries about cutting your face or lips and it's like getting a massage on the face everytime you shave.

This is literally why I keep a light mustache and a light soul patch. The hair acts as an extra cushion to my chops. I play worse when I am clean shaven, which is probably due to the fact that I am less comfortable with the extra pressure and rubbing on my skin.

I posted before that a 3-blade razor works better than ones with more blades for me. This is still correct, but thought I’d share that I’ve just moved over to a double-edge safety razor, so only one blade, and it works even better for me. So far the mouthpiece contact areas never felt so good.

The reasons I moved were not primarily to do with trombone playing (way less plastic wastage, excellent blades available for 6-7 cents, universal blades) but a nice side effect is a good clean shave with even less irritation than with the previous 3-blade razor system. It takes a bit of practice and needs longer to shave, allowing a bit of time for the whole ritual of lathering up and having at least two passes with light, small movements. There will be a couple of nicks along the way but after a few days you get the hang of it pretty quickly. The blades are so cheap that I change long before any decline in performance, usually getting 2-3 shaves out of one blade.My daily driver costs about 7€ for 100 blades so that’s easily a year of comfortable shaves for less than 10€ worth of blades.

I tried a single-blade safety razor recently (2 months) and was disappointed in the results: a poor shave, and too many nicks and cuts. Perhaps it was the brand (Albatross). Perhaps I never got the hand of it. Maybe a different razor or blades will work better? Henson? Wilkinson? Any other suggestions?

I really like the idea of decreased plastic and packaging, but I don’t want to sacrifice my lips.

Before I decided to give an electric a try again, I had good results from the leaf razor: https://leafshave.com/pages/our-razors. The classic double edge safety razor was just ok for me…some really great shaves, but never could get the consistency I was after. Leaf felt more like the consistency of a cartridge razor shave, without the plastic and cost of refills.

There are at least as many double edge safety razor/blade combinations as there are horn/mouthpiece combinations!

There are plenty of good videos on YouTube about the equipment, pre-/post-shave and technique. I would hesitate to make any specific recommendations but what works for me is a model with a not too aggressive shave and closed comb design, combined with a medium-to-sharp platinum coated blade. YMMV.

One thing I would say is that the excellent preparation is important, softening the stubble with a hot shower or hot towels on the face and using a shaving brush and decent cream/soap. Also, a light touch is key, keep the pressure to almost nothing and let the sharpness of the blade do its work.

That leaf razor looks pretty interesting also, I like that you can split the double-edge blades and decide whether to put 2 or 3 in.

Good topic
I usually try and shave about two or three hours before an impotrant performance. I once shaved just before I left the house and cut my top lip almost were the mouthpiece hit! I could not stop the bleeding. When I arrived at the consert site it was still bleeding. Luckely a trumpet player had some super glue and I super glued my lip and played the concert successfully!!
Might want to keep some super glue in your case...

Randy

I have a goatee. Every couple of weeks or so, I trim the moustache part to "make room" for the upper mouthpiece rim, but rarely actualy need to shave there. I do shave my lower lip using only water, but a Gillette Fusion5 which has a moisturizing strip. I shave generally before breakfast but don't actually play until around 11am. If I let the hair grow on my chin, I find the mouthpiece may tend to slip in ways I don't want it to. I also like to play a slightly moist mouthpiece, not dry and not dripping in slobber. And the mouthpice of choice has a rather wide rim with a slightly pronounced bite.

As a side note - literally: I also find I need to see that my sideburns don't get too wooly. If they do I might occassionally grip some hair when I go to depress the f-valve. Rather uncomfortable.

rmb796 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 29, 2023 10:03 pm Good topic
I usually try and shave about two or three hours before an impotrant performance. I once shaved just before I left the house and cut my top lip almost were the mouthpiece hit! I could not stop the bleeding. When I arrived at the consert site it was still bleeding. Luckely a trumpet player had some super glue and I super glued my lip and played the concert successfully!!
Might want to keep some super glue in your case...

Randy

I would hesitate to use superglue, but when you need to stop the bleeding and that’s the only thing available… any port in a storm!

I have a small scar on my upper lip from a childhood accident. It doesn’t affect my playing (not even when I was trying to learn tuba), but I occasionally nick it. It usually stops bleeding with some kleenex or TP left on for a few minutes. This happened again last week before a show. I had to wait until I was warming up and the pressure from the mouthpiece helped seal it.

However, I was looking at skin glues like DermaBond, VetBond, Liquid Skin, NuSkin, etc. I might just get some to have on hand.

Styptic pencil ... there's definitely a place for medical cyanoacrylate but it's messy overkill for shaving nicks