Ladies, have you cut/shaved/trimmed a man's facial hair?

[Spinder]

How many times have you done it? Were you comfortable doing it? What was it like, overall? :confused:

My partner has cerebral palsy, so shaving his facial hair in some places can be quite tricky to do on his own - thus why he asked me to help with some of it. It was the first time I'd ever helped cut a man's facial hair - and to be perfectly honest, I was absolutely terrified. I had no idea what I was doing, or any confidence whatsoever in what I was doing. Even though he instructed me on what to do, I was so scared that I would make some awful mistake. At the end, though, apparently I did a pretty decent job with his electric shaver. I carefully trimmed some stray hairs with my own hair shears, and in the end, he was happy with my work, so I guess that means all went well?

Overall, though, it was extremely nerve-racking, and as much as I love him, I'm not terribly fond of the idea of doing so again. Like I said, I am not confident and am terrified of making a mistake. :(

[cjk]

Very good! It sounds like you grasp how important our beards are, how much a part of our identity they can be. Even some unbearded guys don't "get it."

I'm not a lady, but I'd be happy to give you a few tips if you'd like.

[enting]

Yup, a few times. Electric shavers make it less scary in my opinion, because there's no real risk of accidentally nicking the skin. I also think a full shave is also less scary than partially shaving and leaving some facial hair, because then you have to make sure it's all even. With a full shave you only need to make sure you're not cutting too far into the hairline around the ears but that's it.

I've used an electric shaver and also an electric trimmer. I don't usually handle powered anything, so I had to get used to that, but it wasn't too bad. I was mainly afraid of dropping it and hurting one of us that way.

The first time doing anything can be nerve-wracking. Practice and familiarity make it less scary. Also finding out what the worst case scenario is can also help. Let's say you did make a mistake - would he mind? How bad would it be? Could you/he/a professional fix it easily?

If you really don't like doing it though you shouldn't have to. I'm a perfectionist, so if it's hard for him to do it right it's easier on me to just be allowed to help, though I admit I wouldn't want it to be my responsibility.

[lapushka]

I can't say I ever have, no. :)

My dad shaves with a real razor, with a shaving brush and shaving soap. Just a few times a week now, as he is a pensioner and can "let it go" for a couple days easily.

Should he one day not be able to do it for himself, I think it's gonna be an electric razor, just for safety reasons.

[lunalocks]

I often trim DHs beard, sideburns, EYEBROWS and I cut his hair. I was terrified to cut his hair the first time, but I think I watched someone do it and then did it myself. He had utter confidence in me and I have been doing this for at least 25 years. It has saved us a lot of money through the years! Watch some U tubes and glean advice from the male members here. You will do fine!

[jane_marie]

I have helped my DBF with his beard on multiple occasions but mostly just with shaping instead of actually shaving the bits outside of the lines (does that even make sense?).

I would feel very uncomfortable shaving him. He's very sensitive and has lovely skin. I would hate to hurt or scar him.

[BerrySara]

Very good! It sounds like you grasp how important our beards are, how much a part of our identity they can be. Even some unbearded guys don't "get it."


lol this reply is great. Absolutely!

I had tried to convince my DH to let me help him trim his hair and beard as needed instead of going to the barber since he always came back complaining. Well the first time my DH let me anywhere near his beard, he made it such a big deal he kept repeating instructions as if his life depended on it and he watched my every movement with utmost focus and intensity even when all I had in my hand was a comb trying to comb his hair. And his lack of confidence in me seriously resulted in the most intense identity-questioning (what is hair even?) trim session of my life :run: Yea, I realized his beard IS a BIG DEAL!

Since then I just support him from the sidelines when it comes to his hair and beard :cheer:

[MusicalSpoons]

No, though I've often wished I could shave my brother's face when his electric razor doesn't quite give him the clean shave it's supposed to :rolleyes:

Honestly, he's trusted you enough to ask you to help and he was satisfied with how it turned out, so I wouldn't worry too much. I can understand being nervous - it's not like there's the tactile feedback that you'd have shaving your own legs, for instance. But the first time doing anything is always the hardest, and with practice it will become easier and you'll gain confidence.

With an electric razor I'd imagine there's very little risk of actual harm, and he was prepared to take the risk that you might not do it perfectly - but under his instruction even that's unlikely :) I don't want to invalidate your feelings in any way, just trying to give some reassurance, and I also don't want to sound cavalier about it - of *course* you don't want to mess up for him. But the first time went well so there's no reason to think the next time(s) won't :wink:

Did he know you were nervous, btw?

[SleepyTangles]

I´m sure you did great, the first time is critical for any precise manual job. YouTube is actually full of tutorials for... well, basically everything. If you are curious about the techniques or you want to look at skilled people shaving/trimming beards, that´s a good opportunity.

[macyann]

My partner, unfortunately for him, was cursed (or blessed?) as the hairiest man alive. He grows hair everywhere except on his head (at the young age of 21 he is completely bald.) He is in fact so hairy that he has two holes near his tailbone, a phenomenon known to happen to people with excessive body hair because the hair pierces the skin there quite easily. Every so often I shave his back for him, because otherwise his tan will be uneven due to his hair blocking the sun. I also tweeze out some of the hairs on his face because they grow up to the top of his cheeks sometimes. Sometimes people on here say their hair is like "another child" and I can only understand this vicariously through my partner. Lol. This is all true. Anyway, since we are almost all very attentive to hair detail here, I'm sure you did a wonderful job :)

[ManeGoal]

Feel confident, and honored, in knowing he likes the job you did, seeing how if a man has facial hair, and he cares to trim it, that it is very important to him. The first time is always the hardest, the more you do it the more comfortable you will get.
I enjoy trimming and cleaning up the edges of my DHs beard. he is proud of it, and I am too, and I feel honored he trust me to be his barber;)

[Natalia_A00]

My cousin asked me to help him and I was very nervous, I didn't want to mess up his looks because I had never done that in my life lol. But apparently I did it just fine :o Maybe I could be a barber :p

[Elodea]

I have not and don't currently have any occasions that the opportunity to do it would come up, although in theory I feel like I personally wouldn't find it to be a particularly nerve-wracking experience and would feel pretty neutral about it. I've only ever used a regular non-electric razor to shave my own legs and such, so I'd probably approach it as like shaving my underarms (the skin seems more fragile there and there are more contours you have to work around, like there would be when shaving facial hair).

Although maybe if I did end up actually trying it, my thoughts on this would change.

[SwanFeathers]

I've done it for my husband. When he isn't on a beard cycle, I usually use an old fashioned safety razor with a fresh blade, the modern designs dull too quickly and get dangerous.