My chin is sharply contoured, which makes it difficult to shave smoothly. My upper lip is sensitive, with grain that grows downward and a little laterally (toward the corners of my mouth). Under the jaw line it's just difficult to get a close shave -- likely because there are areas that are always concave. My lower neck has sharply-angled grain (almost lies flat) and the skin is very susceptible to weepers.
Keep in mind that for months my shaves have been single lathered, and I make lather right on my face rather than in a bowl. Also for months I haven't rinsed my little badger-bristled brush -- instead just hanging it to dry still full of clean lather.
I get away with the single lathering by making most of my razor strokes reciprocating strokes; that is, the razor usually stays in contact with my skin for both the shaving and return strokes. I also tend to shave in an anti-raking pattern -- that is, the shaving stroke of the razor tends to run away from the lathered area, and this tends to leave a fair amount of lather/moisture on the skin after initial shaving strokes. This combination of reciprocating action and anti-raking pattern tends to spread lather and moisture allowing multiple strokes in various directions as needed in any given location.
So even though for most of my beard I shave first against grain and then make other clean-up strokes as needed, yet for my upper lip I will either start with grain or cross grain, and then make other strokes from other directions. For my chin like my upper lip, I generally start using with-grain or cross-grain strokes. The difference is that on my chin I may actually end up shaving from all directions, with grain, cross grain (both ways), and against grain.
Under my jaw line, I usually start against grain, then will stroke in the direction of ear to chin. For my lower neck, I will typically shave downward, which is mostly an against-grain direction, and then repeat that a second time.
Bottom line, for my difficult-to-shave areas, I'm really not committed to any particular methodology -- other than minimalism. Instead I do whatever works best without any unnecessary fuss, work, or preparation.
Happy shaving!
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