Shaving is all fun and games until you snag that imposing mound protruding from your throat and proceed to bleed all over the bathroom, using up an entire roll of toilet paper on the wound. However, as Alex Brenard, head barber at the Blind Barber, emphasizes, “Shaving around the Adam’s Apple doesn’t have to be a terrifying experience.” In fact, with the following professional tips, you can have the smoothest apple of all your friends, no excessive bleeding necessary.
“The key to any great shave,” Brenard says, “is to pull the skin tight while going with the grain on the first pass. So, if you have a strong Adam’s apple, the key is to pull the skin to either side of the throat prior to shaving the area. The effect is that the hairs which typically reside on the large uneven bump of your Adam’s Apple are now stretched out to the flat areas of your throat, on its left or right side. While the skin is stretched off of the Adam’s apple, shave and then release the skin, which will result in the patch of skin over the Adam’s apple being smooth.”
If you have trouble stretching your throat skin, Mark Herro, who’s been offering expert grooming advice at Sharpologist.com for over a decade, has another nifty tip that (hopefully) anyone can do. “When you’re ready to shave over the Adam’s apple, make a swallowing motion and try to ‘hold’ the swallow,” he explains. “You won’t be able to actually hold a swallow, of course, but it should flatten the area long enough to take a shaving stroke.” Just be careful not to choke.
Whichever technique you use, Brenard says, “In general, a good shave comes from long, confident strokes. Don’t push down hard on the skin with the razor — let the blade do the work. By pulling the razor with confidence, you’ll delete the stubble from your face and Adam’s apple with ease.”
Yeah, delete that stubble, bro.