Lots of redness on neck- any ideas why?

[Proper Irish]

New DE shaver here. Did my first DE shave last week with Cremo and it went great.
Did my 2nd shave with Proraso green & boar brush and my neck got some redness at the bottom.
Did my 3rd shave tonight with Cella red soap and my neck looks like this:

This is after it’s gone down some.

Am I going against the grain (I’ve been using up strokes on this area)?

Allergic reaction of some sort, to the brush or soap?

It doesn’t hurt, feel hot or irritated. I wouldn’t even know it was there if I didn’t see it in the mirror.

Any idea what‘s going on here?

 

[Proper Irish]

I guess I could lather up with the soap & brush and not shave, and see if I get any redness or not.
That would eliminate any chance of allergic reaction.

 

[brucered]

New to DE shaving.....stop rotating products.

Do you use a different toothpaste evey day?

As it stands, it's either either the Cella, Proraso or poor technique/lather. My money is on poor technique/lather.

 

[Proper Irish]

New to DE shaving.....stop rotating products.

Do you use a different toothpaste evey day?

Wait, what?
I don’t understand… how would using a different product cause redness.
What product caused it?

So whatever razor/blade/soap I used the first time, I’m supposed to only use that from now on? For how long? Am i ever allowed to switch?

And yes, I do use different toothpastes, deodorants, and soaps all the time. Why wouldn’t I?

 

[brucered]

Wait, what?
I don’t understand… how would using a different product cause redness.
What product caused it?

So whatever razor/blade/soap I used the first time, I’m supposed to only use that from now on? For how long? Am i ever allowed to switch?

And yes, I do use different toothpastes, deodorants, and soaps all the time. Why wouldn’t I?

The ingredients/performance may be causing it. Now you have to test two different products to be sure which one it is or if it's something else.

If you are new to wet shaving, I always recommend keeping the same set up for a while, to anyone. Definitely more than one shave and then using another new product. It takes time to dial in a soap/cream and find out how protective it is and how it performs during a shave.

This is a regular occurrence for new shavers and threads during my past 10+ years here. They start wet shaving and swap everything in each shave then start threads asking why they can't get a good shave.

My guess. Poor lather making and poor razor use.

Just my opinion.

 

[Proper Irish]

The ingredients/performance may be causing it. Now you have to test two different products to be sure which one it is or if it's something else.

If you are new to wet shaving, I always recommend keeping the same set up for a while, to anyone. Definitely more than one shave and then using another new product. It takes time to dial in a soap/cream and find out how protective it is and how it performs during a shave.

This is a regular occurrence for new shavers and threads during my past 10+ years here. They start wet shaving and swap everything in each shave then start threads asking why they can't get a good shave.

My guess. Poor lather making and poor razor use.

Just my opinion.

Perhaps you’re right.
The shave feels great and the red spots go away after a couple of hours.

But I certainly have a lot to learn about razor technique and lathering.

 

[brucered]

My advise may be the oddball advise on a shave forum. Outside a shave forum, it's probably the norm.

I don't rotate razors. I don't rotate soaps. I don't rotate aftershaves. I don't rotate blades. Brushes I can easily swap in and out as I've been at this a few years now and am familiar with how all my brushes work. When I started, I rotated stuff but quickly realized the lather was the most important, so started using one soap/cream at a time.

With one setup that works, I know my shave will be perfect every time I shave. I don't have to sorry about any hardware or software surprises.

When I do swap to a different blade (I have 3 in my collection), I'll stick with that blade for a month or longer. Same practice for changing up my razor. If I change to a different razor, I'll use it for a month or longer, sometimes 3-6 months.

Soaps/creams, I use from start to finish. Sometimes they last a couple months, other times a year (I shave every other day). My last two years were spent with one soap each year. This year will be the same. The result, I know the soap inside and out and get 10/10 lathers every time I use it.

People are free to swap out every item, every day. But that usually leads to questions about why they aren't getting a good shave or why their lather isn't any good.

Good luck in your start. Keep at it.

 

[RRGGMM]

I agree with @brucered about changing variables. Get used to one razor, blade, and soap until you are very comfortable with those products and can knock out a shave comfortably with no issues. Unless the redness is related to your soap, then switching might be required. You might want to pick up an unscented, mild soap for a couple of weeks to reduce the variables. Once you've got the hang of it, switching soaps or even a razor shouldn't be that big a deal. I spent a decade using one soap, razor, brush, and blade type before expanding my selection. Variety is a lot of fun, but it slows your ability to learn when you're trying to get the hang of wet shaving.

 

[Andy_Bandy]

Same kind of a reaction happened to me when started wet shaving. I had redness on different parts of the face and neck. That was the first time I used an Arko soap and some aftershave lotion.
I let it cool down for a couple of days and did the same thing again just to see if the skin begins to somehow adapt to the new products. And it actually did adapt. The longer I used the products, the less irritation I got progressively.
Try Proraso White soap and aftershave balm for a change and use a very soft brush. Also don't push the brush too hard in the face when applying the lather, just paint it.

Another case which I experienced, similar to yours is when I used a Razorock synthetic brush. It really destroyed my skin. Irritation was an understatement. Turned out it had some chemical paint on it which oozed on each use. Found out about it while drying the brush with a towel. Towel was left with an almost black mark, stain.

 

[spacemonkey42]

Echoing the good advice above, a good approach is to try the fixed-four - use the same razor, blade, brush, and soap for several months to limit variables and learn the basic technique. Then you can swap in other things and it will help build technique. Throwing in tons of variables at the start slows your learning down.

I'd also recommend doing an allergy test. Put those two soaps on your neck when you aren't shaving and see if they make it red.
Best wishes and have fun!

 

[blethenstrom]

This might be something that you do not tolerate well. Sticking with a fixed four for a bit will also help. You mentioned that you did a S->N pass. For me that would be a bit rough as well. Personally I start with a N->S pass on my neck. You probably need to map your beard growth, unless you have already done so, and then just do a with-the-growth (WTG) pass for a while. Yes it is not going to be the closest shave you have had, but it will certainly leave you socially acceptable. Stick with the single WTG pass until you have gotten better technically regarding shave angles etc etc and that you can do it irritation free. Then start incorporating the other passes.

Shaving is for the most part a hair reduction exercise. What this means is that you do not want to remove all the hair in one pass. This will most likely, for most people, cause irritation, redness and potential weepers and nicks. WTG shaving might seem useless to some, but it does reduce the height of the hairs and then you do a XTG (across-the growth) and then lastly ATG (against-the-growth). Each pass reduces the height of the hair and will help to reduce the possibility of irritation. Some cannot even do an ATG pass because it causes problems. It is all very very individual. How often you shave also impacts this as well.

My guess is that your irritation is due to too aggressive shaving, maybe too much pressure as well, but you will have to try to figure out what is going on.

 

[musicman1951]

New DE shaver here. Did my first DE shave last week with Cremo and it went great.
Did my 2nd shave with Proraso green & boar brush and my neck got some redness at the bottom.
Did my 3rd shave tonight with Cella red soap and my neck looks like this:

View attachment 1791935

This is after it’s gone down some.

Am I going against the grain (I’ve been using up strokes on this area)?

Allergic reaction of some sort, to the brush or soap?

It doesn’t hurt, feel hot or irritated. I wouldn’t even know it was there if I didn’t see it in the mirror.

Any idea what‘s going on here?

There are a few possibilities, so you're going to have to experiment a bit. First thought is to stick with the Cremo for a while. If the problem doesn't resurface you'll know there is an ingredient in the other products your skin doesn't like. I've had a couple of products like that: it's usually the scent, but it could be anything.

You need to map your beard. Before you shave it's pretty easy to tell which way the hair is growing, a little gentle stroking with your hand should tell you if up strokes are, indeed, WTG - they are for me, but not everyone.

Irritation is pretty common with new shavers, and generally the result of too much pressure or incorrect razor angle - or both. If you're coming from carts I can almost guarantee you're using too much pressure. Easy to fix, just use a lot less. Razor angle takes some experimenting and some practice.

There is also the possibility that you're actually shaving your neck ATG and it can't tolerate it.

I would let the irritated part of the neck rest for a couple of days (if possible), use the Cremo after mapping beard, try for less pressure (I remind myself every day), only shave WTG on neck for a while and possibly experiment with slight changes in razor angle to see if moving handle closer (or away) to face helps.

We've all been there, you're going to get it all sorted out. Hang in there.

 

[BigJ]

Welcome aboard!

GREAT ADVICE above! My summary:
1. Focus on your technique. Read through the WiKi and map your beard.
2. Limit your products and assure that you are getting each to perform.

Stick with this and you will get the results you want!

 

[spacemonkey42]

More great points for you to consider! Grain mapping is really important as you develop your technique. My neck is a mess of different grain areas. It took me a year to map them out and figure out different techniques to shave each area. You'll get it, it does take time and effort though.

 

[The Blackadder]

To me it looks like a skin reaction. I’ve gotten something like that on my neck with hair products my skin doesn’t like

 

[Hawkweber]

I agree that you should probably limit the changing factors for the shaves to dial things in, but you should also do a skin reaction test for the shave soaps. There have been reports (in B&B, Reddit, etc.) of Cella Red causing irritation. Do you have an allergy to almonds? You might be sensitive to the almond oil in it.

 

[Salty_Shaver]

New DE shaver here. Did my first DE shave last week with Cremo and it went great.
Did my 2nd shave with Proraso green & boar brush and my neck got some redness at the bottom.
Did my 3rd shave tonight with Cella red soap and my neck looks like this:

View attachment 1791935

This is after it’s gone down some.

Am I going against the grain (I’ve been using up strokes on this area)?

Allergic reaction of some sort, to the brush or soap?

It doesn’t hurt, feel hot or irritated. I wouldn’t even know it was there if I didn’t see it in the mirror.

Any idea what‘s going on here?

What is your post shave routine? Do you rinse your face or wipe it off with a towel? Do you use a alum block? Do you use Witch Hazel? Do you use a balm or aftershave? It could be what you use after that’s causing your problem or what you’re not using as well. It kinda looks like chemical dermatitis to me. So it could be something in your cream that you use too.

 

[sneefy]

Proraso green irritates me as well. Try a cream you know works, even if it's canned foam. Only change one thing at a time.
Try a different brush. Boars are pokey so may be irritating you.
Do a basic grain map. I only shave with or across the grain. My skin is way too sensitive to do against the grain.
Don't press. Be gentle and let the weight of the razor do the work. When I first started DE shaving, I came from cartridges and pressed too hard.

 

[Goblin]

As it stands, it's either either the Cella, Proraso or poor technique/lather. My money is on poor technique/lather.

Given that it seems to extend to the lower neck where (presumably) you aren't shaving I would go for fragrance being at least part of the problem.

FWIW, Cella makes me light up bright red just like that, and also get a little puffy.

If the Cremo worked, use the Cremo for now.

 

[ButterfaceX]

Great advise about from our amazing members. All I can add is :
You are new to wet shaving, so is your skin.
The tips above are spot on, reduce the variables to start.
Consistency all around matters..

So a couple of suggestions:
At first, give your skin at least a two days to recover.
Remember, you are not just removing stubble, you are also exfoliating and stressing the skin.
Make sure you are doing proper prep, getting the face and stubble ready for the execution process.
Also it is not just the shave, it kind of best practices for the face ans skin.
You need to find a good prep process that works best for you.
Plus, usually this is forgotten or skip. So shavers need a good post shave recovery process, that work for them.
This will help in getting some of the moisture and help with naturally oils. Plus reducing irritation and stress to the face/skin.
Some can just wet shave and then just slap an alcohol after shave and they are done. Not this guy.
So enjoy, have fun but take your time, step by step, Shave Smart, be consistent and methodical. Slowly you will find what works for you.
BFX