The Neck Area Shaving Info Thread : post tips, suggestions that would help others.

[thisISjoel]

Wish my wife would let me grow a beard so that I don't have to shave my neck. It is really hard to do those areas. I am hoping that Alex is right and my technique improves. I do keep getting better and better shaves though so must be doing something right.

As for advice, I found that some Aloe Vera and/or moisturizer helps. Not so much with the shaving itself, but if you notice irritation and soreness it might be a good idea to give those areas of your skin some extra moisture (in addition to after shave etc of course) between shaves. THe scorching heat we have in the uk this week probably isn't doing much for my skin either to be fair.

lol!

I've found that moisturising between as well as after shaves have helped a little with my sensitve neck.

I have a really weird growth patter on my neck, mostly west to east but with a swirl on one side, really tough to shave with the grain so I tend to do my first pass in a diagonal with/cross grain direction, south-west to north-east. Then I do a cross grain pass, south to north and finally I do a cross grain the other way, north to south. Doesn't get me BBS and I still get irritation on my swirl no matter what I do but it's far more comfortable than going against the grain.

 

[alex2363]

I am sure that this thread is really helping our members out, keep the good information coming

 

[alex2363]

Thx, I'm going to have to try that!

So can you give a progress report and some insider tips on your neck shave?

 

[stoof2010]

lol!

I've found that moisturising between as well as after shaves have helped a little with my sensitve neck.

I have a really weird growth patter on my neck, mostly west to east but with a swirl on one side, really tough to shave with the grain so I tend to do my first pass in a diagonal with/cross grain direction, south-west to north-east. Then I do a cross grain pass, south to north and finally I do a cross grain the other way, north to south. Doesn't get me BBS and I still get irritation on my swirl no matter what I do but it's far more comfortable than going against the grain.

+1 on moisturizing. I also found that any time I'm applying a moisturizer to my face/neck I'm sure to wash first. Without the wash I run the risk of skin getting oily. Best,for me, to always start with a clean fresh canvas (face lol)

 

[smuckers]

+1 on moisturizing. I also found that any time I'm applying a moisturizer to my face/neck I'm sure to wash first. Without the wash I run the risk of skin getting oily. Best,for me, to always start with a clean fresh canvas (face lol)

+1 this. I compare completing a shave to climbing Everest. Once the hard part is done - you still need to climb back down.
So do good careful prep work on cleaning and moisturizing, then follow through afterwards with additional moisturizers that are good for the skin type you have.

 

[alex2363]

+1 on moisturizing. I also found that any time I'm applying a moisturizer to my face/neck I'm sure to wash first. Without the wash I run the risk of skin getting oily. Best,for me, to always start with a clean fresh canvas (face lol)........

Wise thinking.

 

[Karl G]

I have to J-Hook on both sides of the Adam's apple and then swallow-and-hold to shave over the Adam's apple.

Great tip! I'm trying that tomorrow.

 

[alex2363]

Great tip! I'm trying that tomorrow.

So how was it?

 

[Jockey]

Thanks for all the advice. Much appreciated.

 

[alex2363]

Thanks for all the advice. Much appreciated.

Our members give the best advice on the planet

 

[YKMV]

Our members give the best advice on the planet

+1 and That includes Alex2363.

 

[Rusty Blade]

My 2 cents worth...first, if you have active irritation you should take a few days off from shaving and let your face heal.

Then, as others have mentioned pick a mild razor (lots of good recommendations on the forum), one good blade and a good lubricating soap...I suggest a scent free one because you may be reacting to the scent. Neck skin can be for some, a very tender area.

Then focus on your prep. Shave after a shower. Use a preshave oil (e.g there are lots of recipes on B&B or just use light olive oil).

Lather really well (I suggest an unscented tallow based soap). Go light with the razor...ease up, you are not raking the garden. And go SLOW! Do a 1 pass WTG shave for a few weeks. Personally I am not into the multiple direction multiple passes. I do a 2 pass WTG shave...and it does me fine.

Post shave use Witch Hazel...very soothing, good healing properties. Don't use alcohol based or heavily scented after shave. Use Shea butter or coconut oil as a post WH balm.

Generally try to avoid products with lots of fragrance, chemicals. Keep it natural: WH, shea butter, olive oil, coconut oil, etc. Should work fine. If when you are shaving you find it hurts, stop and re-evaluate. Shaving is supposed to be fun. Best of luck.

 

[alex2363]

+1 and That includes Alex2363.

I have been doing it 8 years and still love it

 

[tylehman]

i had been having nothing but trouble on my neck and found this to be the best thread on things to try.

my main razor is Merkur 34c, i only have problems on my neck (upper lip a chin don't get tested, due to my mustache and beard) i had the best luck with persona and feather blades overall, but my lower neck always got irritated. i seldom drew blood, but it would burn and i would have a little bit of a rash. the hair grows from my adam's apple. out toward both ears. n/s and s/n passes are kind of xtg. it took several passes and still i never got it all and my neck would burn off and on throughout the day. i have alum, and an aloe witch-hazel, both helped but my neck would bother me for hours, especially when i went out into the Texas heat. i tried just one pass down with cold water, and had less irritation, but it did not feel like a very good shave. i tried a one pass at something close to atg, thinking if i put the razor across the skin the least number of times it would be better... not too good. i tried an open comb vintage razor and it felt nice, but when done i still had good irritation on the lower half of my neck

today i got a Gillette fatboy, and i tried a shave tonight... i used a new 7 o'clock yellow and set the fatboy to 3. it was very comfortable and i did at least 4 passes on my neck and have very little irritation. it is not completely smooth, but the best i can every remember. i can say my cheeks and jaw line are not as good as with the Merkur, but my neck feels the best it has since i started wet shaving about a month ago. maybe for me the sharp blade in a mild razor is a good combo. i will try some different setting in the future, and may use a lighter setting on my neck and a more aggressive setting everywhere else.

i am hopeful right now that i can get a more comfortable shave, i did pretty well tonight. time will tell, but so far the fatboy might be just the ticket to working with my neck.

i think this thread was very helpful, and had lots of good suggestions. cold water was better for me, but for now using a mild razor and a sharp blade was the best, allowing me to do more passes with less irritation.

 

[DE4L]

It took me years to realize that I have subtle dimple-like indentations on my neck. Before I caught on, the way I dealt with those areas when shaving was to either overstretch the skin to make it flat (bad) or to press a bit harder on the razor (also bad). What I eventually learned was to let the razor head angle into the low spot so that about half of the razor head is contacting my skin while the other half is off my skin. Once I pass the low area then I seemlessly get the entire razor edge back on my skin. It sounds dangerous, but by using the "no pressure" rule it's a pretty safe maneuver. This technique, combined with less passes (I no longer try to get bbs), has basically eliminated neck irretation for me.

 

[sandstone]

i had been having nothing but trouble on my neck and found this to be the best thread on things to try.

my main razor is Merkur 34c, i only have problems on my neck (upper lip a chin don't get tested, due to my mustache and beard) i had the best luck with persona and feather blades overall, but my lower neck always got irritated. i seldom drew blood, but it would burn and i would have a little bit of a rash. the hair grows from my adam's apple. out toward both ears. n/s and s/n passes are kind of xtg. it took several passes and still i never got it all and my neck would burn off and on throughout the day. i have alum, and an aloe witch-hazel, both helped but my neck would bother me for hours, especially when i went out into the Texas heat. i tried just one pass down with cold water, and had less irritation, but it did not feel like a very good shave. i tried a one pass at something close to atg, thinking if i put the razor across the skin the least number of times it would be better... not too good. i tried an open comb vintage razor and it felt nice, but when done i still had good irritation on the lower half of my neck

today i got a Gillette fatboy, and i tried a shave tonight... i used a new 7 o'clock yellow and set the fatboy to 3. it was very comfortable and i did at least 4 passes on my neck and have very little irritation. it is not completely smooth, but the best i can every remember. i can say my cheeks and jaw line are not as good as with the Merkur, but my neck feels the best it has since i started wet shaving about a month ago. maybe for me the sharp blade in a mild razor is a good combo. i will try some different setting in the future, and may use a lighter setting on my neck and a more aggressive setting everywhere else.

i am hopeful right now that i can get a more comfortable shave, i did pretty well tonight. time will tell, but so far the fatboy might be just the ticket to working with my neck.

i think this thread was very helpful, and had lots of good suggestions. cold water was better for me, but for now using a mild razor and a sharp blade was the best, allowing me to do more passes with less irritation.

Congrats on your progress and keep up the good work!

 

[Wookie_66]

I'm not sure how much this will help others but I usually uses a straight razor now.

Now a straight razor on my neck my hair growth goes from west to east WTG. So this makes shaving ATG or even with the grain very difficult with a straight razor. So here's my tip do again a XTG and reverse XTG which for me is north to south then south to north. That method keeps me at zero irritation and a great 3 way smooth DFS feel. The last tip I can give is also with a straight razor and that is to shave at 45 degree stroked both north to south at 45 degree angles which is similar to a WTG pass then the opposite south to north at 45 degrees east to west similar to a ATG pass..... This works great but there is a bit more risk for irritation. With a DE or SE I or you should be with care able to get s great neck bbs, and even with a straight razor near BBS. Hope that helps someone.

The sides of my neck go left right / right left. All I can really do is north to south othewise the handle gets in the way. So are you suggesting instead of going completly against the grain to go somewhere between against and accross. So almost ear to bottom of apple rather than ear to top of adams apple?

 

[tylehman]

The sides of my neck go left right / right left. All I can really do is north to south othewise the handle gets in the way. So are you suggesting instead of going completly against the grain to go somewhere between against and accross. So almost ear to bottom of apple rather than ear to top of adams apple?

i have been experimenting with this idea... going about halfway between XTG and ATG, because i can't get the angle right for directly ATG. i am getting closer to BBS on neck, but still can fee some stubble with i run my fingers directly ATG... but good in the other three directions.

 

[Wookie_66]

Yeah don't think I'm quite brave enough yet. But I'll probably get carried away on the next shave.

 

[Daniel_Speechley]

My grain grows The following direktions:

Sideburns north-south

Cheeks west\east- center

Jawlines The same

Neck goes from outside to inside aswell but more north east to adamsapple.



Most important(as already told several Times) is The Preparation. Good preshave. I usw a faceoil from The drugstore which works great for me. When i put on my lather a clean my teeth so it has some time to soften up The heair. Then i apply some more lather. i do my passes always in The same Order.

North south

South north

Outsides to insides

A litle cleanup.

Rinse face thorougly with cold water.

I only use Splashes since i have quite an oily skin.



I do quite well now with my DE aswell as with my Shavettes.