Across the grain?

Going for the smoothest shave possible, I have experimented with different shaving directions. I now believe that the grain of certain parts of my beard (on the neck, southeast and southwest of the chin) grows not upwards or downwards but sideways. To get the smoothest results, I have to shave this area of my neck from my chin towards my ears and vice versa.

Maybe my beard is joining the rest of my hair and concentrating on growing on my ears?

Anybody else have this kind of grain?

Yup, on my neck I have one east west and one area west east! So I do a three pass shave includind XTG both E/W.

My next grain runs from the front toward my ears. When I go against the grain, I go from my ears toward my next. I really wish my grain went up or down on my neck instead.

Mark

Yeah my neck hair is all over the place. I used to get a lot of irritation there until I realized that when I thought I was going with the grain,n-s, I was actually going across or against the grain.

I'm one of the fortunate ones; my beard grows in the same general direction.

I empathize, I have to shave my neck at a circa 40 degree angle to go XTG, and before reading this thread assumed that was normal and everyone did it.

Just another of those things you don't get to choose!

With good technique, it doesn't seem to matter too much...

Best,

Boomer

ive crazy grain (including a wierd spiral on my neck) - it sucks, but you get used to it

Nope! Your face is unique. Just like everyone else's.

The hard part is that the way the hair looks like it grows isn't necessarily the way the "grain" is--how it comes out of the skin--which isn't necessarily the best way to shave that first pass (or the opposite of it for the last, closest pass). Not to mention, it isn't necessarily straight.

Yah, the neck hair just seems to radiate outward, or grow all crazy. Once you figure out what yours is doing it makes it much easier to shave.