Newbie - Need Advice on Neck Cuts/Irritation.

Hi All,

I have commenced DE shaving in the last week. It is so awesome.
However, I am not happy with my neck area. It has always been an issue since I have shaved and just want some advice on making things better.

I have a Merkur HD and have used Derby, Personna and Astra blades. Of the 3 the Astras showed the most likelihood of the best shave.

I shave upwards on the neck which is fine but require downwards to give a better/closer shave which then causes major cuts/irritation.

Can anyone recommend advice on either blade or technique?

Thanks,
Mitch.

If shaving downwards gives you irritation, stop doing it. Not everyone can get a BBS shave without irritation.

I do not think this is an issue with your technique, but rather that your skin cannot tolerate ATG.

It's common. Many have trouble with the neck early on. Close shaves will come with practice, just avoid too many passes. I actually prefer Merkur blades in my HD, but it's probably too early to blame the blade. Watch mantic's videos and concentrate on technique.

Check your beard to determine which direction your hair is growing. If following the ATG with WTG creates irritation, you might drop one of those. If your hair is growing toward your chin from the neck, you might be able to go with just the ATG from the chin down. On the other hand, one really good pass up the neck might work too.

You've only been doing this for a week, be patient!
As long as you work on fundamentals and focus on improving a little bit with every shave, in a month or so you'll be an expert.

Map the grain on your neck and see which way it grows. For me, I have four different ways it grows on my neck!

ackvil said:

Map the grain on your neck and see which way it grows. For me, I have four different ways it grows on my neck!

Click to expand...

Be patient with yourself and the process. My neck has always been my problem area. I stayed away from ATG for quite some time and shaved the first pass WTG and then finished with XTG. It will improve with time and practice.

ackvil said:

Map the grain on your neck and see which way it grows. For me, I have four different ways it grows on my neck!

Click to expand...

+1.

For a long time I was wondering why I couldn't get as close of a shave on my neck with a downward pass and an upward pass as I could on my face. Turns out for my neck ATG is actually at an angle up and towards the center line for the top, and an angle down and towards the sides on the bottom. BBS now.

But I would concentrate on making sure you have a good blade angle and no pressure for now. You can figure out which direction your neck hair grows, but to avoid some serious irritation you should make sure you have your technique down before you start shaving at funny angles on your neck!

Welcome to B&B!

Face map the grain of your beard.

Use the combinaison that give you the best results for now.

Practice!

Welcome Mitch.

Mitch:
It sounds like you're off to a great start but may need to practice more on technique, but anyway...Welcome to the B & B
And yes...this Forum has the knowledge, ideas, and alround 'know-how' to assist in your Wet-Shaving experience. In a nut-shell...your 'gonna' love it here

Also, once you get time....please tell all of us a little about yourself in the Hall of Fame sub-forum

Christopher

As your skin adapts and your technique improves, you should get less irritation. But cuts are definitely a sign you are being too aggressive IMO. Ease off and tolerate not-so-close shaves for a while. In fact, I'd say it's a good idea to aim to leave stubble behind at first. It teaches you where the problem areas are and how to work on them without relying too much on against the grain passes.