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Need advice considering safety razor - neck irritation problem :(

Hello,

you may call me a semi-experienced safety razor user. I've tested Slant bars, had feather all stainless and I'm using recently small Featler all portable razor.

The problem with my beard is, I have very flat groving hair on my neck. The whiskers grow on irregular directions and while I manage to get BBS without irritation on my chicks and chins, I always get irritation on the place on my neck, where my hairs are growing upward.

That's the reason I switched to straights. unfortunately due to lack of time required to shaving with straight I decided to get back to safeties again.

the funny thing is, I've never had any irritation when shaving with straight even on my neck (the reason for that is that I was able to adjust the blade to very short angle hence no irritation).

I tried to copy that motion with my feather portable, unfortunately I'm unable to obtain such a small angle as with straights. The portable is the only safety I got at the moment and I would like you to advise me some straight which maybe will fix my neck-irritation problem.

I consider getting feather AS again but I'm afraid the problem with not sufficient angle will return (I love the design and craftmanship, though ;)). I also consider slant (but I was always a bloody mess after the shaving).

Could you advice me something ? I'm not interested on the second market or used safeties - only brand new.

Thanks in advance for any replies.
 
Hi, I've got the same issue with my neck. I get great results on my face, but my neck hairs are all over the place!

I'd go vintage, maybe a Gillette TECH. I've heard they are quite mild. I have found a mild shaver helps with my neck.

Good luck
 
I don't get a lot of irritation on my neck...but I had a terrible time getting the whiskers in the hollows. Repeated passes made me kinda sore there.

I went with more "aggressive" razors: my Slim Adjustable turned up to 9, and I also bought a Merkur 37c Slant.

I got much better results with the Slim; but had trouble with the Slant...for awhile.

I came back to the Slant and somehow figured it out (weird as it sounds, shaving w/o a mirror taught me a lot!). Now I get very close and comfortable shaves on my entire neck. The Slant with either Feather or Personna Med Prep blades is very effective---usually in only two passes.
 
AZRICHTER has it right.

This is a very common problem. It's one that I share with you. The best solution for me was to use aggressive razors with sharp blades. A Slim or Fatboy opened all the way up to 9 and used with a nice, sharp blade (for me that's an ASTRA SP or Feather) is the only real solution. It's not magic, though. I still have to have good slick lather and prep, but this is the only way I can get the angle just right to get an irritation-free shave on my neck. I can get BBS with no irritation in two strokes and a little touch up. A Slant or Red Tip with those blades provides good results, too, but the stroke pattern must be altered a bit with the Slant (compared to the vintage Gillettes).

I have tried LOADS of various other makes and models of safety razors, but only the ones mentioned above really suit the task for me. I can get by with other razors, but it takes a much more meticulous, almost pensive, approach that really takes away from my shave-joy.
 
It's comforting that I'm not alone with the problem :)

I guess I should give a slant another try. Scary as hell but I liked that little maniac :)
 
+1 the irritation comes from going over the same spots again with a 'mild razor' - the worst burn I ever had was from a flare tip SS. Open combs are always an option - they are better at finding those spots, but of course, YMMV. The most aggressive 'safety' I've ever tried is the lowly Turkish YUMA which has a laughably huge exposure and gap - it only looks like a safety bar, because in practice it is just a naked blade on your face - If you are comfortable already with str8s I suggest you get one - I predict you will be impressed by the results - it'll only set you back $2.:thumbup:50!
AZRICHTER has it right.
 

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Hmm... so do you think I should try open comb ?Would you rate it more aggressive then the slant ?

@BowTieGuy: thanks for the advice mate, but I would rather stick with something more traditional (I got a lot of feather blades to use up ;)
 
I have some trouble on my neck too. The best way for me is to shave up for two passes. I then go back and do some touch up. The razor I have had most luck with is the Merkur HD. I have never used a Merkur open comb, but it could be a good chance to try one. Overall I don't think open combs are more aggresive than other razors.
 
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Hi, I've got the same issue with my neck. I get great results on my face, but my neck hairs are all over the place!

I'd go vintage, maybe a Gillette TECH. I've heard they are quite mild. I have found a mild shaver helps with my neck.

Good luck

I totally agree. The hair on my neck grows in kind of a sideways swirling pattern. When I switched to a Gillette Tech from a Superspeed, it almost completely eliminated my irritation. Also try a less harsh blade than the Feather. I had no luck with them on my neck. I use the Yellow Gillette 7 o'clock paired with the Tech and it is so nice! Good luck!
 
AZRICHTER has it right.

This is a very common problem. It's one that I share with you. The best solution for me was to use aggressive razors with sharp blades. A Slim or Fatboy opened all the way up to 9 and used with a nice, sharp blade (for me that's an ASTRA SP or Feather) is the only real solution. It's not magic, though. I still have to have good slick lather and prep, but this is the only way I can get the angle just right to get an irritation-free shave on my neck. I can get BBS with no irritation in two strokes and a little touch up. A Slant or Red Tip with those blades provides good results, too, but the stroke pattern must be altered a bit with the Slant (compared to the vintage Gillettes).

I have tried LOADS of various other makes and models of safety razors, but only the ones mentioned above really suit the task for me. I can get by with other razors, but it takes a much more meticulous, almost pensive, approach that really takes away from my shave-joy.

I find the same thing, especially on 48 hours growth, aggressive = less irritation in my neck hollows. I haven't quite gotten to the point where I love the slant, it's still giving me more nicks than the Fat Boy or Slim on 9, but both helped my neck irritation quite a bit.
 
As a bearded man I only shave my neck. I do well with all types, but for those hairs that grow at peculiar angles it is hard to beat an open comb. They just seem to guide the hairs toward the blade.
 
i was straight shaver for many years before converting to chaving and eventually back to de and se safety razor shaving. i had/have the exact same problem as u. i no longer even attempt a bbs neck shave, i go strictly dfs. no irritation and no visible stubble.
 
You might consider a Feather Artist Club if you like a straight razor shave but don't have the time. They use disposable blades so there is no need to strop. I can usually do good 3-pass shave with the AC in the same amount of time that it takes me to do a 4-pass shave with a DE.
 
My neck irritation problems cleared up when I started preparing my shaving soap differently. I need the slickness of a creamier shaving cream as opposed to the airiness of foamy shave cream (I don't understood how Gillette's "Foamy" was supposed to be appealing). Combined with my Perfect Blade, a Russian made Gillette Super Blue, I no longer have any problems with my flat, omni-directional neck hairs. They just come right off with no irritation.
 
i was straight shaver for many years before converting to chaving and eventually back to de and se safety razor shaving. i had/have the exact same problem as u. i no longer even attempt a bbs neck shave, i go strictly dfs. no irritation and no visible stubble.

Invisible stubble is ALWAYS better than a visible rash!
 
Different things work for different folks.
My neck issues ended with the Feather AS-D1.
After retraining myself to use a steeper handle angle
thereby reducing the blade angle, I get a consistent BBS
that is irritation free using a Feather blade.

If you move away from the Feather blades, you would not
have any problems finding them a new home.

Good luck on your quest......
 
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