The Four-Pass System and the "Neck Beard"

I've found that, while my face hair grows North-to-South, my neck hair grows "West to East", so to speak. When I try to do the 4-Pass sytem, the second pass (ear to chin) tears up one side of my neck (since it's against the grain before really having cleaned up with the grain), while not getting the other side very close.

So, this is what I've been doing:
Pass #1: N-S on face, left ear to right ear on neck (with the grain)
Pass #2: Ear to Chin on Face, N-S on neck (across the grain)
Pass #3: Nose to Jawbone, S-N on neck (across the grain, other direction)
Pass #4: S-N on face, right ear to left ear on neck (against the grain)
Cleanup Pass: S-N on neck-jawbone, to cleanup the area where my neck meets my face.

The problem I've been having is that the left side of my neck still isn't getting very close. I'm right handed, and I have a hard time maneuvering the razor in such a way as to get a good shave but not slice myself open!

Any tips? Does anyone else experience this same problem? I'll try to post some pictures later, when I'm not at work...

Er, I'm all confused. I'm sure you're not going "ear to ear"; if it's symmetric, why is one side worse than the other?

For what it's worth, I can't seem to go directly against the grain on my neck without some pretty good pain. My compromise is across (ie on the lower half of my neck the hair comes up in the center and "up and out" on each side); I shave with a downward stroke and the blade tilted quite a bit and facing "outwards"; it seems to help with beard reduction quite a bit (and if I'm feeling lucky, a downward stroke with the blade tilted "inwards" gets very close).

Yeah, sorry, that was a pretty lousy explanation. Somehow, though, I think you managed to figure it out!

I guess I'm mostly just trying to figure out if other guys successfully shave against the grain in the neck (whatever way the grain may be), and if so, how they do it without cutting themselves.

I shave against the grain on the neck with great results. However, I going to warn you that I do it in an unconventional way. I've found that certain areas of my neck get irritated with more than one pass. So I just go against the grain with one pass. I'm not saying you should try this, just pointing out there are many ways to get the neck shaved. Try multiple angles. I've found even a slight 10 degrees can make a world of difference.

rossination said:

So, this is what I've been doing:
Pass #1: N-S on face, left ear to right ear on neck (with the grain)
Pass #2: Ear to Chin on Face, N-S on neck (across the grain)
Pass #3: Nose to Jawbone, S-N on neck (across the grain, other direction)
Pass #4: S-N on face, right ear to left ear on neck (against the grain)
Cleanup Pass: S-N on neck-jawbone, to cleanup the area where my neck meets my face.

Click to expand...

Okay, after a couple months, I've sort of developed a modified 4-pass because my neck, like I think everyone else here, has hair that kind of grows in different directions form the rest of the face.

#1 - Pure N-S, everywhere, real easy stroke.
#2 - From ears to centre line of face, pure E-W or W-E, (depending on side)
#3 - Pure S-N, everywhere, concentrating on angle for maximum cut.
#4a - Above jawline, a second N-S, especially on chin, and above upper lip.
#4b - Below jawline a second ear to centre line, concetrating on stretching the skin and getting clean cuts with a good angle.
#5 - If necessary (yeah, like always), a bit of buffing where there's still stubble, which is usually on either side of the Adam's apple and a bit along the jawline.

That's it. I find I can't really do the whole face with the E-W or W-E because above my lip would be a bloody mass of hamburger, and the corners of my mouth would continue to grow until my mouth was like Guy Smiley on Sesame Street (Remember him?)

But, really, we all adapt our technique to suit our faces, and no two faces are exactly the same. For me, the adaptation process was easy and natural, but I can see how some faces would pose complications.

Good luck, especially with your neck. That is still the portion that I can't seem to get BBS every time I shave, but it's a strange place, I think, for everyone.

Peace,

Pierre

rossination said:

I've found that, while my face hair grows North-to-South, my neck hair grows "West to East", so to speak.

Click to expand...

The hair on my neck also seem to grow in this pattern. It is like the hair grows from the center of ny neck outward. I also cannot shave inward against the grain without tearing up my neck. I tried to perform Ron's four pass technique and the results were not good. The skin on my neck is just too sensitive for that many passes no matter which direction I am shaving. I only do two passes on my neck. One down and another up. What really helps me with this process is I stretch the skin with my off hand. This seems to help in two ways. First there is less irritation because the skin is tighter when being shaved and secondly, the shaves I have been getting on my neck have been very close and smooth.

Hope this helps,

The hair on my neck mostly grows from south to north! So I have to do everything backwords... anyone have that abnormality?

-Brandon

I shave against the grain on the neck with great results. However, I going to warn you that I do it in an unconventional way. I've found that certain areas of my neck get irritated with more than one pass. So I just go against the grain with one pass.

Click to expand...

Just saw this and need some help. I have recently thought about this very technique. The problem I have on my neck is when I shave with/across the grain on pass 1 or 2, I NEVER get the hairs close enough and I have to keep going over and over and over, sometimes even singling out individual whiskers, in order to get it shaved properly. I'm not going for BBS, but would simply like to get the visible hair GONE

So I got to thinking, why wouldn't one, against the grain pass work? I assume the key is NO pressure and a proper angle, but I use a GEM razor, so this should be ok. Will try this AM and see how it goes. Due to sensitive skin, thick beard, I'm thinking this might work, but we'll see.

Thanks!