Lower neck irritation. How did I solve it

Hi gents,

I started to use a DE 4 months ago -7 days a week - and still look for the best razor/blade/soap A/S combination....I do enjoy the "technical part of it...." but have somehow managed to irritate the lower part of my neck on constant basis with all these experiments ....

i cold shave and try to stick to all the great advices I read and learned from this forum...but still had to learn something simple....2 step shaving.

I cold shave on a 3 pass basis (WTG and 2x XTG) BUT leave the lower part of my neck (LPON) unshaved. step 1
When step 1 is over, I generously lather the LPON and very slowly/carefully shave on a 3 pass basis 2 x WTG and 1 XTG. Step 2

i know this is everything but orthodox however I totally eliminated the problem and get very clean and deep shaves almost BBS.

Most of you will certainly ask me why do I need 2 steps.....and they might be right.

My conclusion is that I am still a beginner and with this basic technique (?) I do pay more attention to the most critical part of the shaving session.

This was my 000.2 cents contribution but .....might help other beginners as well.

Well, my reply may irritate some people (no pun intended) but IMO you are obsessing too much about a close shave. Remember, it's beard reduction and not elimination. The hair will be back tomorrow and unless your job is snuggling cute women all day then no one cares if your beard is BBS. On your neck just do a simple WTG pass and let it go, or use a milder razor.

Boge said:

unless your job is snuggling cute women all day ....

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Well I have been unmasked !!!!

I won't not be surprised, as long you reside in Milano.
I hear the Italian women are hot.

Boge said:

Well, my reply may irritate some people (no pun intended) but IMO you are obsessing too much about a close shave. Remember, it's beard reduction and not elimination. The hair will be back tomorrow and unless your job is snuggling cute women all day then no one cares if your beard is BBS. On your neck just do a simple WTG pass and let it go, or use a milder razor.

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What at he said...and do you stretch the skin on your sensitive areas while shaving? Try not to pull so much if you do. Other than making the skin flat so you can make the blade pass flat and smooth you should not pull. Shave the skin as it lays normally.

Vaporgt said:

What at he said...and do you stretch the skin on your sensitive areas while shaving? Try not to pull so much if you do. Other than making the skin flat so you can make the blade pass flat and smooth you should not pull. Shave the skin as it lays normally.

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Thanks ....! Will certainly do
I am using a Weber since I wish to get a close shave with limited pass....and I noticed that excessive pulling ...hurts

I'm 2 months into this now and I did have irritation on that part too...
Most likely the pressure and angle of the razor changes when you go down there...causing the irritation

try this approached I call "The Grip"

Using the thumb and index finger hold the razor on the half-way mark , or even lower , of the handle..
The middle finger is used to just keep the razor straight...
The other 2 fingers , just let em fly (not used)

using this approach I just get the angle ( @30 degrees) and let the head and weight of the handle hit the skin
lock it in ....move whole arm downward...

Going ATG , use thumb and middle fingers , still below half-way mark, ...while the index finger just touched the bottom of the razor to guide it

Using it this way , you wont/shouldn't get any pressure at all....making that sensitive neck go away

good luck and let me know

Mike

Gents...it ALL has to do with pressure...no pressure = no irritation. BUT even with a light touch, you have to consider the sharpness of the blade, so if the blade is a feather, then you'll likely STILL get irritation...something else to try is a pre-shave oil on that part of your neck...

Mango seems to have found his groove, so this is more for the newbies. To Mango, I would say "If it ain't broke don't fix it." Of course, YMMV and all that jazz, but it has worked for me for years now...

Apart from CWS, other things that reduced neck irritation for me:

• Only stretching skin very minimally, particularly on the neck
• Using an alcohol AS instead of alum
• Using an open comb razor (Gillette New)

These things taken together have worked wonders.

I have problems with irritation, on the neck, also. I have found that Pre shave oil helps, greatly. I also only do one pass on the neck, with the grain. The oil seems to help with the shave, and moistens the skin, even after. A good aftershave helps too, I use Aqua Velva. For me it's always moisture, moisture, moisture. Cold shaving doesn't help me, the beard doesn't soften enough, and there is more pulling, which causes irritation.

Less is more.

Sometimes it just is what it is. Regardless of how close I want my face to be shaved, my neck takes one or MAYBE two gentle with grain passes and that's it. If I do a bad job after that, it just has to wait for tomorrow's shave.

Cash_Stronomer said:

Sometimes it just is what it is. Regardless of how close I want my face to be shaved, my neck takes one or MAYBE two gentle with grain passes and that's it. If I do a bad job after that, it just has to wait for tomorrow's shave.

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Same here. Make sure you have your grain mapped properly on your neck. Mine grows backwards in two very small areas at the bottom of my neck, which is common. I try to be very careful about pressure, and I do two WTG passes on the neck, with maybe just a little J hooking. That's usually the area of the skin I use to judge a new blade type. That's where I can most acutely feel whether or not that particular blade is going to be sharp enough or smooth enough for the rest of my face and head.

+1 for this. Necks can be tricky and better to leave some for tomorrow instead of getting irritation.

Cash_Stronomer said:

Sometimes it just is what it is. Regardless of how close I want my face to be shaved, my neck takes one or MAYBE two gentle with grain passes and that's it. If I do a bad job after that, it just has to wait for tomorrow's shave.

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Yeah mines a little messed in direction too. The lower grows upward and then around mid neck-ish it starts growing downward. And Holy 'eck if ya hit it wrong draggin' the blade!

The answer is simple...

No pressure no pressure no pressure

CastleProud said:

The answer is simple...
View attachment 496991

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I'm sure you'll attract lots of....women..... looking like that

When I first read the thread title, I thought your were asking for suggestions on how TO prevent lower neck irritation.

The funny thing is, I was fully prepared to tell you to split shaving your neck into two steps, upper and lower. Like you, I got irritation on my neck, and realized it was all below an invisible line partway down. I realized that my hand wasn't adjusting properly for the curvature of my neck, and so splitting it up helped me focus on blade angle.

Unlike you, I don't re-lather and do a whole separate pass for just that area. Instead, I just do each pass in four stages: lower neck, upper neck, jaw line, cheeks (I have a goatee). I should also mention that I always shave my neck before my cheeks, to ensure the lather hasn't dried out or thinned out.

CastleProud said:

The answer is simple...
View attachment 496991

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Perhaps that's actually chest-hair?