A Problem.

[Theprofessor]

Gentlemen, I have a problem. After almost a year of wet shaving i am hooked for life my face has never been happier, although my face cannot think for itself it is a part of my body and thus controlled by my brain. but i digress, where was i? ah! yes "i have a problem". Despite my face being happy, i have a couple of problems with my neck:

Number one: I cannot go against the grain, that is out of the question, no matter how lightly i do it; i feel irritation. No redness, no bumps, no acne, no razor burns, etc just irritation.

Number two: When i go with the gain, there is no irritation but the shave isn't so good and it seems that a sort of stubble remains.

Number three: After i shave my neck no matter how carefully i shave and the less pressure i apply, a sort of pimples appear on my neck on either the left or right side(one or two in number). These are not like ordinary pimples and disappear after a few days. They don't dry up like ordinary pimples and there is no itching or any other irritation.

Note: I use Arko shaving cream Moist and Adventure. And Van Der Hagen Luxury shave soap. My razor is a Gillette slim adjustable L3 and its on the mildest possible setting(the dial is set to 1).

So, gentlemen i put my problem before you hoping you will provide a solution.

 

[imfallen_angel]

Gentlemen, I have a problem. After almost a year of wet shaving i am hooked for life my face has never been happier, although my face cannot think for itself it is a part of my body and thus controlled by my brain. but i digress, where was i? ah! yes "i have a problem". Despite my face being happy, i have a couple of problems with my neck:

Number one: I cannot go against the grain, that is out of the question, no matter how lightly i do it; i feel irritation. No redness, no bumps, no acne, no razor burns, etc just irritation.

Number two: When i go with the gain, there is no irritation but the shave isn't so good and it seems that a sort of stubble remains.

Number three: After i shave my neck no matter how carefully i shave and the less pressure i apply, a sort of pimples appear on my neck on either the left or right side(one or two in number). These are not like ordinary pimples and disappear after a few days. They don't dry up like ordinary pimples and there is no itching or any other irritation.

So, gentlemen i put my problem before you hoping you will provide a solution.

Sounds like razor rash to me.. which means two things usually, possible a couple of others... the two main ones: pressure or angle. The other possibilities... a small skin allergy to a product, or simply you need to let your whiskers marinate longer.. more wetness. More wet means easier to cut, easier to glide.

You might be surprised how much an impact the angle does.

If ATG is a major issue, my bet is the angle. You have to try to have the blade skimming over the skin as close as possible but without it really touching it, that's were the head and the guard of the razor becomes your best friends.

What's happening is that you're dragging the blade like a rake over your skin, and regardless if you don't feel it, it's still scrapping along the skin's top layer.

To help, you have to make sure that the lather is "right"... it's not about how thick it is, but how slick it makes your skin and that the razor glides on it... so try different soaps.

This may be because you made too many passes, "scrubbed" your face with the razor to try and get it to do a "close shave".

So maybe switch brand of blade, there can be a huge difference between brands.

 

[Theprofessor]

Sounds like razor rash to me.. which means two things usually, possible a couple of others... the two main ones: pressure or angle. The other possibilities... a small skin allergy to a product, or simply you need to let your whiskers marinate longer.. more wetness. More wet means easier to cut, easier to glide.

You might be surprised how much an impact the angle does.

If ATG is a major issue, my bet is the angle. You have to try to have the blade skimming over the skin as close as possible but without it really touching it, that's were the head and the guard of the razor becomes your best friends.

What's happening is that you're dragging the blade like a rake over your skin, and regardless if you don't feel it, it's still scrapping along the skin's top layer.

To help, you have to make sure that the lather is "right"... it's not about how thick it is, but how slick it makes your skin and that the razor glides on it... so try different soaps.

This may be because you made too many passes, "scrubbed" your face with the razor to try and get it to do a "close shave".

So maybe switch brand of blade, there can be a huge difference between brands.

i don't think its razor rash and i've checked the blade angle many times. Also i have a Gillette slim adjustable L3 and its on the mildest possible setting(the dial is set to 1).

 

[sychodelix]

Try an in between ATG and XTG. Just that slight directional change is much easier on the face, and cuts just as well.

 

[global_dev]

Try a straight!

 

[Theprofessor]

Try a straight!

Out of the question mate, no straights available in Pakistan

 

[wimbouman]

This irritation may also occur because of the soap?

A milder soap might be an idea to try.

 

[celestino]

If it is not too much pressure or angle, then it might be allergic reaction to a product. Have you been using the same products for a while and had this happen or just when you do ATG on the neck?

 

[global_dev]

Out of the question mate, no straights available in Pakistan

I am pretty sure there are some straight manufacturers out of Pakistan... the brand selective comes to mind. Not the best, but I have read it can work iirc

 

[Gissy]

I would try to put the Slim above 5. For me the higher the setting the less irritation with the Slim.

 

[Coler]

If you're saying your technique is perfect, then either experiment with different soap and cream, perhaps some pre-shave product stoo to see if you can get a better outcome, or just shave with the grain on the neck and leave it at that.

For instance, I'm lucky enough to have Rhino skin - I can go WTG, XTG, ATG with an R41 but I still use, e.g. Proraso pre-shave. I find it makes a huge difference, and I apply it in between each pass.

 

[Ducati Scotty]

Maybe more aggressive is what you need, you have an adjustable so try it. Also, some people find slants get a closer shave with less irritation.

Scott

 

[Theprofessor]

Maybe more aggressive is what you need, you have an adjustable so try it. Also, some people find slants get a closer shave with less irritation.

Scott

Will try.

I would try to put the Slim above 5. For me the higher the setting the less irritation with the Slim.

Will Do

 

[Cerbul13]

A few points, YMMV but worked a charm for me.

1. If you want to not cut the tops of the skin where the hair grows you need to find the right combination of either less sharp blade or the edge of the blade should not pick up the skin and create pimples. Some blades have this "quality", in my case Gillette Platinum is the most guilty of doing that.
2. If you want to be able to go ATG, you need to find a blade that both fulfills point 1) and on top of that, can catch properly the hairs in the WTG+WTG passes. I am not joking when I say that some blades can't cut stubble almost at all in the WTG passes. Also, working with a more aggressive angle/setting on your razor will help you get down more stubble before reaching ATG pass.
3. If you still didn't get enough stubble down in 3 passes, then you might want to consider a 4 passes shave.

I've been adviced the exact same things out of a thousand posts, yet I still didn't understood properly until I managed to do it myself. There is a simple logic behind this:
- ATG pass only works if stubble is reduced past a specific point.
- if you want to reach the point where you are able to do a comfortable ATG pass, means that you need to adjust a few things to make it happen: another blade, another angle, start stretching skin, add one more pass, replace WTG with another XTG or CTG or whatever else you can think of so that you are able to reduce enough stubble before reaching ATG. Do you think I can shave ATG with any setup? Ofc not. But I can do shave ATG with around 6 blades, and only if I do 3 passes before reaching ATG pass. So don't get me wrong, I only want to help, but sometimes is the only way it will work.

 

[Ducati Scotty]

+1 to more passes. On my neck I do WTG, XTG, GTX. Only then can I do an ATG. If I try it before that it's a sure path to irritation. I've also been using a Gillette Slide move on some passes which also helps.

Scott

 

[Theprofessor]

I would try to put the Slim above 5. For me the higher the setting the less irritation with the Slim.

That worked for me.