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If you suffer from irritation on your neck, read this.

And then there are some of us that the growth below the jawline down to the bottom of the neck grows from L-R!! I shave every other day and make 2 passes only and have never had any trouble getting BBS every shave out. I will admit that I only own and use 1 razor which has added to the efficiency during my shaves but what has been successful for me is pass #1 is a N-S / S-N combo XTG to knock down the majority and the 2nd pass is a R-L ATG to get what was left over... Skin stretching has also played a big part in my routine too and suggest that others at least take a look into it.
 
@RayClem, any recommendations ? I know YMMV but it would be nice to have feedback, especially for soaps that can be sourced in EU.

Most of my top soaps are US artisans. Many can be purchased in EU, but I know that with VAT and shipping, they can be expensive. I do know that Ariana and Evans has a sales arm in the UK, but that is not exactly EU these days. A&E makes some great soaps.

From a standpoint of European made soaps, I suggest Mitchell's Wool Fat (UK) and Tabac (Germany). They are traditional soaps that hold their own against artisan soaps. I can also recommend Saponificio Varesino made in Italy. Although this soapmaker who has been around since 1945, they have developed some new formulas in recent years. I like the beta 4.3 formula.

Although I have not used them, I have heard good things about Eufros soaps made by the artisan Jabonman in Spain. Another Spanish artisan is Los jabones de Joserra.
 
I have an area like that only on the right side of my Adams apple. There is a sharp transition of beard growth (almost 180 deg change). It remains the one spot on my face that requires the most finesse. There are no such issues on the left side. Careful planning of shave direction combined with maximum skin stretching eliminates any issues but if I get in a rush then that spot will definitely get burned. Over 25 years of shaving it happens regardless of razor, prep, cream, angle, pressure, speed, etc.

I believe the link VerbaVolant posted illustrates my issue. There are taller raised portions of skin around the follicles of that transitional area of my neck. Stretching the skin as taught as possible is the only way I can reliably avoid irritation here.
 

Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
I will admit that I only own and use 1 razor which has added to the efficiency during my shaves
Knowing the razor well is certainly key. Owning only one is an advantage in many ways. By the end of the Leap year Restraint I would like to down to one and a backup.
 
Knowing the razor well is certainly key. Owning only one is an advantage in many ways. By the end of the Leap year Restraint I would like to down to one and a backup.

How to be normal: One razor, one blade, one brush, one soap, Williams Mug Soap.
 
The problem I have always had to deal with is that the grain of my beard on my neck changes so often. There are some places on my neck that are different in a two-inch area. As a result, it is impossible for me to shave with the grain in numerous places since I would have to change the razor direction every inch or so. I look to see in what direction my beard grows the most and that becomes my WTG pass realizing that in some spots it may be XTG and ATG. I then use a very light touch in going in that direction.

To get a decent shave I have found that I have to do a four-pass shave. My first pass is North to South. As I said some of my beard grows in such a manner that going N to S is against the grain and across the grain. My next pass is from the back of my neck to the front and with the third pass from the front to the back. My final pass is South to North. Most of my beard on the final pass is against the grain but in some places it is WTG and XTG, For me, the ONLY way I can get a decent shave is to do a 4-pass shave, use a very light touch, and not use an aggressive razor.
 
I had a problem awhile back only with Gem blades. (maybe Gem blades are not as sharp as DE blades or a good SE blade.) I didn't know why at first but I have just 2 spots on my lower neck that would get really irritated and almost bleed. I finally figured out what was going on. It was puzzling for awhile.
 
My neck hair also grows upward at the bottom of my neck. At most, I will shave diagonally at a downward angle at the bottom of my neck but have given up on a true ATG shave. Not worth it. I hate the look of an irritated neck. Would much rather have a DFS on my lower neck than be in pain and look like being in pain. Restraint pays dividends :)
 

BradWorld

Dances with Wolfs
Mapping your beard is essential. It took me about two shaves at the start to figure out that my neck hair grows opposite of my face hair. So my first pass is north to south on the face, and south the north on the neck. It took me a lot longer to figure out that the trouble spot on my neck just above the Adam’s apple grows in towards the middle, and that’s why it was difficult to get a full BBS in that one little spot. So that takes a bit of creative razor navigation to get it right. It’s all a learning process, and after many years, I am still learning.
 
Wow, I didn't realize it before, but my neck grows exactly like this and this is exactly where a lot of irritation is. I need to do a more careful beard mapping, which I last thought about years ago!
 
Congrats on that!

I recently re-learned the importance of mapping my beard while learning to use a straight. It's weird how you can re-learn the same lesson over and over again - like deja vu all over again!
 
Wow, I didn't realize it before, but my neck grows exactly like this and this is exactly where a lot of irritation is. I need to do a more careful beard mapping, which I last thought about years ago!
The rest of my beard behaves more or less as expected, it's only the small bit next to the Adam's apple that unexpectedly change direction.
I have read that the skin texture is completely different on your neck compared to your face, and I have a suspicion that the transition happens exactly where the beard direction changes. On me, the bit above can handle ATG easily, below not.
 
Beard can be funny at times, I have the same issue but is only a patch on the right side of my adam’s apple exactly as wide as a DE blade so it takes exactly one stroke S-N to knock it off WTG.

Everything else grows the same direction so besides that ONE stroke everything else is N-S.
 
This is something I've pondered for many years and I concur with the comments made above. When you hear the audible razor feedback, of un-cut stubble the temptation is to re-buff the same area which irritates the skin. Lately, before my third and final pass, when I am appraising my shave, I press, against remaining stubble, a hot flannel, and apply or re-applying a little bit of facial scrub to coax the remaining whiskers to rise and be shaved thereby minimizing the need for re-buffing.
 
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As others stated that is why knowing which way your hair grows is important. You can't just copy someone else's shaving directions and expect success.


I agree, but even with a rigid blade, not everyone can ATG. Skin tension, the acuteness of the hair's angle to the skin and so on also factor in. For sure a rigid blade gives you a leg up, but there are other factors too.

I would say ATG with a mild rigid razor might work for some where a more efficient rigid razor did not. I.E. the Feather AS-D2 instead of a Fatip. I have a Fatip, well Schone acually. I want to like that little supervalue but it has more blade feel and less smoothness than I like. I found a Karve with an SB E plate to have a lot more smoothness than the Schone. The Feather is loads smoother yet.
Some of us can't handle against the grain at all, and that's why I think it's important that we don't tell newbs that they should always aim for three passes. That can be a recipe for disaster. I have been wet shaving with a DE since 2015 or so, I have my technique down. I have tried shaving against the grain with one of the mildest razors (Gillette Slim on '1'). I still hated the feeling of the blade pulling my hair. Now I just do one pass. Irritation sucks. I know anytime I try to shave my neck without adhering to the grain, I get lots of cuts and bad irritation.

I shave XTG on my chin and above, WTG on my mustache, and mostly WTG on my neck (I try my best, but since the hair changes direction so much, I mainly just try to avoid shaving ATG there). Then I relather my mustache and go XTG. Touch up sideburns. Done. Since milder razors didn't help me to perform more passes, I stick with the efficient razors I like (the Fatips, I have many of them).
 
ATG in my neck area is right to left. I can’t shave WTG (left to right) with my dominant right hand, so my only option in up/down and down up for my 1st and 2nd pass.
 
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