Ingrown Hairs with a straight

[Jslinger]

I was wondering if anybody here has given a straight razor a good chance, (several months) and just not have it work for them.
I am fairly new to it, and I like everything about it, except that I seem to be getting a fair amount of ingrown hairs on my neck.
The hair on my neck grows straight sideways, and with a DE I absolutely have to shave sideways or else I would get at least 5 ingrown hairs per shave.
With a straight it doesn't seem possible to shave sideways on my neck.
Anybody ever have this issue?
If so, what did you do?

 

[pelicano]

I'm getting some as well, though not anywhere near as bad as when I used cartridges.

 

[professorchaos]

Straights have ended this problem for me. As in no more. Never. While I attribute it in part to the brush and good lather and in part to the straight, I think it has as much to do with proper skin care as the shave. Try exfoliating (I can't believe I'm typing this...) three or four days a week followed by a wash with a proper facial cleaner.

 

[Luc]

I think your ingrowns might be related to a pressure problem and maybe a bad angle.

For the W-E or E-W pass on the neck, I usualy look up and right if I'm doing the left side and up-left if I'm doing the right side. I get a flatter surface that way...

 

[spoonman]

I have hair growing sideways on the lower part of my neck and like you, found that I couldn't do a true WTG pass. The solution I found is the most obvious one - just go as sideways as you comfortably can, which for me makes it a diagonal-type pass. Make sure you use a very, very light touch. The other thing you may want to check is that you are not going over the same section multiple times without re-lathering. You may not even realise you are doing it because it's just a quick movement you make without thinking about it (I found I was doing this when I started).

Hopefully you can find the source of your ingrown hair problem because I found using a straight has completely fixed the areas on my neck where I got ingrowns.

 

[Neurotopia]

i have hair growing sideways on the lower part of my neck and like you, found that i couldn't do a true wtg pass. The solution i found is the most obvious one - just go as sideways as you comfortably can, which for me makes it a diagonal-type pass. Make sure you use a very, very light touch. The other thing you may want to check is that you are not going over the same section multiple times without re-lathering. You may not even realise you are doing it because it's just a quick movement you make without thinking about it (i found i was doing this when i started).

Hopefully you can find the source of your ingrown hair problem because i found using a straight has completely fixed the areas on my neck where i got ingrowns.

+1.

 

[Jslinger]

I have been trying to go diagonally, but I think I may need to give my face a rest and shave with the DE for a few days. I think I am just going over existing wounds with the str8.
Thanks

 

[heirkb]

Straights have ended this problem for me. As in no more. Never. While I attribute it in part to the brush and good lather and in part to the straight, I think it has as much to do with proper skin care as the shave. Try exfoliating (I can't believe I'm typing this...) three or four days a week followed by a wash with a proper facial cleaner.

Henry,
What do you use to exfoliate? And also, what is the facial cleaner you're using? I know it's different for everyone, but I'd like to get a sense of what others find beneficial.

 

[Rancor16]

I have sideways neck hair troubles as well. It gives me alot of trouble, that one little patch on my neck looks like it's been under siege or something. You may want to try and experiment with blade angles and directions a little bit. I've found that by holding my razor a certain way and positioning my head correctly I can get a sideways pass that goes wtg in that area.

 

[mdunn]

I have sideways neck hair troubles as well. It gives me alot of trouble, that one little patch on my neck looks like it's been under siege or something. You may want to try and experiment with blade angles and directions a little bit. I've found that by holding my razor a certain way and positioning my head correctly I can get a sideways pass that goes wtg in that area.

+1000

some spots really seem impossible to get at, but keep trying different directions, angles and grips and you'll find what works