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- #41
Tried a cold water shave this morning and there was no irritation.
Nice to see someone trying one of the cures and have it work for them. Congratulations!
Codfish
Neck irritation: How did you cure it?
- Thread starter Codfish
- Start date
Nice to see someone trying one of the cures and have it work for them. Congratulations!
Codfish
G
GnarlsBarkley
Has anyone ever tried the aspirin mask? Been DE shaving since Xmas still get ingrown's though not as much...so i tried the mask today, my face feels good have to wait and see i guess.
Clubman Pinaud Shaving Talc.
It is the only thing that helps my neck when it gets irritated.
It is the only thing that helps my neck when it gets irritated.
I found some comfort by carefully mapping my beard growth and applying copious quantities of witch hazel.
My first neck revelation was discovering that the stubble switched from N-S to S-N below my adam's apple. I'm rather embarrassed that it took me 14 years to realise that - I often had redness and discomfort there both with the Mach3 and electric and never really wondered why. The second was deciding to stick with two WTG and one ATG passes. This gets me very smooth WTG although I can still feel some "sandpaper" ATG. But really, who is going to notice that aside from me? Trying to do anything else with my neck has tended to result in a poor shave.
For those wearing dress shirts, a little talc / baby powder on the neck post-shave helps out a bit. I wait awhile until my skin has dried and isn't tacky and put a little powder on the lower neck and it seems to help. It has been mentioned in other threads and in the Haberdashery forum.
For me it was the razor I was using. From pretty much the day I started wetshaving and as much as it kills me to say anything about this razor but my Progress was what I believe is the cause of my irritation. I bought a '61 Superspeed from ebay and used it a few times with a fair amount of irritation until about 3 days ago when I decided to use it and the result was absolutely ZERO irritation. Every shave since has been irritation free and a closer shave to boot, now I see what the Gillette craze was about! I'm sorry Mr. Progress but you might be replaced.
I was so happy to have recently figured this out on my own, and pleasantly surprized it just popped up here as well 
In my case, the months of shaving and experience developed using warmer lather, better shower prep, witch hazel and talc blocks with cold rinsing, good ASBs, etc..., yet I would commonly have irritation just above my adams apple.
In the end, the single best thing I did was let the neck hair grow out to 2 days so I could more clearly see the direction they were going in.
Even took pictures with a camera looking into the mirror...
Despite what I had previously thought, the center of my throat grew straight down N>S, and the sides grew from the inside out towards the ears.
By adjusting my first pass to go WTG, and using a lighter touch, the irritation has gone away. Further passes XTG and ATG give me the smoothest shave I've ever achieved in that region.
In my case, the months of shaving and experience developed using warmer lather, better shower prep, witch hazel and talc blocks with cold rinsing, good ASBs, etc..., yet I would commonly have irritation just above my adams apple.
In the end, the single best thing I did was let the neck hair grow out to 2 days so I could more clearly see the direction they were going in.
Even took pictures with a camera looking into the mirror...
Despite what I had previously thought, the center of my throat grew straight down N>S, and the sides grew from the inside out towards the ears.
By adjusting my first pass to go WTG, and using a lighter touch, the irritation has gone away. Further passes XTG and ATG give me the smoothest shave I've ever achieved in that region.
For me, I had to make better lather, work on blade angle and pressure, and most importantly map the area. I was very surprised to find out the direction of growth in some spots.
When I mapped my neck area I was shocked by how many directions my beard grew. ATG for me changes with every neck section!
Yep me too, I shave in the evenings - for time factors, and add moisturiser to my face before I hit the sack, works a treat, wake up no red marks at all.
Round 2 went even better this morning.
Close shave on neck...not quite BBS but no irritation!
Face is perfect BBS as usual, no matter what water I use, but the neck is the difficult area.
Should be the same product just different fragrances. Most "talc" is cornstarch, and not pulverized stone.
Phil
Indeed. If you can't find unscented, you could even use regular ol' kitchen corn starch.
I generally only do a one-pass WTG shave. My neck irritation went away almost immediately when I realized that for me WTG means shaving up rather than down.
Spot on!
Also, finishing with a cold-water splash -- ice-cold, if possible -- followed by witch hazel really helps.
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Like Skrymr, I've not had a problem since I switched to a straight. I suspect it's the zero pressure - apply any pressure here with a straight and you'll be calling emergency one handed with the other clamped over the severed artery!
I guess I've got the same advice you ultimately get for everything around here: good prep, go slow, no pressure and don't try to get it perfect first try. Figuring out which way to pull the skin (ooh! look beard mapping - another B&B staple) can make a lot of differnce.
Okay, I have a variation on this problem: if I get an off the peg shirt that fits the collar, it's got arms like an orangotan on me. I can get away with buying more expensive shirts from stores where they actually care enough to carry variations in fit. But a trip to a tailor might be in order, it's not much more expensive than buying good off-the-peg shirts and not only do they fit, you get to chose the material.
A mate used to be a state level rugby forward and he's been using a tailor since he was 19 - the upside is he has some seriously good suits.
How do you know if it fits? My rough guide is if you can get your index finger between the collar and your neck comfortably, then it's right.
Second potential issue: material. I get a heat rash from artificial fibres in summer. Weird thing is I don't get it where the fabric touches the skin, but switch to cotton (or even better, silk) and it goes away. Downside is you have to learn how to drive an iron if you don't want to look like a vagrant.
Third: detergent Try switching detergent. A simple test is wash the shirt in cold water only. There are several detergents I used to use that leave a residue that doesn't agree with the GF. Naturally, the one that's good for her is the most expensive. Surprise!
Rub Savlon, Bepanthen or some other antiseptic cream into the area before you dress. Rub it in well or you'll get it on your collar. Musgo Real Original would probably work to, but it's a lot more expensive.
EDIT: @Saxmoore: talc's an even better idea 'cause theres no risk of staining your collar.
I guess I've got the same advice you ultimately get for everything around here: good prep, go slow, no pressure and don't try to get it perfect first try. Figuring out which way to pull the skin (ooh! look beard mapping - another B&B staple) can make a lot of differnce.
Okay, I have a variation on this problem: if I get an off the peg shirt that fits the collar, it's got arms like an orangotan on me. I can get away with buying more expensive shirts from stores where they actually care enough to carry variations in fit. But a trip to a tailor might be in order, it's not much more expensive than buying good off-the-peg shirts and not only do they fit, you get to chose the material.
A mate used to be a state level rugby forward and he's been using a tailor since he was 19 - the upside is he has some seriously good suits.
How do you know if it fits? My rough guide is if you can get your index finger between the collar and your neck comfortably, then it's right.
Second potential issue: material. I get a heat rash from artificial fibres in summer. Weird thing is I don't get it where the fabric touches the skin, but switch to cotton (or even better, silk) and it goes away. Downside is you have to learn how to drive an iron if you don't want to look like a vagrant.
Third: detergent Try switching detergent. A simple test is wash the shirt in cold water only. There are several detergents I used to use that leave a residue that doesn't agree with the GF. Naturally, the one that's good for her is the most expensive. Surprise!
Rub Savlon, Bepanthen or some other antiseptic cream into the area before you dress. Rub it in well or you'll get it on your collar. Musgo Real Original would probably work to, but it's a lot more expensive.
EDIT: @Saxmoore: talc's an even better idea 'cause theres no risk of staining your collar.
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