When I use to shave with a cartridge razor my neck would be irritated long after the shave! Now my neck may be a little irritated right after the shave but quickly goes away. This is only on my neck. It seems like I can go over my cheeks all I want and won't get any irritation at all! So my question is..... is it normal to have irritation that dissapates or is my technique on my neck just lacking still? Basically on my neck I try to shave with the grain but it is difficult. The grain flows from the left side of my neck to the right. I can't seem to get the right angle and I think I end up applying pressure to try to make up for the awkward angle. Though I really am not sure because I know the pain I will experience shaving my neck so often I am much more careful on my neck than any other area i shave. I just can't seem to figure it out. Any advice gents? By the way lather is great, and hair is properly prepped.
Neck irritation.
- Thread starter ronpage29
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If you can't get the right angle, it won't help. When you get the right technique, any irritation will go down. Your prep and lather are also playing a huge variance in the whole shaving session. You could always try to put some talc powder which could help for your irritation.
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- #3
Are you using a pre-shave?
Your blades may also have an effect on this, though the conventional wisdom is to get your technique down pat before you try out a bunch of different blades.
Try locking your wrist, so you move the razor with your elbow and shoulder. This makes it easier to hold a consistent angle.
Try bullfrogging. For me that seems to make the angle easier. In some places I bullfrog and then stretch the skin gently - which sounds like a contradiction but seems to work.
Try bullfrogging. For me that seems to make the angle easier. In some places I bullfrog and then stretch the skin gently - which sounds like a contradiction but seems to work.
Yes. That's what I do. Look down, loosen your skin (the stubble should peek out) and go ATG (so to speak) smoothly. It works for me.
+1.
The neck is one of the trickiest parts to shave. It can be quite a challenge. Some suggestions.
First, limit the number of passes you do on your neck. I use only four and if I don't get a BBS shave on my neck, I just settle for less. The more you go over the same spot the more you increase your irritation.
Hydration is important to get a lubricating lather. So be sure to have sufficient water in your lather. Also, don't cheat on the product.
I have found it helpful to wet my face before each pass. The extra water on my face seems to make my shave smoother.
Irritation usually is caused by poor blade angle and too much pressure on the razor. The neck is a tricky area to shave because keeping the right blade angle and little pressure is a challenge. The usual advice is to let the weight of the razor do the job - not put pressure on the blade. To put that in action I have found that using the two fingers and my thumb to hold the razor with another finger resting on the tip of the handle. This results in holding the razor very lightly with no pressure on the razor. You want to hold the razor as lightly as you can without it falling from your hand. I have found that using the right grip on your razor goes a long way in keeping pressure off of the blade. This post may help you. Also, take a look at this wiki.
As for blade angle here is a good post that may help you.
Some great insightful and dead on advise from all. The thin neck skin layer can be very difficult to shave. I still encounter issues after 7 years. I use a X shave stroke pattern on the tricky hair section and apply ice if all don't go well.
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- #10
I agree amazing advice from everyone. I do think I figured out what im doing wrong for the most part though through reading all of everyone's advice and watching videos. One thing I had not thought of was muscle memory and the fact that I always blade buffed when i shaved with a cartridge razor. I really started to think about my shaves lately and realized I blade buff my entire face through every pass wtg, xtg, and touch up. I think that this is also making me add pressure when I think I'm not applying any. So I think I gonna try a new technique because obviously mine isn't working for me the way I'm doing it. Lol. Thanks again guys!
So what technique are you going to try?
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- #13
Well honestly I know for me blade buffing my neck a least is not good for me right now. I am way to inexperienced to handle it on my neck. So I am just going to start over with the basics and realize try hard to break my muscle memory. Also I don't normally pull down on my neck so I am gonna give that a shot as well. As for the jaw line i watched a video last night where the gentleman said to open your mouth to get the skin to naturally move above the jaw line. I think that technique will help me tremendously with that area. If after doing all that, while keeping my prep up and really concentrating on no pressure and correct angle, then I will then blame the blades. I will keep you all updated on my progress. Honestly my shaves are not bad at all. Just a little neck irritation. I work in a very hot warehouse and I was never able to shave during the work week because of how raw my face was and the pain I felt while working. I shave everyday now. I just want to get everything down perfectly. Lol! I still love shaving now and honestly you couldn't pay me to use a cartridge razor again. Heck after a year wet shaving I would like to start trying out straights.
Watch the pressure on your razor/blade and lock your wrist--those are the best pieces of advice, which have already been covered by the great responses above mine.
Good luck.
Good luck.
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- #15
Ok I didn't plan on shaving tonight but did so anyways. First i decided just for the heck of it to try feather blades. Love the feather blades. They are as good if not better than my favorite blades (Gillette silver blue). For the record I have been using astra blades lately which they use to be one of my favorites. I think I just wanted them to be. Lol! So I did everything I said I was going to try and had some success. No added irritation. I started by grabbing the razor and finding the balance point..... Something I hadn't tried before as well. Once I found that I moved my hand just slightly below that point. During my shave I made sure before every pass that no pressure was used. I didn't shave my neck more than just wtg/xtg. I do that because it is easier to hit all areas. My face is BBS but my neck is SAS. Given a few days rest I will try again. By the way I only try for BBS on my face never on my neck.
I've always had problems going across my neck and have come to the conclusion that I'll just have to accept some minor irritation after a BBS shave. I have found something that helps me though. I always complete my shave log over a cup of tea immediately after my shave. While waiting for my tea to brew I hold the ice cold carton of milk against my neck. Within five minutes or so the irritation has gone. That's magic!
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- #18
