neck shave

[nickm]

Problem: Neck shaves are not close for me. Angle is not correct. And I probably still use too much pressure with the shavette.

I prep. Water usually. No pre-shave cream, no soapy water. Wash cloth and warm water. No shower.
I map the grain. I have drawn self-portraits of my wonderful and beautiful face.
I know how to make lather. Spend the time to lather like that guy from West Coast Shaving.

Not for the DE razor and not for the shavette. Point of discussion, Derby Extra "Green" and a shavette I found from New England Shaving. Vikings Blade Chieftain Jr. for DE razor.

I usually have one WTG pass, one XTG pass for the cheeks only. WTG and ATG for the neck. Cleanup passes are not very helpful for me, usually cause irritation.

I wash off the soap completely when I am done. Three times if it is tallow. Might hop in the shower to get the remaining soap off.
After 15 minutes I optionally use aftershave.

Another problem: I want to use shampoo in the shower though I have no hair on my head anymore. New to head shaving.

 

[silverlifter]

Skin stretching is the only way I can get a clean shave on my neck and under my jawline. That and bullfrogging.

 

[Ravenonrock]

Skin stretching is the only way I can get a clean shave on my neck and under my jawline. That and bullfrogging.

This.

 

[rbscebu]

What is the whisker growth direction on your neck?

A photo of your neck would also help so that we can see its shave for shaving.

 

[cryhavoc]

Skin stretching is the only way I can get a clean shave on my neck and under my jawline. That and bullfrogging.

+2

 

[nickm]

Good morning.

This will be my last post. The Badger & Blade forum is a public forum. I cannot delete posts, content and cannot delete threads. I choose not to have a profile that could be searchable until the end of time or the end of Badger & Blade. I have my 50 posts and that is enough for me.

@rbscebu I am without camera and could provide quick thoughts.

Shaving hair direction.
Cheeks are ear to jaw in a straight motion down.
Chin is straight down.
Below ear, reverses direction and diagonal to the nose up to the jawline. Both ears.
Center part of the chin. top of the chin to the bottom of the neck.
bottom of neck bottom to top

With the grain the result is the first pass is good. Below ears and about an inch closer towards the nose in a diagonal is coarse so I did a second pass in the opposite direction.

I did ATG pass at center of neck and that was not needed and caused irritation for 15 minutes.

The bottom of the neck after the shave is good. The left probably could have used some skin stretching. Hair is not straight down, some diagonal. From the top of the chin it probably goes to the left by about an inch. Flattening the skin and going with the grain should improve.

Summarizing I think prep, mapping grain, following the grain, using WTG passes only should help. The ATG irritation from this morning is gone. And with one pass shave the shave is working properly. The hair feels like it could use a second pass though around the lower neck it feels like diagonal passes are needed.

The angle for the shavette is good.

I have what I need and appreciate people from your forum responding quickly.

I remind myself it is a public forum. "By accessing Badger & Blade, you agree to abide by the Terms of Usage. You can find our Privacy Policy here. Once submitted, any posts, images, or content become the property of Badger & Blade."

 

[Curkio]

2 years in and I am still searching for the "perfect" neck shave. I am enjoying the challenge mind you.

 

[BigJ]

Great advice above!

 

[RayClem]

Problem: Neck shaves are not close for me. Angle is not correct. And I probably still use too much pressure with the shavette.

I prep. Water usually. No pre-shave cream, no soapy water. Wash cloth and warm water. No shower.
I map the grain. I have drawn self-portraits of my wonderful and beautiful face.
I know how to make lather. Spend the time to lather like that guy from West Coast Shaving.

Not for the DE razor and not for the shavette. Point of discussion, Derby Extra "Green" and a shavette I found from New England Shaving. Vikings Blade Chieftain Jr. for DE razor.

I usually have one WTG pass, one XTG pass for the cheeks only. WTG and ATG for the neck. Cleanup passes are not very helpful for me, usually cause irritation.

I wash off the soap completely when I am done. Three times if it is tallow. Might hop in the shower to get the remaining soap off.
After 15 minutes I optionally use aftershave.

Another problem: I want to use shampoo in the shower though I have no hair on my head anymore. New to head shaving.

As someone who has a coarse beard and sensitive skin, let me address the points you made.

1. Your preshave preparation could use improvement. If your beard is not clean and well hydrated before your shave, your beard will be more difficult to shave. I like to shower before I shave, but if you cannot shower, at least use soap and warm water to clean your beard. Beard hairs are coated in facial oils, so just putting water on the face will not properly hydrate the hairs.
2. Mapping your beard is good.
3. You say you know how to make a lather, but do not mention the soap(s) you are using to make that lather. There are lots of soaps and lots of ways of making lather. Not every YouTube video of lathering gets it right.
4.The Derby Extra "Green" razor blade is not particularly sharp, so it is not the best blade for getting a super close shave. It is so "dull" that I cannot use it at all for my coarse beard. However, if you us a sharper blade and continue to shave at the wrong angle or with excess pressure, you might get nicks and cuts.

When shaving with your shavette, the blade angle should be very shallow. It should never exceed 30 degrees and on an against the grain pass should be so low that the shavette body barely lifts off your skin.

The Vikings Blade Chieftain Jr. appears similar in design to one made by Weishi. It is one of the mildest razors available and is unlikely to give you a close shave unless you equip it with a super sharp blade. I have a Van der Hagen TTO razor which is of similar design. When equipped with a BIC Chrome Platinum or Nacet blade, it will give me a super close shave. I use that razor for my clean-up passes.
5. Although I have very sensitive skin, I usually do four passes: WTC, XTG, ATG and a 4th clean-up pass that combines XTG and ATG buffing strokes. With the right shave angle, minimal shave pressure, and a great shave lather with a high quality soap, I get a very close shave with zero irritation.
6. If your skin is easily irritated, be careful with aftershaves. Most contain either alcohol, menthol, or both. You might skip the aftershave and try using witch hazel.

 

[HazMat Shaver]

I second what Ray has said.
I may have missed it, but the shavette of choice can cause issue too. So many cheep knock-offs are available. A quality shavette like Feather and the AC blade is hard to beat. I find it easy to get a great shave with and all you need to watch is to keep the angle as little as possible.

As for not liking your posts on the web... Dont use the internet. Thats about the only way your going to stop that.

Good luck.

 

[Think]

Terrific advice, thanks!

 

[RouxBlade]

Skin stretching is the only way I can get a clean shave on my neck and under my jawline. That and bullfrogging.

Bullfrogging?

 

[silverlifter]

Bullfrogging?

Google a picture of Dizzy Gillespie. Essentially, trap a mouthful of air in your cheeks and throat.

 

[nickm]

Responding to comments.

1. Prep for me is cold water for a few minutes. A few days a week I like the pre-shave oil and notice better post-shave feel.
2. Soap, someone asked about soap. It is usually CELLA Milano Extra Extra Purissima. I think one day it is Stirling. I lather a lot longer than most. Start from the bowl. It is loading and building starts in the bowl. It is slow and laborious and lots of water additions. The soap could be on for 20 minutes before I do the first pass.
3. Mapping the grain helps with a drawing of the facial hair. And also looking at yourself in a wall-sized mirror so you can see 100% of your face. And it has to be super close, no furniture in the way. No sink in the way. You need to visualize your entire neck. No 3-5x magnified mirror because that is for cheeks, chin or parts of the neck.
4. Derby Extra might be dull to some. I think they are the best!
5. No, I do not use bull frogging. For me, I do not like it.
6. Neck hair is simply in the neck, center is up and down. At the throat, it is at a 45 degree. At the extreme left and right it is also the bottom of the ear and the hair reverses direction. And at the very bottom of the neck it is easy, there is hair growing in the opposite direction.

Soap: CELLA Milano RED
Bowl: Captain's Choice Classic
Razor: Plisson all-aluminum build shavette (head shave it varies, Vikings Blade Chieftain Jr., MUHLE R89, Olivina for Men)
Pre-shave: water and wash cloth, some pre-shave oil on days where I do not want to wait for 15-20 minutes to soften hair
Brush: I use the brush.
Aftershave: Aqua Velva, Clubman, Old Spice

Approach is to remove the lather, not the facial hair. I actually have some missing whiskers permanently removed the shavette can actually remove hair follicles.

@silverlifter @ravenrock @rbscebu @cryhavoc @Curkio @BigJ @RayClem @HazMat Shaver @Think thank you for providing feedback and comments.

For me the shave is one pass with the shavette with the grain. I think it is against the grain around the lower ear. And while I could do against the grain for the neck honestly most days it is not needed. No need for WTG, XTG, ATG and multiple cleanup passes. The Vikings Blade Chieftain Jr. is a very efficient blade for the head shave. Perhaps I just need to understand the facial hair a bit better.

The morning shaves I am looking for mild shaves, no blood and clean shaven in one direction. I do not need silky smooth cheeks and around the mouth, lip and chin is most important.

Final Thoughts. Safety razor is working the way it should. The shavette shaves are much improved. Lathering has improved. Technique and skin stretching has improved this week.

I know all content once posted becomes the property of the Badger and Blade. Forum appears to be useful.
For lurkers they do not get access to individual threads. I see value in maintain a relationship with the badger.

Starting a new job this week. Incredibly excited! Shave, haircut and shoe shine.

I think I can close the thread. Neck shave is closer. Skin stretching I think is part of the close shaves. And I have figured out what I need to know.

 

[nickm]

@rbscebu super helpful links you sent me. @Ravenonrock thanks for the support!

I'm pretty sure if B&B had not existed I would clinking obsidian stones together in the caveman times trying to figure out if they are better than pulling my hair out with seashells. MASSIVE improvement in confidence this week and shaves are really improving on their own.

 

[HazMat Shaver]

One pass WTG???
There is no razor in the world that can shave me even close to clean with only that. I think you're looking/asking for too much. JMO. Only you know your face. Good luck.

 

[Happy Jack]

I went through a phase of buying DE razors that were more and more aggressive trying to get BBS on my neck. I can only manage it repeatably with a really aggressive razor, such as a Merkur Futur or an Ikon Tek. The R41 and RazoRock Wunderbar aren't aggressive enough to achieve BBS for me. Of course what's true for me isn't the same for everyone.

 

[Tomo]

To get a close shave on the neck, I have to do one passes with stretched skin and one pass with relaxed skin. Stretching alone doesn’t do it.