Ouch.... Horrible irritation on neck

[Matt Hardwick]

So i have been shaving with my DE razor for a week now and ya.... Not that impressed at all ( altra sp blades & wsp el grande de). But i will say using aa brush and soap makes the skin and shave much more enjoyable. So any ways it wont matter if I use a cartridge or DE razor, i get horrible irritation on my neck. I belive its a few things.
1. Im skinny, so my skinny neck with a pronounced adams apple makes it almost impossible
2. Jaw line grows down then meets in middle to lower neck hair grows up. Either way its gonna be ATG amd irritated and hurt
3. Maybe my sking and hair on my neck are not meant to be close shaved because idk.... It sucks.

But long story short ive never been able to shave my neck and chin agai st thr grain ever no matter what i use. Im 30 and would like a darn ATG SMOOTH shave with out irritation and pain. Also besides .y love for WSP formula T ive been thinking avout Arko and Tabaca

 

[Razorcan]

Some skin types simply can't take ATG shaving,it is just the way it is and it shouldn't trouble you.

 

[Matt Hardwick]

Well in general my shave experiance is more sensativity and irritation with DE amd more uncomfortable on neck

 

[SpeedyPC]

Try this method when you shave your neck

First pass:- WTG
Second pass:- XTG from right to left
Third pass:- XTG from left to right
Small touch-up pass if needed:- WTG

 

[clayglen]

Skin stretching helps. Maybe you can drag the skin to a more suitable spot for shaving. I do that with straights.
Maybe you could do an extra pass wtg and/or xtg to reduce the stubble b4 trying atg?
Some blades are a better fit with different razors. Maybe a sample pack to see if it's any better? My favorites were feather and Merkur.
The biggest cause of irritation is too much pressure and angle. Try playing with those. Did you have trouble with plastic razors?
Just some ideas.
I love Arko, MWF and Tabac. Have fun, try not to get discouraged. It'll come, I'm sure.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[SoullessSingularity]

One week is not enough at all to completely rule out bbs. Try to use alum hands or a rag to stretch your skin taut, go over the hairs a few times wtg, light pressure, warm hot towel beforehand.

 

[Matt Hardwick]

I could try it all. I just really think my neck is to skinny and mixed with hair direction and adams apple its just a suck area. Even when i go to barber for a shave they always screw up there as well. But barbers now a days cant shave worth a golden yellow. But mostly i think its my skin and my wierd hair

 

[Invicta]

It is still early days in your DE journey. Razor angle and pressure would probably need some work but good lather is very important. Spend some time on building and working in the lather as it would make the stubble easier to cut. A shallow blade to skin angle would reduce the irritation so keep the blade angle shallow. Perhaps try a 2 pass cross grain approach on the neck area as it appears WTG would be difficult.

 

[extinctary]

The neck area was a tricky spot for me aswello, took me a lot longer than a week to get it to a point where I got no irritation. My main advice would be to map the hair growth, then go with the grain. Also Ive found skin stretching makes a huge difference on the neck, and lastly blade angle and pressure, the angles change quite a lot on the neck area compared to the face, so slowly untill you get the correct angle.
I would leave it at a wtg pass until I got no irritation, then start introducing the xth and atg passes.
You can always do the 3 pass on the face to get BBS, and leave the neck at 1 pass until you get the technique down.

 

[Matt Hardwick]

I've got my hair maped out pretty good, shave every day in army, and still do out of habbit. Ive just never had any luck with my neck. I really want to say its to skinny or idk.... Haha. I'll take a fewbpics of my next shave and post em for y'all to look at and give me feed back. On another note, im never de shaving head again. Literally pulled a sliver of skin out of razor about soze of a dime. Flicked it off and dog ate it hahahaha.

 

[TheKman]

Patience, patience. It's taken me six months to settle on some tools that work for me, but now the whole DE experience is beginning to pay off.

Good thing rarely come without hard work and patience. Chin up!

 

[vacman]

I agree with the patience suggestion. Very light pressure, sharp blade, stretched skin, and smooth, chatter-free strokes. Experiment with the angle of the blade to your skin. So many technique variables, it takes time to iron them all out for what will work best for you. Then you will have to sort out which soaps appear to give the best lubrication for you. Experiment with a shaving oil. Done properly with lots of water, it's very slick. Shave Secret (available at WalMart) is worth experimenting with. Inexpensive and works well, although I prefer soaps.

 

[slybrewguy]

I, like you, battled terrible neck irritation and while switching to DE did help it also didn't entirely remove the problem. One thing to play around with is different blades however I highly suggest waiting to do so. The Astra blades are a great starter blade and a good middle ground blade between sharp and smooth. Better blades are out there for most but the Astra is a great starting point. For me only these few things worked and finally got me to a point where I am not embarrassed to leave the house (skip to #3 if you don't want to read a long post and want an immediate effective solution):

1. Stop using balms or moisturizing anything post shave. Most people hear that "you need to moisturize post shave!" And take it as gospel, that simply is not the case for everyone. I have very oily skin and live in a hot tropical climate so balms are a disaster for me. I switched exclusively to witch hazel and alcohol based splashes and that helped a lot. Then I...

2. Stopped using a blade for more then 1 single shaving "session" (head, face, or head + face) and this drastically improved my skin. Not to say that a blade is completely toast after 1 shave (for me its tops 3 shaves if head+face) however I have found that a fresh blade every shave really helps me and my neck irritation. I even tried rinsing blades with 90% iso alcohol in between shaves and that didn't work. Fresh blade, every time. I use Gillette silver blues or Astra sp so blades average between $0.10-$0.17 per blade and if I shave both head and face I consider that a half off deal on the blade haha. Most people spend almost $20 a day on things like coffee, lunches out, cigarettes, etc... So is under $0.20 a day for a blade really that bad? Next I...

3. Started using an Alum block. This stuff has saved my skin, for real. Everything else above helped alot on their own however nothing has singled handedly battled my neck irritation with such destructive force as a simple cheap alum block. Burns like fire but that quickly goes away. The main thing with the alum block, this is the really important part for your concern, is that it prevents bacterial growth which causes irritation later on. I used to think I had terrible ingrown hairs from shaving when in reality I had terrible ingrown hairs from sweating, bacteria building, and my skin rubbing which formed pimple like pustules around my neck hairs that got inflamed and eventually they would grow into the skin that was puffed up around them. I took 1 day off of shaving then the next day I used alum post shave and my skin literally changed overnight, like a flip of a switch. I still get an occasional ingrown due to very thick stubborn hair and my need for daily BBS however I don't get bumps or pimples or redness or itching or... Anything like that anymore. I can shave daily without concern and leave my house with confidence. If you don't want to add the extra step of alum block itself you can try an aftershave splash that contains alum, such as the paa line for example. Most of the time these will also contain alcohol and/or witch hazel so you would take care of 2 of 3 of my suggestions in one quick step.

Don't give up! I was like you and I quickly got to a point of losing all hope and even grew long beards off and on for years. I got to a point where I told myself I'm going to stick it out and figure this out and I'm very happy I did!

Also, a lot of people here will give suggestions for these unnecessarily lengthy preps of loofa scrubbing your neck then using an acne face wash then leaving conditioner on your face then applying oil then using your lather of choice then follow up with more oils and balms... Forget that. Waste of time, money, and product. Most of this is too much for your skin and clogs your pores. Maybe my oily skin and tropical climate surroundings make me unique (or crazy? Lol) but for me less has always been more. I've got years worth of the same type of post you put above in this and other forums and the things I listed above are the only things that have worked for me. Now my daily shaves consist of: normal daily face wash in shower, barbasol OG can by hand or soap of the day with brush, fresh blade, 2-3 pass shower shave + minor touch ups, cold rinse, alum (rinse), witch hazel, alcohol based splash, done. Smooth, happy, BBS face and neck with no irritation.

 

[bs993]

Cure skinnyness... Eat more bacon!! I kid, of course. My neck can't take much ATG. My entire neck grows left to right and at best I can come about 45 degrees atg on my neck. But the SLIGHTEST attack angle being wrong, too much pressure, too fast, can cause the blade to bite and pull and irritate. My Merkur 34C is so mild and forgiving that I can get a little bit closer, where my Parker 76R can just get me too quick. But for the most part, I just don't go for BBS below the jaw line.

 

[BigJ]

Some great suggestions above!

The main issue is that traditional wet shaving is a skill that takes awhile to acquire. Technique is the key, especially blade angle (as noted above) and NO pressure. Stick with it and you will get there!

 

[slybrewguy]

Some great suggestions above!

The main issue is that traditional wet shaving is a skill that takes awhile to acquire. Technique is the key, especially blade angle (as noted above) and NO pressure. Stick with it and you will get there!

Well said. I took me a few years before I was able to even get a bbs shave with a de razor let alone an irritation free BBS shave. You have to keep in mind, when traditional wet shaving was the norm most people started in their teens with minimal growth. By the time they had it mastered they then were old enough to have substantial growth. In modern times we are adults who are familiar with modern cartridge shaving and make a switch to an old school art and can easily get frustrated when we don't immediately have the results we were looking for.

 

[Matt Hardwick]

Well i shaved again this morning and ya more irritations. Almost as if my neck is allergic to de razor. But my routine as follows
1. Shower and wash face
2. Apply WSP barbershop oil
3. Lather WSP barbershop soap w/ hot spoak horse hair brush
4. Shave my razor is WSP el grande with astra sp blades. I go WTG & ATG on face prefectly. Butbmy neck is all WTG &XTG
5. Rinse apply WSP barbershop after shave ( alcohol, witch hazel, glycerin, allontoin)
6. Spend rest of the day pissed off a my neck irritation

 

[slybrewguy]

Well i shaved again this morning and ya more irritations. Almost as if my neck is allergic to de razor. But my routine as follows
1. Shower and wash face
2. Apply WSP barbershop oil
3. Lather WSP barbershop soap w/ hot spoak horse hair brush
4. Shave my razor is WSP el grande with astra sp blades. I go WTG & ATG on face prefectly. Butbmy neck is all WTG &XTG
5. Rinse apply WSP barbershop after shave ( alcohol, witch hazel, glycerin, allontoin)
6. Spend rest of the day pissed off a my neck irritation

Thanks for posting your routine, that helps us help you greatly. I'm going to have to double up on what I said before... Alum will be your friend. I also would ditch the oil, but that is my personal preference and up to you to decide on. Many people experience irritation from oils and it's possible you could be allergic to an ingredient in the oil or soap.

I HIGHLY suggest just trying to following:
If you can skip a day (or two!) then do so, this will let your skin calm down a little. Next, get an alum block. They can be had online really cheap or you can find them sometimes at health/natural foods stores. Another alternative is "natural" deodorant, as long as the ingredient is potassium alum and NOT ammonium alum. Basically between your steps 4 and 5 above- rinse your face with cool water post shave, rinse alum block/stick in water, rub gently around your face and neck (it's gonna burn, don't worry), dry off the alum and out it away, wait 30 seconds and rinse the alum off your face, then continue with your step 5 of aftershave. I'm 99% positive this will help you and if it doesn't at least your were able to rule out possibilities.

 

[Esox]

I'm not sure which razor you're using but one thing in this thread so far stood out to me like a shining light.

chatter-free strokes.

If you want a smooth comfortable shave ATG you will most likely never get it with a blade that chatters, flexes and skips.

Search the DE razor forum for "rigid". You'll find many posts as I did when I was starting. That information has helped me immensely.

I'll link a thread I made in regards to the same issue with a razor I had.

Gillette NEW LC Not Cutting It

 

[slybrewguy]

Great point brought up about blade rigidity, I really like injector style razors for this reason I just found the blades to be a bit costly in relation to the number of shaves I got from them so I went back to DEs