Shaving question - how to avoid the 'ouch'

[BaldOldWhiteGuy]

Hi.

BOWG here, and pretty much a newbie to DE shaving. I have two that I inherited years ago, but I only used them for a short while before going to a disposable. Now I have gotten out the old razors (and started to acquire new ones... I can't stop!), and it is going well, but I do have one problem.

No matter which razor I use, I tend to get a great shave on my face. No matter which razor I use, I tend to butcher my neck. I am going with the grain (granted, I have screwed up Hillbilly genetics, so some of the hairs go wherever they like), and I am not pressing too hard. I simply tear up my skin each time.

I am pretty skinny, and don't have excess skin to worry about. I just figure I am doing something wrong. Any ideas?

On an unrelated note, I bought a Weber handle after reading about them on here. Wow! I think I will have to order another.

 

[Niles]

If you've been using the same brand of blades, that could be the problem. Also, be careful that the angle you are holding the razor at is not too steep.

 

[musicman1951]

Being pretty skinny means the razor angle will need to change as you go lower on the neck. Try very short strokes.

 

[Saxman11290]

Double check that you understand the grain direction on your neck. I thought I had mine figured out for a while, but when I was encountering a similar problem as you, I found there were some slight peculiarities that I had overlooked. Once I adjusted for my newly understood grain direction in all areas of me neck, things smoothed out a bit.

What REALLY helped though, was actually RELAXING the skin on the ATG passes on my neck. I thought skin stretching was what we were all aiming for to get the closest shave, but for some odd reason, the hair on the lower part of my neck responds best to shaving when I relax the skin, and even tilt my head down or toward the side I am shaving, sort of to make a little bullfrog pouch (perhaps not that far, but relaxing it is the main idea). There were a few threads about that on here and it seems a lot of people start of by trying to stretch the skin and as soon as they relax it, things become a lot more comfortable on the neck.

Hope that makes sense and helps!

 

[SiBurning]

Welcome to B&B!

First. Noone on B&B can avoid the ouch.

Don't rush. It'll take some time to figure everything out. Better to focus on reducing irritation, rather than getting the best shave. That'll come in time.

 

[gd9704]

My neck has always been a pain to shave. With carts, it was a bloody mess every day....with my DE, it's MUCH better. My grain grows away from my Adam's apple, so I make sure to do my first pass WTG, with NO pressure. Then I'll do XTG up, then XTG down-again, with NO pressure. I don't get a perfect smooth shave there, but at least I'm not bleeding when I'm done.

Practice, practice, practice!!!!!

 

[BaldOldWhiteGuy]

Thanks for the responses. I guess I should slow down, particularly since I know I have problems there. I will incorporate that with the short strokes (and practice) and see if that helps.

 

[Haggises]

"not pressing too hard" sounds like you're pressing.

I don't know what ATG -up and ATG-down mean. It's either against the grain or it isn't....
(oops, I conflated posters. sorry bout that)

 

[ouch]

Members have been trying to avoid the ouch for over seven years, to no avail.

 

[Haggises]

Double check that you understand the grain direction on your neck.

+ a bunch.
Going really with the grain (swirls and hillbilly hairs excepted) is key at first.

 

[NCJack]

I think nearly everyone has lower-neck problems; I know I do

 

[gd9704]

"not pressing too hard" sounds like you're pressing.

I don't know what ATG -up and ATG-down mean. It's either against the grain or it isn't....
(oops, I conflated posters. sorry bout that)

Sorry....I meant X, not A.

 

[Niles]

Members have been trying to avoid the ouch for over seven years, to no avail.

 

[twitch182]

I don't use a DE, but 90% of my ouch with a straight comes from bad prep. Make sure your lather is good too.

 

[Archer808]

Skinny and no excess skin doesn't necessarily mean the skin isn't a little loose on the neck. Try slight stretching/flattening with your off hand and make sure your razor angle is correct. Again, no pressure, just the weight of the razor should be your focus.

 

[JerYnkFan]

I've got to be careful around my Adam's Apple as that is usually the area the winds up looking like a badger fight. As others have said work on pressure/angle and double check your growth. With carts I can do a N->S pass, but when I started shaving with a DE, I discovered that the bottom half of my neck I need to shave S->N to go WTG.