SR and neck stubble help. And, how long will this take?

[dfresh]

My beard on my neck/under my chin grows out towards my ears and slightly down. So maybe I should say it grows out towards my shoulders. I'm finding it difficult to get a good angle for an against the grain pass or even a good diagonal pass. Any tips? Also, what is the learning curve I should expect being that I'm moving from DE shaving to SR. Should I give it a good year of trying before I start deciding whether or not to throw in the towl(not that i have any desire to do so)? I don't want to get discouraged because I'm not getting BBS right out the shoot. How long did it take you guys before you were getting good, solid & successful shaves? Not necessarily BBS but solid DFS shaves.

Thanks for the help! Ya'll are great!

 

[rbscebu]

Many say it takes about 100 SR shave, give or take. For me it was a little less at about 80 to 90. That wasn't the end for me. Even now, my SR shaving technique is still improving with each shave.

 

[Tomo]

30 was the magic number for me. It really is a case of trial and error. My neck is better with two SR passes than it ever was with DE.

 

[seattleshaver]

You can usually get a close SR shave on your checks right away. The chin and lip areas are generally the hardest.

Shaving the neck is just a matter of realizing that the neck is basically just a cylinder with an Adam's Apple and going vertically around that with a long blade is not going to happen so try something else.

With a DE I usually do my first pass N to S on the neck. With a straight I usually go N to S until the very bottom and then I do S to N on the bottom part (for my first pass).

For the second pass I go S to N over the whole neck. That usually results in a smooth shave for me. I feel my neck after that and if I find a rough spot I go back over that at some angle that works and that is a little different than what I've already done. Usually it's just a matter of stretching the skin a little better and paying a little better attention.

Really with a straight razor if it's not cutting closely, you just aren't doing it right so stretch the skin a little more and vary the angle just a little. Otherwise, it you aren't getting close shaves it's because your blade isn't sharp. If you are getting your checks close, your blade is sharp.

 

[steveclarkus]

Use an arcing motion (windshield wiper as it is smartly being referred to now) to get at your neck.
Don’t even think about BBS now.
Don’t get discouraged
The more frequently and regularly shave, the quicker though learn
It takes about a month of daily shaves to begin to get the hang of it.
I agree that 100 shaves is where you will be rather competent and getting very good shaves.
Use light pressure and keep your blade angle tight - spine width.
I know it is a hassle now but keep at it. A straight shave is well worth the effort exerted in the beginning. There is nothing more comfortable.
If you have trouble with adequate maintenance, just get a half blade shavette and that will insure necessary sharpness and cost little. Shavettes are good travel razors as well.
Use wetter lather than you would with a DE.
Keep at it. It’s just shaving not rocket science. You will figure it out as you go. No problem.

 

[lloydw]

I have a similar scenario on my neck - I’ve found that not having absolute smooth on my neck (like my chin and cheeks) is not really an issue

 

[dfresh]

You can usually get a close SR shave on your checks right away. The chin and lip areas are generally the hardest.

Shaving the neck is just a matter of realizing that the neck is basically just a cylinder with an Adam's Apple and going vertically around that with a long blade is not going to happen so try something else.

With a DE I usually do my first pass N to S on the neck. With a straight I usually go N to S until the very bottom and then I do S to N on the bottom part (for my first pass).

For the second pass I go S to N over the whole neck. That usually results in a smooth shave for me. I feel my neck after that and if I find a rough spot I go back over that at some angle that works and that is a little different than what I've already done. Usually it's just a matter of stretching the skin a little better and paying a little better attention.

Really with a straight razor if it's not cutting closely, you just aren't doing it right so stretch the skin a little more and vary the angle just a little. Otherwise, it you aren't getting close shaves it's because your blade isn't sharp. If you are getting your checks close, your blade is sharp.

I'm getting really close shaves on my cheeks. So I'm pretty confident in the blade. The stretching thing on the other hand is very new. I feel like this Is probably the issue. Good advice. Thanks!

 

[dfresh]

Use an arcing motion (windshield wiper as it is smartly being referred to now) to get at your neck.
Don’t even think about BBS now.
Don’t get discouraged
The more frequently and regularly shave, the quicker though learn
It takes about a month of daily shaves to begin to get the hang of it.
I agree that 100 shaves is where you will be rather competent and getting very good shaves.
Use light pressure and keep your blade angle tight - spine width.
I know it is a hassle now but keep at it. A straight shave is well worth the effort exerted in the beginning. There is nothing more comfortable.
If you have trouble with adequate maintenance, just get a half blade shavette and that will insure necessary sharpness and cost little. Shavettes are good travel razors as well.
Use wetter lather than you would with a DE.
Keep at it. It’s just shaving not rocket science. You will figure it out as you go. No problem.

Thanks for this. Super encouraging. I've got the dovo shavette which is nice. I'm excited to really get this down though and wanna make sure I don't beat myself into the ground just because I'm not a pro right away. So, yeah... Appreciate your encouragement!

 

[dfresh]

I have a similar scenario on my neck - I’ve found that not having absolute smooth on my neck (like my chin and cheeks) is not really an issue

I've thought about this as well... We'll see how thing progress. I'd like to get pretty solid at smooth shaves. Hopefully with time

 

[steveclarkus]

Thanks for this. Super encouraging. I've got the dovo shavette which is nice. I'm excited to really get this down though and wanna make sure I don't beat myself into the ground just because I'm not a pro right away. So, yeah... Appreciate your encouragement!

Thank you. One thing I forgot to mention was to stretch your skin.

 

[thombrogan]

Don’t even think about BBS now.

First off, dfresh, congratulations on moving up to straight razor shaving! I tell myself I’m on my way soon…

I can’t tell you how frustrated I was in repeatedly seeing the advice to not chase BBS starting out whether it was in videos, online guides, and from folks I’ve met on this interweb thingy.

In my skull, the reply was always “then why bother?! Might as well use the clippers when the stubble thickens to coconut husk levels…” and off I chased BBS day in/day out all well sporting a progressively chewed-up neck and now lower face.

Fast forward four months. The intellectually-accepted/emotionally-rejected mantra of “dOn’T cHaSe BbS“ is being taken to heart. In its place, the object to chase is the skillset that leads to consistent, irritation-free results of a DFS/BBS nature.

As I’m just starting out on what I learned 4 months ago, I certainly can’t tell you which skills lead to a consistent, comfortable, irritation-free BBS shave. I can tell you going for BBS without first developing said skills leads to a BBS shave that has pulsing irritation detracting from the glass-smooth surface it achieves and it‘s a lot harder to try dialing out the irritation-causing/damaging practices while keeping the forced BBS than it is learn how to not wreck face and neck and develop closer shaves from there.

My lesson on why no air bubbles should ever be left between lapping film and glass has much less drama…

TL ; DR:

Chase the skillset that brings the results you want, not the results themselves

 

[dfresh]

First off, dfresh, congratulations on moving up to straight razor shaving! I tell myself I’m on my way soon…

I can’t tell you how frustrated I was in repeatedly seeing the advice to not chase BBS starting out whether it was in videos, online guides, and from folks I’ve met on this interweb thingy.

In my skull, the reply was always “then why bother?! Might as well use the clippers when the stubble thickens to coconut husk levels…” and off I chased BBS day in/day out all well sporting a progressively chewed-up neck and now lower face.

Fast forward four months. The intellectually-accepted/emotionally-rejected mantra of “dOn’T cHaSe BbS“ is being taken to heart. In its place, the object to chase is the skillset that leads to consistent, irritation-free results of a DFS/BBS nature.

As I’m just starting out on what I learned 4 months ago, I certainly can’t tell you which skills lead to a consistent, comfortable, irritation-free BBS shave. I can tell you going for BBS without first developing said skills leads to a BBS shave that has pulsing irritation detracting from the glass-smooth surface it achieves and it‘s a lot harder to try dialing out the irritation-causing/damaging practices while keeping the forced BBS than it is learn how to not wreck face and neck and develop closer shaves from there.

My lesson on why no air bubbles should ever be left between lapping film and glass has much less drama…

TL ; DR:

Chase the skillset that brings the results you want, not the results themselves

Dude...solid advise. Love this! Thank you. At this point I feel like angle is everything for me. Maintaining that spine width distance from face to spine is what I'm trying to focus on. Other than that, trying to figure out how to attack my neck area will be my focus. Those 2 things. Really appreciate your thoughts on skillset right now vs. results.

 

[thombrogan]

Good luck in your journey and thanks for your kind words

 

[camoloc]

I'm only 20 shaves in tommorow.

i started out looking for DFS.....although because of my light beard I guess I saw BBS in a lot of areas quickly. I had some unique delimas for my neck but believe I have the solution.

the biggest thing for me is having incredibly smooth skin a couple hours later. more importantly skin feels even smoother than with the SE's I was used to. big significant difference which is why I will continue my journey.

it just keeps getting better. I now have to remind myself to slow down in some areas. using both right and left hand has helped me in tricky places. unique skin stretching on my jawline and back jawline has sealed the deal for the most part.

I wouldnt have thought it......but skin stretching!!!

the 1PM return of stubble near my goatee shows up really late and doesn't come back with a vengeance like it used to.

hang in there......it truly gets better with each shave. more so than with any other type of razor type.

camo

 

[Seg85]

Fantastic thread and replies everyone. Following and learning a lot. Cheers!

 

[Ssandstorms]

In terms of pulling I found pulling from underneath (chest/throat) when shaving against the hairs on the neck tightened the best for me.

 

[parris50]

I'm going to a bit controversial! I have a patch on my neck that's been notoriously difficult to shave. What works for me is to grab the bottom of my neck as if to strangle myself, stretch the skin down and then shave with the grain but with a steep angle and no pressure. It's pretty much fixed it. Another thing that improves all my shaving is to move the blade across the skin slowly. I find it allows the blade to cut rather than skip over the surface. Yours and everyone else's milage may vary of course!

 

[dfresh]

I'm only 20 shaves in tommorow.

i started out looking for DFS.....although because of my light beard I guess I saw BBS in a lot of areas quickly. I had some unique delimas for my neck but believe I have the solution.

the biggest thing for me is having incredibly smooth skin a couple hours later. more importantly skin feels even smoother than with the SE's I was used to. big significant difference which is why I will continue my journey.

it just keeps getting better. I now have to remind myself to slow down in some areas. using both right and left hand has helped me in tricky places. unique skin stretching on my jawline and back jawline has sealed the deal for the most part.

I wouldnt have thought it......but skin stretching!!!

the 1PM return of stubble near my goatee shows up really late and doesn't come back with a vengeance like it used to.

hang in there......it truly gets better with each shave. more so than with any other type of razor type.

camo

I feel exactly the same, sir. The stretching stuff...like, big game changer. I've wondered a couple times what it would have been like if I did that with a DE or SE...I had BBS down pretty much every time...if I would have stretched, I wonder if it would have been even better. hahaha...oh well. Anyways, I def agree with skin smoothness. Like I've never felt before, truly. It really is a different kind of shave with results I've never experienced before.

Good words...thanks!

 

[dfresh]

In terms of pulling I found pulling from underneath (chest/throat) when shaving against the hairs on the neck tightened the best for me.

So, I def do this when going N to S but if I want to go against grain. I have to go from like shoulder to chin...almost left to right and with the curvature of my neck its just awkward and hard to see. Tonight was the best I've had. The stretching thing really is proving to be important. Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[dfresh]

I'm going to a bit controversial! I have a patch on my neck that's been notoriously difficult to shave. What works for me is to grab the bottom of my neck as if to strangle myself, stretch the skin down and then shave with the grain but with a steep angle and no pressure. It's pretty much fixed it. Another thing that improves all my shaving is to move the blade across the skin slowly. I find it allows the blade to cut rather than skip over the surface. Yours and everyone else's milage may vary of course!

Ok...so your the first person to bring up speed. Not something I've thought of before. Although, I'm certainly not trying to "skip rocks" across my face, I def will be trying this slowing down idea. I've tried angles and pulling with the neck area...for me, I fire blanks with that. But, the slowing down stuff...good thoughts. Appreciate it!