I wrote this same post in another thread but I kind of hijacked that thread and that was not my intention.
It’s called ”Neck irritation and what to do about it.” Check it out. Lots of great stuff in there.
Now, as to MY conundrum. This is going to be a long one. So keep that in mind before reading on (although please do)
I’ve been wetshaving for a couple of years now. As many before me, I started out wanting less irritation and to make shaving less of a chore. 50+ razors and hundreds of soaps, AS, creams, unicorn tears, drops of dinosaur extract later speaks to it not being a chore anymore (or?).
How about the irritation. Well. I have this spot on my neck about 5x5cm (2x2 inches I believe) where the whiskers grow ”sideways” from left to right. Everything else is N—>S. This spot though….it has been the bane of my wet shaving existence. I don’t want to sound dramatic but nothing seems to rid me of this curse. I have tried ALOT of things. Most of them suggested by you guys.
With every new gear I bought I made sure to at least give it a 10 shave trial, using the same setup. The only thing I changed was blades. If a certain blade made my face look like modern art from the get-go then I switched blades.
Now. My ”irritation” is…irritating to say the least. I never get razor burn or bumps or ingrown hairs. If I do get ”bumps” they are very small. More like a rash. My beard sits right between ”medium” and light growth. I need to shave EOD or every 3rd day to maintain a groomed posture. I also work as an army officer in the swedish army so I need to be clean shaven. Or at least give the illusion of clean shaved skin.
My irritation creeps up the day after the shave, when the hairs start to grow out. In THAT spot alone. It stings, Itches and becomes red with some red ”streaks” running parallell with the growth. I dont feel it unless I stretch my skin. Looking up or sideways.
Its really hard to shave WTG in that spot because of sheer ”neck-anatomy”. I usually do a two pass shave. WTG all over and XTG on my cheeks and jawline. I dont go ATG because I dont need it and I dont/Can’t chase BBS. I also dont care about BBS, irritation free and comfort is my goal.
I shave N—>S for my first pass except for that spot. N—>S on that spot becomes XTG. So I have to channel my inner mime and try to shave WTG sideways with the handle pointing towards my right ear. That usually gets it but I often need to touch that spot up. I’ve tried to shave in a Criss-Cross pattern, diamond pattern, X-pattern, ATG but everytime my necks mocks me , turning into the ”predator” clicking the self destruct action on his wrist-computer-thing, laughing.
My routine right now is. Shower/or warm water soak(cold water shave did nothing. Warm water feels better). Wash face/neck with Marseille soap. Nohai preshave gel (tried Proraso, TOBS, Grooming dept. AOS, it probably doesn’t do anything but it feels good. Right now Nohai seems to do…something). Lather my face/neck with my now favourite soap (MdC). Warm towel on lather splattered face. Re-lather. Shave. Wash Off soap residue. Witch hazel, Laneige moisturizing toner (fancy-pants Korean skin care) and CeraVe cream.
Feels awesome. No burn, no redness, no soreness….until the next day. Some days are better some are worse.
The only razors that give me irritation free shaves more often than not are:
Gamechanger .68 (Silver Blues or indian wilkies saloon)
Hawk V3 (Kai protouch).
Razors I’ve tried:
Homelike START (all the plates)
Timeless ti.68
Karve AA,A,B,C (In brass, A-B in alu)
CG level 1,2
Vector
34c
DE 89
Fatboy(2-4)
Slim Adj(2-3)
New SC, LC
Post war Tech (The Tech almost makes the ”this works” list)
Masamune
Tradere
6S,C
Henson Mild, Medium (yes, even these gave me irritation more often than not)
ATT SSM1(this was too mild)
R41
R89
To name a few. I dont want to be that guy who says that I’ve mastered angle and pressure, clearly I have not BUT I can shave every other part of my face with an R41 with minimal prep without a hint of an issue.
6/10 shaves are usually free from irritation but there is always the chance of that spot coming to haunt me like Freddy. I’ve come to a point where I feel like screw it, live with it. But something inside me refuses to be beaten by a patch of skin on my neck. I love this hobby and also require to be shaven so less pain would be welcome.
Sorry for the long post and thank you for reading. If you have/had the same experience, please share. Any tips would also be recieved with gratefullness.
Thank you!
It’s called ”Neck irritation and what to do about it.” Check it out. Lots of great stuff in there.
Now, as to MY conundrum. This is going to be a long one. So keep that in mind before reading on (although please do)
I’ve been wetshaving for a couple of years now. As many before me, I started out wanting less irritation and to make shaving less of a chore. 50+ razors and hundreds of soaps, AS, creams, unicorn tears, drops of dinosaur extract later speaks to it not being a chore anymore (or?).
How about the irritation. Well. I have this spot on my neck about 5x5cm (2x2 inches I believe) where the whiskers grow ”sideways” from left to right. Everything else is N—>S. This spot though….it has been the bane of my wet shaving existence. I don’t want to sound dramatic but nothing seems to rid me of this curse. I have tried ALOT of things. Most of them suggested by you guys.
With every new gear I bought I made sure to at least give it a 10 shave trial, using the same setup. The only thing I changed was blades. If a certain blade made my face look like modern art from the get-go then I switched blades.
Now. My ”irritation” is…irritating to say the least. I never get razor burn or bumps or ingrown hairs. If I do get ”bumps” they are very small. More like a rash. My beard sits right between ”medium” and light growth. I need to shave EOD or every 3rd day to maintain a groomed posture. I also work as an army officer in the swedish army so I need to be clean shaven. Or at least give the illusion of clean shaved skin.
My irritation creeps up the day after the shave, when the hairs start to grow out. In THAT spot alone. It stings, Itches and becomes red with some red ”streaks” running parallell with the growth. I dont feel it unless I stretch my skin. Looking up or sideways.
Its really hard to shave WTG in that spot because of sheer ”neck-anatomy”. I usually do a two pass shave. WTG all over and XTG on my cheeks and jawline. I dont go ATG because I dont need it and I dont/Can’t chase BBS. I also dont care about BBS, irritation free and comfort is my goal.
I shave N—>S for my first pass except for that spot. N—>S on that spot becomes XTG. So I have to channel my inner mime and try to shave WTG sideways with the handle pointing towards my right ear. That usually gets it but I often need to touch that spot up. I’ve tried to shave in a Criss-Cross pattern, diamond pattern, X-pattern, ATG but everytime my necks mocks me , turning into the ”predator” clicking the self destruct action on his wrist-computer-thing, laughing.
My routine right now is. Shower/or warm water soak(cold water shave did nothing. Warm water feels better). Wash face/neck with Marseille soap. Nohai preshave gel (tried Proraso, TOBS, Grooming dept. AOS, it probably doesn’t do anything but it feels good. Right now Nohai seems to do…something). Lather my face/neck with my now favourite soap (MdC). Warm towel on lather splattered face. Re-lather. Shave. Wash Off soap residue. Witch hazel, Laneige moisturizing toner (fancy-pants Korean skin care) and CeraVe cream.
Feels awesome. No burn, no redness, no soreness….until the next day. Some days are better some are worse.
The only razors that give me irritation free shaves more often than not are:
Gamechanger .68 (Silver Blues or indian wilkies saloon)
Hawk V3 (Kai protouch).
Razors I’ve tried:
Homelike START (all the plates)
Timeless ti.68
Karve AA,A,B,C (In brass, A-B in alu)
CG level 1,2
Vector
34c
DE 89
Fatboy(2-4)
Slim Adj(2-3)
New SC, LC
Post war Tech (The Tech almost makes the ”this works” list)
Masamune
Tradere
6S,C
Henson Mild, Medium (yes, even these gave me irritation more often than not)
ATT SSM1(this was too mild)
R41
R89
To name a few. I dont want to be that guy who says that I’ve mastered angle and pressure, clearly I have not BUT I can shave every other part of my face with an R41 with minimal prep without a hint of an issue.
6/10 shaves are usually free from irritation but there is always the chance of that spot coming to haunt me like Freddy. I’ve come to a point where I feel like screw it, live with it. But something inside me refuses to be beaten by a patch of skin on my neck. I love this hobby and also require to be shaven so less pain would be welcome.
Sorry for the long post and thank you for reading. If you have/had the same experience, please share. Any tips would also be recieved with gratefullness.
Thank you!