Hello gents, quick question..... How can I get a close shave on my neck and avoid razor burn and irritation... thank you in advance.
If you're using hot water anywhere in the shave, try luke warm or cold water instead. It's the easiest thing to change without interrupting the shave itself. Otherwise, make sure you've mapped the beard growth directions on your neck properly and avoid ATG shaves for now. It just takes practice and patience.
My neck gets irritated sometimes as well. I find using a good pre shave balm helps. The red Prorasa with Shea Butter makes a huge difference to me - get a lovely glide. ymmv of course.
Watch the angle. Make sure you're not dragging a nearly perpendicular blade across your skin. It will sound good, but it will do nearly nothing. Shallow angle.
Alfred, The best advice I can give you on your neck is what I do, only do one pass with the grain. Never across the grain, and one against the grain. Also, map out the way your hair grows on your face. And cold water shaves. Kerry
I've don't this already but was not satisfied. I didn't achieve the close shave I wanted. Are close shaves out of the question for me?
Unfortunately, maybe. There are some folks who simply cannot go against the grain - ATG. And for me, going ATG is the only way I can get as close as I want.
It's possible, but I think it may be to early to tell. Learning proper technique and what works on your face takes time. I initially found it difficult to go against the grain and had less-than-expected shave results. Now ATG is simple and comfortable. Most of my shaves are ATG and XTG and I forgo a with-the-grain pass. Now you're going to get a final comment that applies to everybody...YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).
I would think over time your technique will improve and so will your shaves. That's what happened to me. Stay with it, it gets much better.
The Hot washcloth face soak is a great way to prep the beard, but I like to leave the wet cloth on for a few min. A well hydrated beard is important for a close shave. Being a daily shaver my personal choice is ATG for 2 passes plus a bit of touchup.
Millions of us started without the aid of the internet, some like myself didn't even have the advice of a father. Forget about all this BBS/DFS silliness and just go with the grain or even just a basic North-South stroke, get decent, respectable and relatively irritation-free shaves and be happy. After it becomes a natural feeling process then you can play around with some of the "improved" techniques you find here. Shaving is like bowling and golf; the more advice you get the worse your game gets.