Hi, Where am I going wrong please? I apply some home blended grapeseed oil (carrier), teatree and peppermint essential oil blend then wait five mins before wetting my face with warm water then carefully shaving with a blade (never more than five-days-old) using a double-edged razor and my neck still bleeds. Not slits, just like small abrasions. Pretty sure I'm going with the grain. Cheers in advance, TWL, Scotland.
Your applying too much preasure. Try gently stretching your skin to make the area being shaved as flat as possible, and use no preasure to push the razor.
Welcome to TSD! I would agree with the pressure comment above, but would also add that you may be using an steep angle as well. See if a bit more shallow angle works.
I've shaved with just preshave oil . It works great. First you can see your progress and second it's super slick. Problem is I like the brush and soap too much to keep doing that way. Before I joined the forum it's how I was shaving.
Riding the cap keeps the angle of the blade closer to flat to the skin. Less scraping of skin, more cutting of beard.
Thanks, fellas. I guess it was indeed the shaving angle. Also, I probably wasn't stretching my skin taut enough. So, cheers. Yes, I've been shaving with oils for quite a while now. I used to use a tin of gel until a random conversation about shaving with a guy offshore in the tea shack one break-time. Actually, I float between Taylor's sandalwood soap and the oils.
+1 on the pressure and stretching skin, MPO Brush and soap in my preferred choice over oils, even though oils work but the brush helps raise the hairs and the lather adds hydration and slick, compare both and see what works best. but that's just an old mans opinion
Is it all of your neck that bleeds or just certain areas? I had a problem similar to what you describe when I first started shaving with a safety razor. It turned out that the grain of my beard was reversed in one particular area on my neck. Using an extra light touch in that area fixed the problem.
Me too, in just one spot. I have to be extra light-handed and shave it at a pretty exact angle or I will have two dozen weepers in that two inch patch. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Razorock makes a peppermint shave lube. It is perfect for shaving with. It is like a Preshave oil but thicker and more cushioning. I recommend using soap over just PSO, but if you have to "see" what you are shaving, the raxorock is perfect.
I also have some weird growth on my neck, and I occasionally get some razor-burn there, but I actually do those areas diagonally now due to the direction of hairgrowth. You may want to look into "Beard Mapping". Basically you try to figure out which way your hair grows and make a chart or map of it. It's explained here: http://thecloseshave.com/mapping-your-beard-grain/ Angle on the neck is also slightly more difficult even if your hair grows the way you thought it would, and of course, as mentioned above, pressure. The amount of pressure I apply to my face and jawline is too much pressure for my neck. I also don't do more than one pass on my lower neck as it will irritate it if I do.
My neck hair is the same way. I used to shave downward from my cheeks to my neck. Now I shave upwards on my neck and across for my XTG pass. Used to get horrible razor burn the old way. I get chills when I think about it now. +1 for the beard mapping
Why not use both my friend ?? I use a pre shave oil for a skin conditioner and then apply my cream and that = shaving bliss
Hopefully @The Window Licker solved his problem and hasn't bled to death! He hasn't been seen in over a month.
I'm new at this but was given a great peice of advice. When you start to shave, ride the head of the razor with short strokes. Then adjust the angle to just cutting hair, not digging into skin.
