I have been get great shaves lately and I am loving every minute of it. The only problem I have is having my neck area. I get problems on the side of my neck when I shave against the grain. The area get red and irritated unlike the rest of my face where I feel a close comfortable shave. I use the 3 pass method. I go with the grain, then across the grain, and last against the grain. I was wondering if there is any tips for shaving this area? Any help would be appreciated.
Stop going against the grain. Don't feel bad. There are many folks here who cannot go ATG on the neck because it is such a sensative area. It doesn't make you any less than! Just one of those things.
I go diagonally in a combination that is half way between ATG and XTG. Works well, and no irritation.
The neck area also requires the lightest touch of all..particularly around the adams and lower regions. The 59 guy has a tip also for flattening out the apple, which can greatly reduce irritation. You sort of swallow and sort of hold it whilst you shave the adams area, so that the adams apple retracts and leaves the area flat for shaving...
Yeah I will stop going against the grain then. I hope that helps the irritation and discomfort I have in the area.
I've had the same issue. A couple things helped a lot. One is if I try 3 pass within a day of a bad shave with irritation, there's no way it'll be comfortable. I skip at least 2 days to let the skin heal and start fresh. If I cannot skip a day (work for example), then I stop after 1 or 2 passes only to make my shave acceptable. Other thing that helped me was cold water shaving. That reduces irritation in general and blow flow if you get a nick or a cut. I CWS exclusively now and most times can do 3 passes with ATG last. With CWS you hair stands straight up and I find I get just as close a shave with fewer passes than with warm water, thus reducing irritation. Hope it helps! And yeah some times (this week!) I just can't do ATG.
I know two people who can't shave ATG, they shave WTG and try and get it as close as possible and then leave it at that, one has a really wirery beard and used to get a lot of irritation, I recomended using Witch Hazel and now the irritation has all but gone!!!
If I'm not one of the two you know, then add me to that list. I sometimes get irritation even if I just shave across the grain. I really wish people didn't try to shave ATG all the time. Gillette and every other historical manufacturer of razors never recommended shaving ATG. I don't think ten years worth of shaving forum opinions ought to topple 100 years worth of manufacturer's recommendations.
I worked in pharmacy for a few years, and manufacturers would often recommend a number of things that weren't in the patient's best interest. Just sayin'.
There are times that I have to stop going against the grain for a few days on the neck. I'll do a WTG and a couple of XTG instead.
have you looked at youtube to find a video on j-hooking and buffing? those techniques sometimes pickup those last bits of stubble, good luck daniel
The neck puts all things to a higher test. Better blades, prep/face lathering, less pressure, pass direction-etc all make their distinctions there.
I can shave ATG on my neck with no problem but until a few weeks ago, I could only get BBS with a Gillette Guard. Even when I posted "BBS" in my SOTD post, that didn't include my neck. But now it does! What I do after the final pass is, using my thumb and index finger of my non-shaving hand, put them around my neck as if I'm going to choke myself. With moderate pressure, I press in where the skin turns the corner at the top of the neck, then I slide my fingers down to the base of my neck, keeping my skin taut. Then, with a very, very light touch, I go ATG. You have to have some residual slickness since the act of sliding down your neck will wipe off any lather. I do this as part of my touch up routine and it's amazing how well it works. I do not have a prominent adam's apple, which may help.
This is a good option - alternatively have you tried using an after shave balm or any other post-shave products??
I used this technique today and it gave me a lot closer shave in that area without the irritation. I think when I shave again I will make multiple passes doing the same thing.
WOO! Another person helped. It's just simple advice people tend to not consider because "convention" is WTG, XTG, ATG and that's not always necessarily the best route. Glad it's working for you though! I especially use this technique with straight razors or I end up looking like I was attacked by Freddy Krueger.
