So, I'm about a month into shaving with a DE razor. Seems to be going pretty well so far -except for the fact that I very rarely get a shave without giving my neck/jawline some sort of irritation. Until recently, I checked it off as poor blade angle/some other technique issue in my shaving. Yesterday, however, I decided to do a little detailed grain mapping to see if therein lied the problem. After vigorously rubbing my neck for about 10 minutes (led to some awkward questions from people passing through the common room), I decided that most of my neck felt like it was growing west to east instead of up to down, so I decided that on my next shave I would try shaving in the new direction to see if helped with the irritation. I won't get into details, but I'll simply say that I don't think I was particularly correct -that's judging from razor bumps like I haven't had since switching from carts, anyway. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any tips on accurate grain mapping and how to be sure you've got it down pat. I know most people suggest just letting it grow for a bit and rubbing it up, but that clearly didn't go too well for me -how do you know beyond a hint of doubt that you have it correct? I could chalk it up this one time to a switch in blades from the last few weeks, but I don't think the Gillette Silver-Blue I used today fell short in quality to the Indian "Laser" blades I've been using due to sheer necessity (those things are dull pieces of crap). I'm really sick of my neck being a problem area and want to get all of this down pat so I can start really enjoying my shaves. Advice from anyone?
Lightly rubbing a cotton ball over the area may give an indication, when going against the grain strand of cotton will pull out.
Try using a handheld mirror and hold it as close to your neck as possible so you can still see. I let mine grow for about a week and was able to figure out my neck better. I hope you figure it out and it works out for you.
Let your hair grow out for a couple of days, and then take some photographs. http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/another-noob-seeking-advice.29618/ view this post for examples. Laser blades are not considered great blades by anyone.
The cotton ball trick works with barely visible growth. I recently went without shaving for 4 days and saw I was actually shaving my neck XTG on my first past. My neck whiskers grow east to west not north to south as well. I used NO PRESSURE and was able to pull off a 4 pass BBS going only WTG. My neck has always been very sensitive to shaving. Hopefully I finally figured out why.
Are you shaving every day or less often? How good a shave are you getting with just your first pass and how much irritation do you think you would have if you stopped after one pass? If you're trying to do multiple passes, all with the grain, what are you feeling as far as stubble after the first pass after rinsing your face but before applying more lather? Which directions feel smooth and and which do you feel the stubble?
Detailed questions -okay. I shave almost every day, with an occasional "break" day. I'd say my average is about 5 days out of the week. I do three passes, WTG, XTG, and ATG. I don't think it can be irritation due to too many passes or the fact that I simply can't go ATG, because even after one pass my neck starts getting red. That's why I figure it must be either a technique or directional problem, but I could be wrong on that. I feel inclined to say it's directional because I've become so slow, gentle and meticulous with the neck, and it still leads to some irritation. (granted, using the silver-blues my irritation was SEVERELY reduced besides my one bumpy area right below the jaw on the right side. The rest of my neck fared reasonably well. Could be that the one part of my neck/jaw has a different grain than the rest?) I'll definitely be trying the cotton ball trick tomorrow before I shave and trying to work all this out. The switch to a sharper blade helped enormously I think, I just need to work out this one kink.
It might not just be the grain direction....if I were you id keep trying a different blade(s) simply for process of elimination. My go to blades are Derby-Feather-Shark Super Chrome-Voskhod-Gillette 7 O'Clock Blues. Of course it could be a mix of everything mentioned above. Try a different blade...absolutely NO pressure......maybe even a different razor (yours might be too aggressive for you depending on what razor you have) and try the cotton ball trick like you said you would and im sure you will hit a sweet spot.
I get that same thing on one side of my neck. Going to take all the advice given to you. Best of luck to you. A life time of great shaves are in both our futures man. Let us know how it goes.
Instead of N/S our E/W have you tried at a different angle? Mine grows all over the bloody place, but if I go NW/SE and SW/NE I get no irritation and my neck ends up DFS+ every time.
The change of blades helped so I would agree you should try some more brands. I haven't tried many brands but I've found Lord and Personna are very good for me. What razor are you using? Have you read any threads and gotten a sense of how aggressive it is considered? It could be that a "milder" razor would also help.
Try going without the ATG pass for a while and see if it helps. I rarely go ATG, i mostly do 2 WTG passes and 1 XTG and it does the trick for me most of the time
I agree a large blade sampler pack is a nessecity in my mind. Not only is finding a blade that works with your face important, but also one that works the best with your razor on your face. Other than getting to know how your hair grows for me it was just a matter of time,technique,patience and practice..... Hang in there the BEST is yet to come I promise....
To answer a question that seems to be resounding, I don't think the aggressiveness of my razor is an issue -I'm using a Merkur 23C, which as far as I know is a fairly mild one. Until now I was unable to use a sampler pack because I started DE shaving an awkward 3-ish weeks before leaving college for Christmas, and the pack would have come too late to really be of any use for me, which is why I trucked through with the Lasers until now. I have a very solid sampler pack of about a dozen brands here now that I plan to try out before going back, and hopefully I'll find the right one for my razor and face. I'll certainly try avoiding ATG for a while -if I figure out what that is today, at any rate
Did my grain mapping. Pleasantly surprise to know that I was wrong in my prior assumption of all my neck hair. The top of my neck, under my chin grows south east and bottom half of my neck gowns north east. Waiting a day to let my face get fully healed up then can't wait to give it a go. I've only been doing 1 WTG pass. Will keep at that until I am getting no burn or irritation then start XTG on a second pass.
I was actually referring to figuring out my grain today, not figuring out the acronyms -I've been throwing them around, so I should know what they are
Well since you dont seem to think your razor is aggressive...it simply might not be THE razor for you. Dare I say everyone has at least one razor their face does not like wether it be a mild or aggressive shaver. The one razor of the 16 that I have that does not agree with my face and always results in irritation....is in fact a very mild shaver. So you might wanna hit up a few antique malls or flea markets and find you a cheap soap scum covered razor just screamin for some TLC! And maybe you can go yet another step in the process of elimination!
Update: Today I had a no-irritation shave. I didn't try the cotton-ball trick (mostly because I couldn't find a cotton ball lying around and wasn't willing to purchase a bag of 100 when i need a single one). Things I changed in my shave: going NE-SE on my neck like Neolithum suggested, and incorporating Witch Hazel into my AS routine. Not entirely sure which factor made the difference -probably a combination of the two. Thanks for all the advice guys hopefully I'll be able to put my hands on a single cotton ball sooner or later and determine once and for all my grain direction, but until then I just hope this method keeps working!
