I tend to get a lot of irritation on my neck around the Adam's apple area. This is the only part of the face that I get razor bumps, ingrown hairs, etc. Mind you, I've only switched to DE shaving going on a week or so and before that I just didn't shave. The first time I shaved with my disposable razor which was about 3ish weeks ago, I got really bad ingrown hairs. The irritation seems to be lessening, but today I cut a bump and bled a little. This was on an ATG pass. What steps can I take to counter this? Would it be best to maybe just go WTG on the neck for a while until the irritation heals?
Everyone's skin is different just like the gear we all use. I would suggest staying with the grain in that area with no pressure and see how it goes.
It will take some time to develop technique and to get your skin used to shaving. Focus in keeping a good angle with your razor so that the blade isn't at too steep an angle against your skin. As Zykris mentioned, keeping to WTG for a while would help.
Yes, stay WTG for awhile. And know some folks just can't go ATG on their neck. Doesn't make one "less than".
I agree with all the thoughts expressed above. You may have to stay WTG until you get your technique tightened up. I'm one of those lucky individuals that has been able to go ATG & XTG from the get-go. Keep at it you'll get there.
+1 on not going against the grain on the neck. My hair has almost a weird cowlick below the Adams apple. The only way I can shave irritation free is to go cross grain both directions on the neck. Anything more leads to irritation just the way the hair grows. Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk
I never go against the grain. I will do a couple of across the grain instead. Too many try to cover up bad technique by going ATG. Leads to a metric ton of irritation problems.
Do your WTG pass, then try two diagonal passes - think shaving an X on your neck. It's not quite XTG, but it's not ATG, either.
my latest experiment is i plucked all the neck hairs in the lowest inch which includes my adams apple lol! maybe not the brightest idea but for the past week i am bbs there hahaa
I also have/had neck irritation, what finally worked for me was to stop over shaving the area. Also limiting how many against the grain passes I made.
I gave my newly acquired GEM G-Bar a try this morning. It has been a while since I finished the shave, looked in the mirror and literally said, "Wow, that was great!!" Fewer passes needed than my DE razors and no irritation! BBS all over, even on my lower neck! Maybe instead of mainly trying all different “aggressive” razors, I really just needed a rigid blade paired with an efficient shaver. I like the term efficient as it applies here.
When I was new to the DE world I was continually having problems with irritation on the right hand side of my neck. I finally figured out that it was my shaving angle that needed correcting. This may not be your problem but I though I would and my two cents.
i had bad irritation and ingrown hairs throughout my cart shaving career.2 years into de and i have little to no problems now..i can still overshave here though , and it took time to get to this point but the results are worth it..learning proper technique made a big difference as well..
A large part of technique, at least to me, is knowing what my limitations are in different parts of my face. I have a small scar near my right eye that will always result in a nick if I do not pay attention. Either side of my mouth is prone to ingrown hair if I try to rival a baby's bottom there, and the area on either side of my Adam's apple is prone to irritation if I try to shave against the grain. On the other hand, my cheeks and upper lip can handle 4 passes of the blade and, if the mood strikes me, a bbs shave with no issues other than smoothness. It takes time to find what will work best for you.
This was my exact experience with SE razors after that first usage. The rigid blade produces superior smooth results. Now work your way thru all the different Gem and Ever Ready models to find your favorite.