Thread: Necking

Okay, here's my dilemma: While I'm not perfect at shaving with a straight yet, I do get relatively good shaves (all things considered). My problem area is my neck. I go only once WTG for now. My first shave saw me a little overzealous and going XTG and ATG and getting burnt. The problem is that now, even without doing the second and third passes, my neck still gets razor burnt and sore. My razor a 4/8 Thiers-Issard "Le Petit Francais" that came honed and shave ready. I strop religiously and I feel that my technique is good (the razor does a great job on other areas of my face). I have been using Trumper's coconut oil cream, lots of hot water, and beginning and ending with coral skinfood. I need some opinions: too much pressure/poor technique?, not enough lather?, too much lather?

I am hesitant to venture back into the XTG stroke until I get this problem sorted out. Any help and opinions would be greatly appreciated.

-Justin

fwiw ...

I have the same problem.


Haven't found a solution either.

Ok, I'm going to try and give you my own 2 cents... but be aware that I am also a rather unexperienced guy. That being said...
If I had the same problem, I'd ask myself these questions:

Angle... is it too steep? I found that I tend to open the angle on my neck and end up getting a bit of razor burn.

Stropping... how your technique? Sometimes - and this is my experience - I think that I am stropping as intended and when I feel the blade it's not really that keen.

Hair growth direction... are you sure you are doing a WTG stroke? I say this because I used to get a lot of razor burn when I started. Then I figured out the direction of growth of my neck hair... and I was doing it wrong!

Lather... well... you know what they say: too thin or too thick will not do the trick. The ration between water and soap must be well balanced. I always get bad shaves and razor burnt (on my neck...) when I try out a new soap because the ration is hard to figure out.

These are just my 2 cents... I really might be wrong on these but this is what 6 months of shaving with a straight have taught me. One thing is sure: you'll soon figure it out.

I'm guessing the angle of the blade is scrapping instead of cutting your neck area.

Going N-S, twist your wrist as you move the razor, rather than using your arm in a straight down motion. This will help you maintain the same angle from begining to end of the stroke.

You should use the same technique going S-N, when reaching the jaw line.

And above all, don't apply to much pressure, do more passes if you have to.

Perhaps what you need is some Bailey's MMMM creamy. Old Greg is hilarious.
okay, </>

Thanks guys for the advice. One thing always gets me: the direction of the growth on my neck is upwards (aka S-N) but all the things I've ever seen on neck shaving say to do it in a N-S direction. That would give me the burn of a lifetime. I will try Navaja's suggestion of the wrist twist. I thought that, as fpessanha suggested, my stropping might be the culprit but the blade cuts fine elsewhere.

I really appreciate all of the advice and feedback. My neck has always been a problem area for me and these forums are a great way to commiserate and, with any luck, fix the problem.

Originally Posted by sicboater

Perhaps what you need is some Bailey's MMMM creamy. Old Greg is hilarious.
okay, </>

So smooth and creamy beige.

Map your beard growth over your entire face. Shave in the direction of your beard growth for the WTG pass no matter which direction it is; this should eliminate some of your irritation. For example:
Below the adams apple, I have to shave south to north on the WTG pass.
Above the adams apple, my beard grows diagonally N/S from the chin to the ear, so I have to shave accordingly except for directly under the chin where it grows N/S.
Knowing your beard growth all over your face will help you to make the correct WTG pass and even XTG and ATG passes. Before I understood this idea, I was shaving my neck N/S in all areas and was effectively doing a XTG pass on the first pass in most of my neck and an ATG pass in others.
Personally, I don't shave ATG except on the cheeks.
Hope this helps...

So, it has been a while... neck shaving going any better? Hope so!