Shaving Problem (The Neck)

So I have been shaving for about two weeks now, and I am just starting to get the feel for below the chin line, but my shaves have been very rough when I get to the neck. I know the neck is a harder place to shave than the face, but I was looking for some suggestions or tips to help make the neck shaving go smoother.

Here is a little background. My main razor (Dovo Bismarck) was just professionally sharpened (by Chris Ellison) and it cuts through facial hair like butter. I use a Dovo russian leather strop (which I feel does a good job of smoothing out the edge), Colonel Conk's amber shave soap (which seem to get a nice lather going and provide adequate lubrication) and a Vulfix pure badger brush. I normally shave right after a shower. But If that doesnt work out, I use a hot towel (drapped over my face for about a minute) to prep my face. I do WTG and across the grain on my entire face. This part of the shave, although not perfect by any means, seems to get a smooth result and the razor seems to glide over my skin effortlessly. Then when I get to the neck my razor seems to drag across and irritate the skin. I try to keep light pressure, a 30 degree angle, taught skin, and I even try to put some more hot water on my face and a new lather to keep the area fresh, but the razor always seems to drag and skip along that area.

Part of me thinks that my technique just need work and part of me thinks that I am not preparing the skin (hot towel and such) well enough, and so the razor does not pass over it easily. Let me know if you have any tips or any idea of what is going on. I am really loving straight shaving (now I actually look in the mirror and think, Do I have enough hair to shave yet?, rather than damn, it is time to shave again), but I would love to figure this whole neck shaving out, because for now I am rocking some sweet patches or neck stubble.

Thanks for reading and for any advice in advance!

Tristan

Try lowering your angle to almost flat against the neck. That helps me out in a lot of my neck areas. You really need to change blade angles when you shave the neck. I use about 30 degrees on the upper neck near the chin, etc. But when I get lower than that I need to have a flat spine-on-skin angle to shave without irritation and blade skipping. I hope that helps.


Also, I use a hot towel, shower or not, try it even with a shower when you get out. I lather, apply the super hot towel (STEAMY) and then wipe the lather off and reapply.I also make sure yo wash oils off my face while in the shower.

It depends on the spot. My trouble spot is the left and right of my chin in a little hollow area there.

I found that an angled scoop and roll, kinda like the nose pass, works great for that area.

Just concentrate on angle, and there is no sin in adding more soap to your face.

I will definitely try lowering the blade angle (i could see how that would help), using a hot towel between finishing up the face and before moving onto the next, and adding some extra lather after that. Thanks for the responses. Any other help would be much appreciated. Thanks again.

Also, does any one else use Conk's soap, and if so, how does it compare to other brands? i don't know too much about soaps, but I hear Conk's is decent, and having a good soap is important. Thanks again.


Tristan

Hi Tadamsde,

I'm new myself so I'm not sure how much my opinion is worth on this... But I'm using Conks soap currently and I really like it. I had tried a few other soaps and was having a tough time making lather. I seem to be making a great lather since I switched to the Conk soap though and I'm really loving it. I'd also love to hear how it compares in others experience.

--Rick

If you are going to switch soaps. Go with Colleen. The Gentleman's Quarter.

Best stuff on the market, bar none. Cavendish for one day and Lavender for the next.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by singlewedge

If you are going to switch soaps. Go with Colleen. The Gentleman's Quarter.

Best stuff on the market, bar none. Cavendish for one day and Lavender for the next.

---

That's quite a statement!

Coleen has a loyal following. Try her Desert Ironwood and in your specific case ....Leatherneck .:D

Your prep is way beyond mine. I just do the hot shower and vigorously wash my face twice. I have a tougher beard on my chin and neck. I also have hollows, nooks and crannies to contend with. The test spot for me is on either side of the windpipe. If a razor shaves that smooth I am doing something right.

I had to experiment with blade angle and direction of attack before I found the right combination. A sharp razor is required on those areas as well. Sharper then it takes for the rest of my shave. My guess is if you experiment and don't get frustrated you will find the answer. I had to force myself to accept it if I didn't get it bbs every shave. Tomorrow is another shave and no point in getting the area all irritated by chasing the bbs if it isn't happening that day.

All of the above is good advice. Yes, it is a big call on Colleen's soaps, but it is a call I wholeheartedly agree with. Colleen is a soap God!! :bow

Necks are where most guys have stubble that grows in many different directions, and can even have whorls and so on. It is a tough place for everyone, and particularly for straight users. One option that has not been mentioned (I think) is creative stretching.

One reason why your neck shaves may cause a little irritation is that the hair growth there may be different in some areas. So what you think is a WTG stroke may in fact be a combination of WTG, ATG, and XTG, all in the space of a few inches. Take some time to really look at your neck stubble, and map out the directions of growth (you may want to let the stubble grow a few days to do this).

Then, try to create skin stretches that make the hair stand up and keep the skin taut. This could be as simple as turning and/or lifting your head for a certain neck area. Or, it could be complicated, like getting the area of neck between two fingers, and twisting 90 degrees (mparker style!).

Also, do not forget that the entire length of the blade does not need to sit on your skin when you do a stroke. By (carefully!) lifting the scales away from the face, you can use an arbitrarily small area of the blade's tip to get into tight spots. Similarly with the heel.

So, get to know your stubble growth, stretch accordingly, and make use of the straight to it's best advantage. After all, that is why we use straights - its flexibility allows us to get a far better shave than with any other shaving implement. Unfortunately, it is also this flexibility that can lead to greater mishaps than with any other shaving implement. So, be careful out there.... :p

James.

So I will definitely be checking that soap out after those posts. Also, I am definitely going to work on stretching my skin more taught. I think I have been avoiding the taughtness on the neck because it it is a very challenging area, pulling the skin tight seems to actually decrease the amount of blade you can have against your face, which seems to make it way easier to nick yourself and not have a smooth stroke that has a steady resting point. So I think what I am getting at is that I need to work on my technique as far as balancing the blade carefully and taking smaller, more finely manovered blade strokes. And working on stropping will probably help with the blade sharpness when you get into the thicker areas.

Also, thanks for the comment on hair patters. I have since noticed that the botton of my neck has hair that grows in the oppostite direction, and the hair by my adam's apple grows toward my trachea. So I will need to adjust my strokes accordingly. Thanks for all the great advice. As always, this sight is being extremely informative and helpful. Thanks again

I have the hardest time with under my chin, i'll have to try some of these

Colleen's soaps from TGQ are my favorite shaving soaps right now. They lather extremely well, are all natural soaps, and they're very slick and protective for your skin. Leather neck and Cavendish Black are my favorites. Col. Conk soaps are great too, imo and are cheap. I had a lot of success with the bay rum I tried a few months ago.


I think all the advice you have here is all you need as long as your razor is sharp enough to shave with. Also keep in mind that stropping is KEY and if done wrong (which is hard to tell when it is wrong and you're new) can also ruin your shaving experience.

EDIT: I should also mention that I used a thicker lather when I shaved with a DE and I have found, to my surprise, that straights like slicker thinner with more water lather sometimes.

My beard swirls under and along my right jawline. It's very difficult to get BBS there as one pass is WTG, XTG, and ATG on the swirls. My first pass, N-S, I stretch by pointing my chin up as high as I can. This works for most of my neck. Second pass, SE-NW, I stretch by pulling the skin above my collarbone down. This leaves a small patch of swirl. I use a blade angle of about 20 degrees for these passes. My final pass, I pull the skin up from my chin and shave N-S with a 30 degree blade angle. So the same area has to be stretched from three different directions.

Your beard will be different than mine, so you'll have to work out your own system of stretches. Remember to shave slowly, use no pressure, and enjoy your shave. Shave for comfort and the BBS will follow. :gl:

Hey,

I know exactly what you mean haha, I have a few trouble spots with my neck as well but as the last couple of months have gone by I've figured out a few things. the biggest thing I found is how to stretch the skin to get the shave under the neck to be smooth. the second is blade angle and try to to use much pressure to glide the blade across. I know I've cut myself badly a couple times because I've used too much pressure and then the blade started to skip :P Try changing how strech the skin would be my 2 cents :P

Well hope that helps,

- Tam -