Feeling the burn...

Well, I'm about two weeks in now and could use a little time-saving help...

For the most part, things are going well as far as can tell.

All is good with my dominant cheek. Doing well and getting better with my non-dominant cheek/hand.

My neck on the other hand is proving to be a bit of a challenge and has left me REALLY feeling the burn on my first three tries (dominant side only, haven't attempted the left side with my left hand yet).

The major problem seems to be the direction of my strokes. My beard grows east to west (adam's apple to ear lobe) and I have a very angular, Clint Eastwood-type chin/jawline/neck area...

...so, getting in there to go WTG for the first pass - particularly the slight hollow to the NE and NW of the Adam's apple is proving really tough even with a 4/8.

Since I have a very course beard (my cheeks would make a great grill brush), making the first pass at even 45 deg toward XTG leaves my neck very irritated.

I'm going to go back and try to hunt up some of the videos I watched a couple weeks ago in an effort to specifically try to find shots of people doing east-west pass on their neck to get some ideas for new angles of attack...

If anyone knows of a specific video - or even pics - of a sharp-jawed person going east-west on the neck, and would be kind enough to leave link pointing me toward them it would greatly help my search and be very much appreciated.

I may be feeling the burn but I'm really having a blast the straights so far.

Thanks.

I'm not a pro but my neck grows in every direction and although my hair is not as stubborn as most, on the neck I go top to bottom on the first pass and bottom to top on the second pass. I drop the angle a little bit on the neck too since I'm not technically going with the grain on all the hairs. Seems to do OK for me. Right next to the throat on the up pass I drift to wards center (kind of like a scything motion) to catch a particular problem with some hairs under either side of my chin.

Like I said, my hairs are not as rugged as most so I could just have it easier than you.

Try very short and gentle strokes- should work. Sometimes I use baby oil instead of soap fir the last pass

Hi,
The blade should be nearer 30 degrees. That equates to the spine being two spines width from the skin.

Sometimes you just have to make the best of it. If you can't get WTG you just can't, so get it as close as you can. To help compensate, concentrate on prep & get the stubble as soft as possible. Hair conditioner will help with that.

Stretching the skin to an easier to reach place is also sometimes an option.

Finally, Vitamin E oil soothes razor burn pretty much instantly.

Can't help with the video though. Sorry.

Dude I'm having the same problem. I'm only 4 shaves in though.

Hey there Malacoda. Just stick with it, and you'll be fine. At 45 degrees angle, that sounds about 15 degrees too much of an angle for me personally. Try to bring it closer to your skin and to tighten up your angle. Get it back to about 30 degrees, this should help a lot. Maybe you might want to try something different in your pre-shave prep? Try shaving directly after a hot shower, also use a hot towel, maybe a pre-shave oil. Then lather, work the lather in real well. then hot towel right over the lather, and re-lather, then shave. Watch how much pressure you are applying. If you are applying too much pressure, you might be overcompensating for a less than sharp razor. I also don't know about your stropping either. Maybe you might want to put a few more passes on the linen and leather. Also, you said east to west as a WTG pass. Not a Good idea, imho. Try your first pass North to south, or XTG, chin to neck. Even though because of the wierd hair growth paterns on the neck, it is literally a XTG pass. So your first pass on your neck should be a XTG pass, north to south. Second pass should be a south to north pass. See if this helps? Also if you want to make a third pass on your neck. Instead of east to west, or west to east. Try a North to south east, North to south west. A true east to west, west to east is something I don't do. This direction change I think will help you a lot. Also a good after shave balm or gel or lotion should help your razor burn as well. A good astringent might help too, like an alum block or some witch hazel might work as well. You need a good post shave plan, imho. Look at Lynn's Dvd World of straight razor shaving, and follow his directions, and watch what Lynn does, which I just reapeted. Thanks Lynn. Well good luck and keep at it, and things should start getting more comforable for you.