Is it not for me?

Well, some time ago, I bought my first SR. I also then bought another. Both were honed to perfection, and I followed instructions on stropping and such. I use a badger brush, and was using D.R. Harris Lavender shaving soap. I would wash my face, and then shave. Although I got a close clean shave, I have the hardest time going with the grain on my neck (it's sideways) Also my upper lip area is difficult. If I go across the grain on my neck it hurts and it feels like its pulling. I took a hiatus from the SRS. I currently use a Gillette sensor excel Since it is the closest thing I could find to a single blade (2 blades) Now I wash my face, and use Geo F Trumpers lime skin food, lime shaving creme, and then shave then reapply the skin food as an after soothing type of deal. What are your thoughts? I mean I know SRS can be used on everyone, since it was the only way for years. Am I just being a whiny little girl or am I justified in stopping for a bit?:boohoo:

If all you're doing is washing your face, and then shaving, I think you need more prep.

If you can, try to coordinate it so that you shower after you shave, that will give your facial hair more time to soften up.

Also, when you get out, apply shaving cream to your face, then strop your razor. Reapply warm shaving cream after you strop, and then try shaving.

It really does take a while to soften up those hairs. Until you take a little time and do that, it will tug like nobody's business :p

Yes, you're being a whiney little girl. Just kidding. I've certainly done my share of whining. If you want to keep at it, don't worry too much about the neck at first. Yes, the grain goes in all directiions and it can drive you crazy. Best to do the best you can in as few passes as possible for now and avoid the razor burn. It's one of the hardest areas to shave, along with the upper lip. The prep is extremely important, as avatar 1999 suggested. Ther was a very useful thread recently that recommended holding the blade in place and moving the lip into it. (Wish I could remember who to give credit to. I'm sure someone will come up with it). Good luck!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by avatar1999

If all you're doing is washing your face, and then shaving, I think you need more prep.

If you can, try to coordinate it so that you shower before you shave, that will give your facial hair more time to soften up.

Also, when you get out, apply shaving cream to your face, then strop your razor. Reapply warm shaving cream after you strop, and then try shaving.

It really does take a while to soften up those hairs. Until you take a little time and do that, it will tug like nobody's business :p

---

I believe Avatar meant to say "before".

shower before the shave, you could also put some conditioner on your facial hair to help soften it up a bit. getting an excellent shave takes practice. just keep at it and don't let yourself get discouraged.

Don't try to shave against the grain. learn how to shave wtg,xtg first.
you will not get as close shave as other blade when you started. it takes time to get use to straight razor. skin has to do some learning too. gl

I also have crazy sideways growth on my neck. It grows sideways away from the Adam's apple on both sides, toward my ears, and about a 1-inch wide swath grows straight down from the bottom of my chin to the bottom of my neck. This was the hardest part for me to get down when I started, about a month, month and a half ago. I still don't have it perfected, but if I do a series of short strokes going down from the jaw on each side, focusing more on beard reduction on the first pass, and then a second XTG stroke going up toward the jaw, I get it very smooth and don't really need an ATG pass. My beard is very tough and the razor pulls just a bit on the first XTG pass on my neck, because I can't start with a WTG pass on my neck. And yes, the razor is sharp enough, as it doesn't even remotely pull anywhere else. Hope this helps you stop whining.:)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sammer

I also have crazy sideways growth on my neck. It grows sideways away from the Adam's apple on both sides, toward my ears, and about a 1-inch wide swath grows straight down from the bottom of my chin to the bottom of my neck. This was the hardest part for me to get down when I started, about a month, month and a half ago. I still don't have it perfected, but if I do a series of short strokes going down from the jaw on each side, focusing more on beard reduction on the first pass, and then a second XTG stroke going up toward the jaw, I get it very smooth and don't really need an ATG pass. My beard is very tough and the razor pulls just a bit on the first XTG pass on my neck, because I can't start with a WTG pass on my neck. And yes, the razor is sharp enough, as it doesn't even remotely pull anywhere else. Hope this helps you stop whining.:)

---

My neck grows the same way. One day I was feeling brave and I decided to face my face toward the ceiling and bring the razor across my neck - ear to adams apple - working by feel only. Well it worked and I got a really smooth shave, but I dont recommend it. I'm good with some xtg passes, really. Not super smooth, mind you ... but better than razor burn or a cut.

I do stretch the skin alot in that area during a shave. That helps alot.

well, it does take some practice to build the muscle memory and figure out the best way to approach different parts of your face.
whether it is for you, or not, only you can determine. if it seems like there's too little to gain and too much effort to be invested i would say yeah it's not for you. if you would rather figure it out even if it takes months, then i think it's for you.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gugi

if it seems like there's too little to gain and too much effort to be invested i would say yeah it's not for you. if you would rather figure it out even if it takes months, then i think it's for you.

---

+1, it is like learning to play the guitar ... requires commitment and perseverance. More for some than for others.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gugi

if it seems like there's too little to gain and too much effort to be invested i would say yeah it's not for you. if you would rather figure it out even if it takes months, then i think it's for you.

---

+2. Most of us are not those lucky individuals who pick it up from the word go, we have to practice and get it right (I certainly wasn't one of them and am still learning). Enjoying the learning process is a big part of the deal.

It certainly took me a couple of months before I could say I had good shaves. I stuck with it because I liked it for various reasons.

If it really feels like a chore to you and you don't like it... then it may not be for you. In that case I would by a DE razor and use that. It will allow you to shave with a single blade.

It sounds like a beard prep issue to me, try either steaming hot towels or shave immediately after the shower, giving the face and neck a good dose of hot water, towel off without drying the face and neck, apply lather and then try shaving, just go wtg and xtg and get these down before you try for bbs on the neck, which is something I dont usually bother with.

Like yours, the grain on my neck also goes sideways (e.g. from Adam's apple to ear). To complicate things more, my beard is very course. Both these things mean it may take more time to learn to get a comfortable shave below the jawline. I'm now three months in to SR shaving and have literally just reached the point of being able to give myself a consistent, comfortable, close shave on my neck this past week...

5 things I discovered that may help you get there sooner:

1. Even if you think you're already using light pressure trying going lighter
2. The stretch is very important. You don't need to stretch so tight you can bounce a quarter off your neck, just enough so there's no 'play' in your skin (I find overstretching on my neck can cause just as much discomfort as not enough)
3. Pay close attention to your blade angle. On curvy areas like the neck it's very easy for the blade too get a little too steep (e.g. perpendicular to the skin) when going over curves
4. In your early/learning stages, if the best angle-of-attack you can manage on you neck is up/down -- in other words, XTG -- use several light, short strokes between 2 or 3 lathers to get the job done rather than one harsh XTG pass followed by another harsh ATG pass
5. Once you're a little more experienced, try moving the blade in short, diagonal sweeps - kind of like a stropping stroke - from the direction of your chin to the direction of your shoulder,rather than straight up or down. This lets the slicing force pass through the hairs in a direction that's closer to WTG. Again, this is a more experienced move since a hasty motion or sudden hiccup can easily turn it into a pure horizontal movement and give you a little bit of a slice

And, as many others have already said, making sure to prep/warm/moisten/soften your beard as best you can will help a lot.

Good luck!