Neck help

My neck hair grows east to west and I am not sure of how to get in there with my straight. I am really new to this and when I shave north to south it is causing irritation. Thanks for the help.

Hello, Saf:

Many gentlemen shavers face similar neck challenges. I do. Consequently, on both sides of the neck I come in at slight angle, careful not to slice myself, and also perform a range of creative stretches.

This is the way I do it:

Stretch the skin out on the neck just below the ear and come in at a moderately vertical angle toward the Adam's Apple. Repeat on the other side. Against the grain on the neck, moderately angle the razor from the lower extremes of the neck on each side toward the chin.

These are dangerous angles, so be careful. By the way, SRP member Jockeys has an excellent video in which he demonstrates this. View it.

Regards,
Obie

The video Obie speaks of is on Youtube, type "Jockeys' Straight Shaving Demonstration Part 2" into the youtube search engine....

saf - by all means watch the video! Also experiment. I had a similar problem and worked it out eventually by experimenting with a double edge in that area until I figured out what direction to move and how best to stretch the skin. Once I worked that out I tried it with a straight until it got comfortable. I think "muscle memory" plays a role in it as well, especially in those tough to get to areas. We learn a technique for each area of face and neck and our muscles seem to recall all of that after a while.

We all have different beards, facial structures, and skin types so there's probably no single technique that will work for us all. BUt I have to say that once I get into a technique for each part of my face and neck, I stick with it until I come up with something that works even better. It's all about the results (well, mostly anyway) so whatever is comfortable for you and gets the results you want is the way to go!

The advice given so far is very good advice there are also a couple good vids in the wiki for a general shaving but they break down how they do different areas. Also don't know if you are using both hands to shave with but I found on my neck the only way to get the best angle is to shave the left side of my neck is with my right hand and the right side of my neck with the left hand. All you can do is experiment just take it slow and pay close attention to what your doing so when you find something that works you remember what you did.

My neck hair grows up from the bottom and down from the top. My first pass I just shave from top to bottom ignoring hair direction. I think what is more important is pressure and angle. Once I learned the proper angle and pressure, the neck problems are gone.