A little help on shaving the dip in the neck

Hi all,

I'm on my 5th shave, and have the sides below my sideburns down to the chin and my cheeks going well on both sides with both hands. The first time I shaved my neck below the jaw line, I had trouble with the section not the jawline itself, but a few inches below my jaw line, with the dip between my (prominent) adams apple and the large neck muscle, even when stretching the skin, so that while shaving the dip, which bevels in a sort of convex hollow, I nicked the edge of my neck with the (rounded) point of my razor. Now i'm trying to figure out how to shave the dip without the point nicking my neck each time. Love some feedback/suggestions. :thinking:

Kind of tilt your head in the opposite direction to help pull the skin taut. Grab the skin adjacent to the hollow area and pull to the side if you have to, but get it flat. I've got a skinny neck and have had to learn to stretch in different directions to achieve the flat surface. If one direction doesn't get it pull/stretch in a different direction. :gl:

I have the same thing and I always go sideways for that part. Front to back. I would say across the grain, but my hair in that section grows every which way. Just have to remember don't put any pressure on the razor and it will make it easier when rounding the dip. I started by breaking up the neck into small sections till I got used to the all the different angles.

KC, ditto for this being the area I measure the quality of a shave by - remains my most difficult to get smooth. Best results have been from what Jimmy & J have mentioned already - stretches and strokes - almost always getting the nasty part to some fairly flat place. Note in JSmith's post that the hair grows every which way - me too. That means there's not a single direction that will clean the whole area. 'Means coming at it from multiple directions will be needed. Also - note his reference to not using pressure. Its very tempting when new, but ends in razor burn.

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Originally Posted by pinklather

KC, ditto for this being the area I measure the quality of a shave by - remains my most difficult to get smooth. Best results have been from what Jimmy & J have mentioned already - stretches and strokes - almost always getting the nasty part to some fairly flat place. Note in JSmith's post that the hair grows every which way - me too. That means there's not a single direction that will clean the whole area. 'Means coming at it from multiple directions will be needed. Also - note his reference to not using pressure. Its very tempting when new, but ends in razor burn.

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Thanks so much guys, that's great - I'll try your suggestions this morning: a) stretching in different ways to take the hollow out and get a flat surface, b) different angles of approach with the razor and also c) the light touch. Much appreciated!!! :-)

As my very good friend pinklather as said about his beard, that area is also the hardest area on my face to get smooth. NOTE: I didn’t say Baby Butt Smooth! Just a clean, comfortable and smooth shave!

As noted: Beware of Razor burn due to pressure, and or ‘excessive’ shaving!

While I can’t use both hands but my son (17 at the time when he first shaved with a straight and could) I’m sure that if I could indeed use my left hand it would be a closer shave! With that said, I’m the only one who knows that it’s not BBS!

Enjoy the ride and have fun!

I'm told silicon injections in that area can help fill it out to make shaving easier.

Really what Jimmy said. Stretching with the hand and internally with the muscles is the key to getting a good straight shave. Also sometimes by manipulating the area in question you can get it to kind of pooch out more. That's why often times guys really contort themselves trying to get the area just right.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I'm told silicon injections in that area can help fill it out to make shaving easier.

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I have a very old and very good friend who I cleaned up his grandfather's razor for him, had it honed and spent some time showing and helping him 'try' to learn how to shave with it.

My good friend didn't need the silicon injections in that area to say the least! While it was much easier for him to get a good shave there, I'll take the 'recessed' area any day!:roflmao

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I'm told silicon injections in that area can help fill it out to make shaving easier.

Really what Jimmy said. Stretching with the hand and internally with the muscles is the key to getting a good straight shave. Also sometimes by manipulating the area in question you can get it to kind of pooch out more. That's why often times guys really contort themselves trying to get the area just right.

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Ok, so I just tried the above suggestions (still morning in OZ), and with a VERY slow (albeit not steady!) hand did the neck with lots of contortions and stretching and the tip on a light touch kept coming to mind, which was handy as focused concentration tended to add pressure on the razor, so I kept backing off the pressure). Result is that I got most of my neck done, with no nicks and on both sides (surprisingly felt better with my left hand, I think due to taking it slower and lighter). With most of the neck done, I thought I'd leave that as a success for the day, and progress further tomorrow. Thanks so much guys, you got me over a physical and mental barrier. :)

Good Job Mate!

As you are finding this art has a huge learning curve that I personally feel isn't ever really 'Mastered'! I learn every day, every shave, every stropping and let's not get into honing!

Please stay away from trying to hone until you at are getting consistent results with all of the above!

Again Good Job!:tu

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Originally Posted by cudarunner

Good Job Mate!

As you are finding this art has a huge learning curve that I personally feel isn't ever really 'Mastered'! I learn every day, every shave, every stropping and let's not get into honing!

Please stay away from trying to hone until you at are getting consistent results with all of the above!

Again Good Job!:tu

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Thanks Cudarunner - it certainly felt good..

On the honing, my hones arrive today or tomorrow. Can I assume per your comment, that I should leave them for a while, so as not to introduce another variable into the mix while I'm learning to shave acceptably well?

I'll PM you!