Thread: Cannot shave my neck properly!

I've now been going at the straight razor for a fortnight shaving daily, which I couldn't do prior to using a straight due to irritation, and I'm getting a decently smooth face.

I'm using left hand for left side and right for right and getting really comfortable doing it. Just did my first XTG and no irritation.

My problem area yet again is my neck. It's nowhere near as irritated as it used to be and tbh there's about as much stubble left as there used to be. I just can't seem to crack it.

The neck is a hard nut to crack. Which direction does the stubble seem to grow (side to side, down, up)?

Try carefully mapping your beard prior to shaving to make sure that your moving the blade in the proper direction. When stretching skin, make a conscious effort to make the skin flat before shaving that area. And generously relather over and over. I hope this helps. I was surprised how much mapping my beard improved my shaving results.

Dave,
It seems the neck is where all the bizarre patterns happen. Cow-licks (sp?) or a circular pattern is not uncommon - meaning there's no single direction that will perfectly clean the stubble - have to go at it from several directions. My nasty spot is in a depression between the jawbone and the neck, where the there's a cow-lick and the rest grows straight down that depression.

Lest it go unnoticed - bravo for getting the neck as good as your prior methods - but no irritation. That's not small - you're doing something very right.

You'll spend some time trying bizarre stretches & strokes to find what takes care of those nasty bits. It'll come. In the mean time, you're already doing better than before. Keep it up.

This may go against the usual advice, but I get much, much smoother shaves on my neck by increasing the angle of the razor. Using a very light touch and as little pressure as possible I increase the angle until the razor's edge solidly catches the whiskers an instant before cutting them. With the grain, across or against matters little. I get no razor burn with this method and experience that pleasant near-BBS feel when rubbing my fingers over the area. Hope this helps.

Jeff

Thanks for the responses and advice guys.

My neck beard seems to grow sideways and slightly upwards away from the middle.

I'll see how I get on this evening with the pointers.

Try using the opposite hand for the side you're working on then. You should be able to work a way to hold the razor to give you a decent WTG and ATG. Your XTG would be very easy if you incorporate one in your shaving as this will be the normal North/South pass.
I have a similar growth pattern, for the most part, on my own neck. Hope this helps.


Mick

What helped me the most was movember. Letting that neck hair grow out really showed me the pattern of growth. I'm a year in, and still perfecting it..just take your time! Proper beard prep always helps me. Maybe a pre shave oil would help soften things up?

I'm several years into it and with the growth pattern and contours of my neck I have to try really hard to get it all. Some days I end up leaving a couple bits or getting the last couple with the DE. On a good day I can switch hands and use tip without drawing blood.

Getting my neck clean was a problem until recently. In order to tackle the problem, you have to break the surface area down into a series of individual sections that can and should be managed in their own way. Generally, the hair on my neck travels from just under my right ear along the jaw line to the other side midway between the chin and the left ear. At that point, it reverses direction and goes in the exact opposite direction from the left ear to the middle of the left jaw. Then there are two small areas on either side of my adams apple that more or less grow from the adams apple up toward the ear. Those were the toughest spots to conquer. In addition, most of the hair on my neck grows tightly along the skin making the WTG passes all but useless. Knowing what I know about it my first pass crosses from just to the right of my chin toward the lower part of my neck on the LEFT side of my adams apple diagonally. The next pass is from the lower right of my adams apple up toward the left side of my chin. For the sides of my neck, I shave a thin patch just along the jawline. Then, with this area clear, I pull the skin from the curve of my neck over the jaw line and run the razor from the ear down toward my chin. After I release the skin, a clear path has been cut from ½ of my neck on that side. Finally those lower areas on either side of my adams apple will need to be shaved. For the right side, I shave with my left hand. That allows me to get the razor at the angle needed to catch the hairs ATG that are growing from the adams apple toward the ear. To aid in this, I pull the skin on the right toward the left and from the left toward the right. This helps that hair stand up as I shave it down. The result is a completely smooth neck, BBS.