Thread: Sensitive Neck (NIcks bleeding redness everytime) HELP!!!

The title says it all, this what i use

- Straight razor shavette MD barber cheapie or Parker sr1 stainless steel (same results)
- Derby SIngle edge straight razor blades
- Mug williams shaving soap

My face prep:
- Hot towel wringed out apllied for about a minute twice
- with brush i apply warm water some moisture to the shaving areas
- apply hot lather using mug williams shaving soap

Lathering process:
- shaving soap and brush sit in a Mug with boiling hot water for about a minute
- then I dump the water and whip up a nice thick dense lather, that doesnt dry quick or run
- I apply lather with brush using circular motions for about 30 seconds then using pantbrush like strokes spread the lather against the grain

The Shave
- skin stretch, razor flat as possible, using extremely gentle soft quick short strokes going with the grain typically upward on the left and right sides of the neck and downward on the middle of the neck. very poor results not a close shave what so ever with a little amount of blood typicaly small red dots not too big of a problem

- Now I go against the grain and this is where I get massacared a lot of blood and a not so close shave better then wtg but not baby bottom smooth like I want it

I have sensitive skin especially on my neck, deep pores, and chicken skin like skin on my neck. some hairs I just cant hit close enough no matter what direction I shave.

ANY ADVICE TIP HELP ETC... PLease would be greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance

That doesn't sound like a fun experience at all....

When shaving WTG the blade should be at approx. 30 degrees not as flat as possible. A quick reference is to think of a two spine widths from the face.

Are you new to using a straight razor shaving?
Is this a new blade?

well this is a straight razor shavette not a traditonal straight razor I believe the angles for shaving differ, and I have tried different angles the flater i use it the less it cuts me which why i try keeping it flat 30 degrees does give a closer shave but it butchers me.
Yes I do use a new blade everythime and I do consider myself new to the world of straight razor shaving

Sounds like mostly technique to me.

I had the same issue when I started. I used a disposable blade straight also.

A few things to consider:

1: Lathering technique. I don't know if you have, but really spend some time working on your lathering. I used to think i knew how to lather, then about two months into wet shaving I spent an evening experimenting with lathering and I realized I was always making my lather too dry. It looked good, but didn't provide much protection.

2: Soap. I noticed you use Williams. You'll get mixed reviews around here on Williams, but the general consensus is that it is not a great soap. There are always exceptions and YMMV, but, personally, I can't get a decent shave with out irritation from Williams without at least adding some glycerine to the lather. IMHO, Williams does not do a great job of protecting the face.

Again, I don't know how far along you are, but since you said you're relatively new, I would suggest that you try a different soap/cream and see of it helps. You can find a couple decent creams at some pretty common stores (the body shop carries a decent maca root cream, and bath and body works sells c.o. Bigelow cream)

3: it's a shavette. Personally, I find a shave with a shavette to always be more irritating than a shave with a traditional straight. I don't know why this is, maybe the disposable blades are sharper than a traditional straight. Regardless, I got much more comfortable and consistent shaves when I gave up the disposable blade.

4: know your face. You hear it a lot around here, but you should really consider examining your face and figuring out how you facial hair grows. I have some crazy spots on my face where shaving downward is not actually WTG (depending on the spot it may be XTG or even ATG). Knowing how to approach shaving your individual face will help you avoid some irritation. Once you get better at this it may become less important.

Anyway, just my opinion and some stuff you may want to consider. Take it or leave it as you please.

For your consideration: My experience with a shavette taught me one thing immediately - concentrate and be very, very aware of the edges of blade, since they are not rounded off you are sticking yourself without knowing till you bleed. Two, DITCH the Williams. Get Mitchells Wool Fat Soap, a bottle of glycerin, a small bottle of Vitamin E oil. I have sensitive skin and this is my formula for your consideration. In bowl, 6 drops of glycerin, a few of Vit E (should help with healing) and then the loaded brush of MWF. Produces a very good lather. If you are in a hard water area use bottled water heated. Do you have an alum block. Use that after shave before rinsing off lather. Will sting like hell where ever you were a little too rough on your face. Good sting because it makes you subconsciously start using lighter pressure (my big problem at first) the next time you shave. 30 seconds+, rinse, dry and get some pure aloe vera gel for your neck and a good moisturizing balm for your face. Try it, it might work for you as it did for me.

Thanks for your reply, I think it might be the soap I was considering getting something better, it is a cheap soap.

Thanks for replying, your advice souns great, but I dont want to have to do all that just to shave, the str8 razor shaving process is a big process as it is I dont want to add more to it, I just want a clean and simple good quality shave. back in the day they didnt use all these fancy things and additions like they do now. and they got excellent shaves, we might all be missing something here
@razorfeld

Also if you haven't been shaving with a shavette for long I suggest focusing on shaving your cheeks first to really work on the angle.
I know for me working on the neck and chin area while trying to learn the proper angle got a little overly complicated. Keep it simple and success will follow.

Fair enough. But with the soap I can tell you that, back in the day, Williams had a different formula and was considered a far superior soap to what it is now.

Basically, it's a slow process. Eventually you will probably be able to shave in a couple of minutes using whatever you find laying around the house. When you're learning, it doesn't hurt to have decent equipment and focusing on technique always helps.

The soap would be a thought for me too. While Williams is a shavable soap it is not very good in my personal experience. I would much prefer Arko even. Just because a soap does not cost over $15.00 it does not mean it is not a good shave soap. Look for a decent soap that is easy to get a good lather from.

Bob