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Been doing the safety razor shave thing for a few days now and I love it but everytime I seem to nick my neck in a few places and can figure out why. The neck area gets pretty agitated after a shave and I cant seem to figure out why its only my neck.
The neck area tends to be extra sensitive and tender, along with the fact that most of our neck stubble swirls in different directions. This makes the neck a prime candidate for irritation.
The initial irritation was probably due to lack of technique, as in not keeping your angle constant. I would also bet that you are not letting your neck heal adequately before the next shave, which just further irritates the same spots. If this is the case it is best to give your face a rest for a few days before attempting to shave again.
I found that I wasn't stretching the skin properly on my neck so the razor would keep catching on the loose skin.
thanks for the information gents, im gonna give it a few days before the next shave. I have been keeping close attention to technique and angle and still seem to nick myself. I think your right my beard on my neck comes in at a different directions...I think in a few days I will try some different passes.
For me one side of the neck grows up and the otherQuote:
Originally Posted by toughluck
grows down.
What works best for me is lots of attention to "lathering"
and a very light touch.
A very light touch can be hard to master. One trick is
to try a couple bucks of the yellow handle BiC razors
for sensitive skin. Hold it at the very very end with two
fingers light enough that if it was a chrome plated brass
razor it would slip and fall. Save the extra ones for air travel.
And a single pass on the neck can help.
Thanks guys,
Now that ive had a full day to let it grow in a bit I looked closely and realized on one side of my neck the hair grows completely sideways while all the other parts are pretty much straight down. I will try going sideways with the grain on this problem spot.
Well went at it again tonight, 3rd shave with the new razor and first time with no blood or burn. I think its a combination of my skin getting conditioned to it and my skills improving. First pass straight down, second pass at an angle(not to the against the grain point yet). But none the less got a very close shave with not irritation like I usually get from a mac3 or electric type. This time I used a very hot wet towel on the face for a few mins before hand once with just water, then I lathered up and applied it again for a few mins. Seemed to help more than just wetting the face with warm water or even a shower. Also paid very close attention to angle and very light touch, let the weight of the 1904 do the work.
Keep at it mate. I have been going at it for a year and still learning. I have read, on this site, of guys going much longer and still learning about their face and the hair growing on on it :-)
I had the same problem but shaving WTG sure made a difference once I had a close enough shaver and good TOBS shaving cream :)
I have a whirlygig (swirl) in my beard on one side of my neck that is guaranteed to give me weepers and irritation if I use even light pressure when shaving with a DE (Merkur HD 34C).
Thanks,
Mike
Bingo!Quote:
Originally Posted by toughluck
Mine makes funny turns and is all over the place, too.
I'll bet most of us have funny growth patterns on our necks! One good thing about DEs is that it's easier to follow them than it is with most straights.
Just a little observation about nicks: if you do get one but can't skip shaving till it heals over completely, shaving straight over it in another direction won't usually do any damage: go easy though.
You might like this thread:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...ck-relief.html
If you can handle the situation with hot towels, lather, very light pressure, and skin-stretching, you won't need Lynn's hints.
Charles
Lots of great suggestions here. I find that using very light pressure and stretching the skin and taking my time = great results. That being said, it didn't happen for me overnight. I struggled and over time my technique improved until one day, it seemed to fall into place. And like some of the posters indicated here, it becomes an ongoing learning and improving process. I like to use the anology of when I was in boot camp (in 1958 !!) we just couldn't keep in step. This went on for three weeks (with the TI constantly yelling and screaming at us). Then one morning we fell out for breakfast (4:45 am) and when the TI gave the right turn command, all that was heard was one, in unison, heel click. When we marched to chow, we were all in step and we knew it and could feel the change - we were finally functioning as a unit. The TI never had to count cadence all the way to the chow hall. Things got a little easier after that. And recently I thought of that one morning because when I started to DE shave, it seemed that all of the DE shaving boot camp I had been going thru was paying off and shaving was a lot easier.
I don't think I'll ever "arrive" . But I do like the challenge and for me, every day is a challenge to use the best technique and get the best shave that I can.
Good luck.