Thread: Neck Hair Towards Jawline

Hey y'all, thank you so much for all of the good threads. I have seen some similar threads but none that quiet answered this specific question, so I apologize if some of this sounds repetitive. I am having troubles shaving my neck with my boker. A majority of my neck hair grows up towards my jaw line. I am still new to using my straight so I only do one pass WTG. I pull my skin sideways and attempted the up stroke to my jaw. This was a very smooth shave, however after my one pass it looked like I never shaved my neck. After being frustrated with different neck pulls and angles, I went ATG, which is normal for most people (starting at my jawline and then working my way down). This gave me a very smooth shave, and a very clean look. My neck however did not take kindly to this, and after multiple shaves of doing this, I now get razor burn, a my razor jumps now over these spots providing in more severe razor bumps.

Any suggestions to get a clean comfortable shave with neck hair growing up towards the jawline? Thank you for your advice!

My neck was red for the first month shaving with a straight, no discomfort, just red. Besides angle and pressure, I really think your skin needs to adapt a little to straight razors. Be mindful of your angle ATG, as it is much flatter than WTG. Very little pressure, think of just enough to remove the lather.

It will take a little time but you will get it with practice and some experimentation on finding the right angles and pressure along with just how to properly stretch the skin on your neck.

Good luck.

Yeah, as of right now I do not have any pain shaving my neck, it just creates those annoying red areas. Do you recommend not going ATG or should I just stick with ATG and learn that technique properly?

That's entirely up to you and what you are trying to achieve with your shave. I'm one of those rare birds that chases a BBS daily, others are just looking for a decent shave.

I think it would be good to keep with the ATG, just for the sake of learning the proper stroke. If the redness bothers you, you could practice it every few shaves.

Straight razor shaving is very personal and it is all about what makes you happy with your shave and taking a chore and making it a "look forward to time" each shave.

Do what is right for you.

First question, is your razor professionally honed and properly stropped? Stretching is the key. I need three passes on my neck. On with the grain and two against the grain. Be patient. It will come in time. Been using a straight over twenty years and still learning.

Thank you for all of the replies!

I will try to stick with ATG to keep the shave consistent with the rest of the shave look. It just looked strange going WTG on my neck and the rest of my face looks cleanly shaved.

And yes my razor has been professionally honed and as far as I know I have been keeping my edge with stropping. I will continue different techniques with stretching the skin and see where that gets me. Thank you again!

I noticed the angle of my blade changes to the more aggressive when I shave my neck. Make sure the blade has less angle, less pressure, stretch and try a pre-shave. I use Crown pre-shave oil and it works pretty good. Don't try and get a BBS shave initially. The hair on your neck can grow in multiple directions so be patient. I watched Lynn Abrams video and he shaved diagonally instead of up and down. I find that helps.

I'm a Noxema user. It works great as a pre shave, it is easy to find and it is super cheap, as am I. I think the stretching, low pressure, low angle advice is spot on. It does take a little while to get to learn your face and your technique. The quality of your edge is also important, and when I was very new an edge did not last long. If you can give your skin a rest and not shave over your rash that is pretty handy. A good face cream before bed is quite handy too.