Thread: Shaving the neck area

that's interesting, I thought a thicker layer of cream or soap was better when doing the first pass. I just found it odd that my right side can go so smoothly and the left side is just a nightmare.

Yeah, thick is fine on the first pass (at least for me), but on the second or third, I water it down by probably 50% just to keep things moving. Sorry I wasn't clear in the first answer. In summation: Thick first pass, thin everything else.

I do the same thing. It's frustrating to get such good results everywhere except for my lower left neck

I also have problems with my lower neck, it seems that the grain goes the opposite direction for the lower 2/3 inch, so I go down and all in a sudden it is ATG and burns like crazy.
Any techniques against that problem?

Originally Posted by Dups

I just found it odd that my right side can go so smoothly and the left side is just a nightmare.

Not odd at all when you're talking about the neck. The left side of my neck shaves to almost BBS on the first pass; nice enough where I don't even bother going at it more than that. The right side, more specifically an area about the size of a quarter on the right side of my neck is very troublesome. I have to hit area with the blade in a vertical position and go with an EXTREMELY light touch towards my ear. That patch stays a bit stubbly to the touch but I don't go XTG or ATG there. If I did, it would the ingrown city no matter what method of shaving I use.

Chris L

Here are some updates..

I just shaved tonight and figured that maybe I could try going up towards my jaw line instead of the usual North to South movement on that little rough spot on my neck...WOW what a difference..almost no burn this time..I guess I was shaving against the grain thus my burning pain each time I was doing it hehe..

im glad you found a techneique that is working for you

I'm glad you are finding what works on your face.

It takes time to learn how your particular beard will respond to a new form of shaving (ie going from a DE or cartridge to a straight). The old barber manuals have some pretty good guidelines for how to shave each area of the face, but each of us has a different topography and grain to our beards. This is why even a first rate barber shave is usually not as stubble free as our best work at home. The barber doesn't get to practice, so it really takes an experienced eye (and hands) to get it right the first time.

Some prob areas on my neck, usually do a down pass first, light wet re-soap and then ATG upwards. Takes care of the most of it real good. Really prob areas on neck (swirly growth) I use a down diagonal stroke (very carefully!) for that.