Thread: Neck irritation?

Originally Posted by woork

On my next shave I'll ty to duplicate what I did on my "great shave"..=)

The time I go between shaves should not be an issue?

//Victor

Actually yes. Irritation needs time to heal. But at the same time, the skin adapts to shaving.
I recently started shaving a "soul patch" that I sported for many years, and I can tell you that the skin underneath it is way more sensitive than on the rest of my face.

I'm not sure how long it takes before the skin starts to "de-adapt", but if you wait too long between shaves, there's always the possibility that your face becomes a bit more tender.

I guess the ideal waiting time is a compromise between those two opposing factors.
For me personally, that's two to three days.
Whenever I start shaving daily, I always end up at a point where my face really needs a day rest. That happens after about 4 days in a row.

Bart.

I have fairly sensitive skin and compromise by either shaving in the shower, or taking the extra time to really do good prep before shaving at the sink. I also make sure I start with a sharp razor and then forgo the ATG and XTG passes on most days.

Do you actually shave with a straight in the shower?
In that case, you are more of a man than I will ever be.

The photo makes it look like individual hair follicles are being irritated rather than the entire area of skin. That reminds me of an quaint old text I was reading earlier that suggested that if hairs are not made brittle the razor can slice half way into the hair which then bends and the blade starts to cut along the length of the hair, effectively pulling on it like tweezers, which irritates the skin.

That text is probably laughable considering how we shave now, but I'm wondering if a scything motion would help.

Will post a link for amusement if I can find it again.

Here it is: http://www.archive.org/stream/toilet...drich_djvu.txt

One pass and one pass only. Done correctly, this is all you need.

I would say that leave 1 wtg pass away. It is worthless and could cause irritation.
In that area you're doing "natural" skin stretching when you lift up your chin and the most tight area is just there where the problem located. I have noticed that skin stretching is have to be pretty precise otherwise I get ingrown hairs because the blade exfoliate too deep. The more you stretch the less you must load the pressure.
In neck area the pressure is almost a nil.
I shave every day 1 wtg and 1 atg without irritation and I have such a coarse whiskers and fast grow that it is must in my case.

Originally Posted by fccexpert

One pass and one pass only. Done correctly, this is all you need.

I offer a case of Chimay Grand Reserve, for any guy that can come here and shave my face BBS in one just one pass. (maybe one pass ATG, but THAT would really cause a major case of razor burn)

Shaving with a straight is all about gradual beard reduction, not about achieving smoothness with the first pass. If you have the kind of beard that can be shaved smooth with one pass, then you're an exception. I can't even do that on my cheeks, nor can any of the guys I know that shave with a straight razor.
We've seen enough newbies arriving at SRP, pushing down on the razor, hurting themselves, in the misapprehension that they needed to be smooth in one pass. For the majority of man, it is not good advice to recommend one pass.

respectfully,
Bart.

I completely agree with Bart.

It seems that you are shaving properly and making an effort to find the variable causing the problem.

I also have had this problem you are describing.

For me, I can get the best shave one day and then the next day, the worst without changing a thing....Thus, I recommend looking into some additional products that might help when you have a bad skin day.

Whenever I have a bad skin day I always make sure to effectively double my shave prep / post the next day to create a buffer and help my skin out a bit more. Or I just wont shave, but for me, this isnt always an option.

Thus, I recommend using more of a preshave oil, more cold water post, a toner or alum block, AS, wait and hour, some more AS...making sure not to clog the pores with too much AS/balm however...and if I feel that irritation is very bad I will use Tend Skin.


http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...oil-toner.html

http://straightrazorpalace.com/after...rritation.html

I hope that you find the variable and solve the problem.

Good luck.

Neck irritation can be resolved by REALLY observing the way your whisker's grow. Going with the grain,may not give you the closest shave but should resolve most irritation.

If you decide you need a second pass and decide to go cross-grain or even against the grain you need a VERY SHARP-SHAVE READY RAZOR. A razor that might squeak by giving an "acceptable" but not GREAT shave WTG will cause big time razor burn going against the grain.

Prep, technique and SHARP razors. Patience and practice. You don't have to accept irritation as a part of shaving. It can be conquered.

Originally Posted by Lt.Arclight

Neck irritation can be resolved by REALLY observing the way your whisker's grow. Going with the grain,may not give you the closest shave but should resolve most irritation.

If you decide you need a second pass and decide to go cross-grain or even against the grain you need a VERY SHARP-SHAVE READY RAZOR. A razor that might squeak by giving an "acceptable" but not GREAT shave WTG will cause big time razor burn going against the grain.

Prep, technique and SHARP razors. Patience and practice. You don't have to accept irritation as a part of shaving. It can be conquered.

I think my beard direction is the main problem,I have to start trying harder to figure out how to shave according to my beard directions.
On a N to S pass I go ATG on my lower neck,probably not the best thing to do on te first pass.I get a little bit of a pulling sensation when I shave N to S on my lower neck..

Thanks for all the ecouragement and tips guys!