Thread: Neck technique refining. help?

so i had a great shave last night doing three passes, WTG and 2 XTG passes. very comfortable and absolutely NO irritation. usually i tend to go over board which ends in a little bit of irritation, but last night things just really clicked and there was no need to keep going.

my only problem is the neck. not your typical neck problem i guess though. my problem area is right under the back of my jawbone. the hair grain goes from the front of my neck to the back right there, whereas the front of my neck the hair grows straight down.

the reason my problem isnt typical is that i can get that spot to be acceptably close using my regular routine which is basicly 2 XTG (straight down then straight up). but i can't seem to get it to the level of the rest of my face. it is close but not there.

i always pull the skin down to stretch it, and would like to do the WTG to start but have no clue how to position the razor to do so. i use a couple different razor grips.

any suggestions would be great. if not i will keep with my routine and see if simple technique refinement clears things up with time.

thanks
Wes

That's a problem area for me , too . I do one pass straight down , one pass straight up , and another down . The last pass is done using water only , and a very light touch . This gets it smooth enough for me .

This is my trouble spot, too. I always get it smooth by going XTG (scything motion) in a different direction. This can entail some pretty creative skin-stretching technique, just make sure to exercise some extra caution and take her slow. I also find that I get this area a lot smoother if I hold the blade the way he does in pic #10: Different ways to hold a straight razor - Straight Razor Place Wiki

typically i use grip 1, 6 and 9. the light touch part is what i mainly have to keep my eye on now as i find the more comfortable i get the less attention i pay to the pressure, which could be part of it.

thanks

The difficulty I have here is that I can't really go across the neck there because of the curvature of my neck. I can go up or down but horizontal is almost impossible. This is te only place I wish (God forgive me) I still used a safety razor, as it's small enough to manage this task. I always end up settling for less than BBS there.

I use grip #7 and hold the razor as loosely as possible. Incidentally, I have the same problems you have, but really sharp razors and the above technique have helped me a lot.

I have that same problem, except for me the grain goes from back to front at the back of the jawbone area and just going up and down on the neck doesn't get it as smooth as the rest of my face.

I don't know about you, but for me I don't have a particularly heavy beard and in that area the hair only grows just below my jawline. What I do since I can't bring the razor horizontally across my neck, is stretch the skin from that area up onto my cheek and then I go ATG from there since moving it up onto the cheek makes that pass more accessible.

It's extremely awkward I'll admit, and I'm still working on it (I'm still at a 50/50 success rate), but it definitely produces good results for me when I do manage to get it to work.

This is still a problem area for my as well my hair grows "in this direction \\\ " from one side all the way to the other (not really straight down more on an angle). I end up having to use a diagonal stroke ATG which is kind of dangerous. I got the idea from one of Jockeys videos and while I haven't gotten it completely down I get a really smooth shave (except for a few spots). A light touch is a must to try this! My next thing to try is to try to shave ATG with my off hand as it might provide a better angle in the way I hold the razor.

Anyhow I hope this gives you a few new ideas,


- Tam -

I have the same growth pattern & find that stretching above the jaw line & scything strokes all help. A super short razor can help with maneuverability but would like to stress 3 words that Robin said.
"Really Sharp Razors".

Same problem here, I've tried the tips mentioned but for now I know that my skills are still a work in progress, and am happy just getting a a good shave without any nicks, cuts, or razor burn.

Serg