Everytime I shave I end up with razorburns on my neck, it doesn't matter if I use electric, DE or a straight razor, I always look like I have polkadots on my neck.
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Everytime I shave I end up with razorburns on my neck, it doesn't matter if I use electric, DE or a straight razor, I always look like I have polkadots on my neck.
How long have you tried using a DE or a straight razor? DE's can take months of practice to get a good technique to avoid burn, also the blades you use count big time.
Straights can take a year to practice and get good results with.
I've been using DE's for years and I have always had problems with my neck even if I stretch the skin or not, straight not so long. But even with an electric razor I end up with these "polkadots". Perhaps I shouldn't shave as often as I do, I shave every other day.
It sounds like a bad case of razor burn - maybe even ingrown hairs. If you're noticing this problem with DE and straight razor shaving and you know your techniques are sound, I'd start thinking about pre- and post-shave products to fix the problem.
A lot of the advice I've heard is basically to clean your face really well and get rid of any dirt or dead skin. You may want to try an "acne scrub" soap in the shower. Post-shave, there are razor burn products (I think Bump Be Gone, or Bump Zone, or something like that). They're in the shaving section of any major drugstore like CVS, and some of them have a topical analgesic to cure any pain.
This is a pretty common problem for guys with really curly beards, so you should be able to find a less drastic solution than to quit shaving. Good luck
I had the same thing going for quite some time. Eventually I gave up being stubborn and changed my technique. The hair on my neck grows sideways and I was only doing vertical passes. Now I start my shave off with sideways passes on my neck. That also means I am getting those hairs when the blade is sharpest. I also gave up on going for perfectly smooth in those areas. I can get it close enough that it looks no different and is smooth in most directions. But no matter what if I go for BBS I get ingrowns. My prep/lathering/technique/stropping still might not be perfect, but it works as a temp fix for now.
I used to get red spots on my neck as well. Nothing I did made any difference. After I switched to a straight, I've noticed that they are basically non-existent.
It's been a few months now, and I havent had NEAR the irritation on my neck as I used to. Maybe you will have the same good fortune :)
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Originally Posted by a350z4me
+1 on this
I have always had the same problem, the hair on my neck grows up, so my suggestion would be to study the growth pattern on your neck and try to only go WTG.
You can always lets a seasoned professional Barber shave you and see if there is any difference. As some questions on the tools he uses.
It took me about 25 shaves to get acquainted with straight shaving, then another 10 - 15 to become consistent with the neck as my hairs grow in different directions.
If I have two to three day growth, then its three passes. If I have enough growth to shave and I need to look sharp, then just 2 and 3 get done. Other than that I just like to straight shave every two days as a general practice
1 Beard Reduction
2 XTG and near ATG
3 Clean up area - ATG or near ATG, special angles, face stretching.
A good lather each time or sometimes a little lathering during the shave.
It does take time to learn straight shaving and there shouldn't be any rush. I use a glycerin based shaving soap designed for straight shaving and it does a great job allowing the straights to smoothly glide over my face.
The shaving soaps I used for the Mach 3 before converting are not good enough for a straight razor. Nor was that cheap boar brush I bought from CVS!
Keep working at it and good luck!
Pabster
It could be the water...very hard water can cause such irritation....
However -it would be very difficult to avoid...trying to wash/shave your face with only bottled water would be a great pain....but might be worth a try to see if it really is the water.....
I have a smaller area on my neck that is extremely prone to razor burn and ingrown hairs. The hair there does grow in an odd direction. I have to shave very lightly there and only accept WTG. And in that area, WTG is shaving upward toward my chin and at an angle.
If you continually have razor bumps/burn, I would venture to say that you're shaving over ingrown hairs. The "bumps" are the skin, and the actual whiskers, unless released from underneath the skin and allowed to grow while the skin heals, are buried. So, when you shave over this area, you continually abrade the actual skin without getting to the whisker.
I have my best luck at avoiding razor burn in that neck area by using a straight. Even so, when I hone a razor and test shave, if the edge is harsh at all, the patch is angered. I have to then take a pointed tweezers and pick each whisker to the surface and let the skin around each follicle heal for 3-5 days. Then it's easy does it shaving that patch and everything is alright.
Chris L
I do too... that's why I switched from Mach 3 to double to single blade, to electric and to the straight. The straight still seems to be the best performer so far... I use this too: Clubman Ingrown Hair Bump Repair paired with an alum block and a soft touch, I get a lot less ingrowns and bumps... and when I get them, it's usually because my razor is not as sharp and smooth as it should be!
If it's as bad a you say, a consult with a dermatologist might be a good idea.
+1 on seeing a dermatologist. Also how many passes do you make on your neck? If you are making multiple passes trying to get BBS on your neck you may need to give that up and just make a single pass. :gl:Quote:
Originally Posted by leadduck
Like many have mentioned already, I've had similiar issues in the past. You've gotten really good adivce.
In my case, I was using too much pressure, even with a DE and straight. Once I learned to avoid aggresive pressure in those areas and not trying so hard to get a BBS shave there, my problems went away. In addtion when my straights get dull, it can have that effect, a little.
The key for me was to use almost no pressure and decrease the angle of the blade and be satisified with the reasonable shave I get in those tough areas.
I'm sure you'll find a solution to the problem with some time and experiements.
Best of luck.