Thread: Neck, any tips?

I have been having touble getting the side of my neck (think just passed the adams appple horizontally) smooth. It's not horrible, but like everyone, I keep striving to get the best shave possible.

any tips? The hair grows upwards.

Tough spot on either side of the windpipe. I have to pull the skin sideways to get is tight enough. Kind of flatten the area out. You have to experiment with which stretch will work for you along with which strokes. Just don't try to pressure through it. That will lead to irritation. If you experiment you'll find what will work for you.

I am glad you asked this LxS. I don't have an answer for you but I would like to add a question to yours: I have read a few times throughout the boards about "Buffering Strokes". It's supposed to be helpful for those hard to shave areas. Can someone please elaborate on this technique? Maybe it can be used around the neck area. I could use the help too.

Thanks.

+ 1 on Jimmy's advice about NOT applying pressure. When I fell in love w/ the heavier grinds - more pressure was always the temptation - BECAUSE I COULD. It's not good technique, and is prob the leading cause of irritation. Those blades shave just as well with feather light touch. 'Seems the longest battle has been finding the stretch/stroke combination for the difficult spots. I'm still working it. I have a sections where no single direction will clean the spot - the lay of the beard swirls or arcs. With some blades I can pressure through them, but that's not a solution - as you can probably now tell.

Buffing strokes are short back-and-forth strokes where the edge is not lifted on the back stroke, but stays in contact with the skin. It works on sensitive areas well, re-coats the section to be cut with lather on the back stroke, and allows multiple passes in one section quickly.

Originally Posted by pinklather

Buffing strokes are short back-and-forth strokes where the edge is not lifted on the back stroke, but stays in contact with the skin. It works on sensitive areas well, re-coats the section to be cut with lather on the back stroke, and allows multiple passes in one section quickly.

Ah, well done. Will give it a go. I've got a 4/8 to try it with. It's small enough to get into tight places.

I have similar spots on the sides of my neck about a half dollar in size. I have found that using only the toe or the heel while holding the blade on about a 45 deg angle and shaving in short slicing motions while moving the razor in the direction of hair growth works for me. The only down side is that using that kind of a stroke is the easiest way to cut yourself, keep the angle lower, and that you really need to watch the end of the blade you are not using. If you get concentrating only on the area you are shaving the end of the blade that isnt being used will teach you to respect it in a hurry, I have gotten my stretching fingers a couple times and my jaw once. The upside is that the slicing stroke will get you to use very very light pressure. For some reason it seems that the toe is easier to use on my left side and the heel is easier to use on the right. It took me a few tries to figure out which direction to stretch the skin and also kind of flexing my neck while twisting it a little to the side and lifting the chin gives a nice flat spot to shave. I havent tried the buffing stroke, but I am going to tomorrow, I hadnt heard of that one yet.

I have this problem. The hairs on my neck grow away from the Adam's apple. When I was using a DE, I got quite adept at shaving from the outside toward the Adam's apple and really got these two areas cleaned up.

Now with the Dovo Shavette, I'm just letting that area go without an ATG pass. That is an area that I am going to let go of at the moment because of the risk/reward ratio there. I know I could take a stab (perhaps not the best way to put it) at that area, but I can live with the small amount of growth there, and any mistake in this ungainly area would turn my shirt collars red

I've discovered with this introduction to straight shaving that it is nice to get everything really close, but sometimes you have to appreciate when to back off a tad.

In my case experimentation with different angles and different skin stretching techniques taught me a lot what to do and also what not to do... I still have my nose and ears...

I found if my razor is 'pulling' it is most likely hone time... In my experience a well honed razor should almost provide no resistance when shaving...

So, the lightest of touches should be required especially in those areas that are more difficult to manage...

Neck growth seems to have the widest variety, so I give a +1 to experimenting.

You know how the hairs are growing, which is the first step. Make sure you are stretching in a way that lifts the hairs up off the skin, and keep that pressure light. Play around with different grips and angles and soon enough you will find what works for you.

And after you have tried everything and nothing works don't get frustrated and wind up cutting or irritating yourself. In the end I wouldn't fret about it. It's not worth it for some small area when the rest of your shave is top notch.