Hi All,
My beard cannot make up its mind (or I cannot find the direction of growth) on my lower neck hairs.
What have you done to shave these pesky hairs with out rip pings your skin like using a Mach3?
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Hi All,
My beard cannot make up its mind (or I cannot find the direction of growth) on my lower neck hairs.
What have you done to shave these pesky hairs with out rip pings your skin like using a Mach3?
Where do you live Garthy? Sounds like you need to find a mentor around you...it would take a lot of time off your learning curve, I'm talking about cutting it in half or better.
If you have used proper shave prep & proper blade angle, the razor should never feel like it is ripping out the hairs...no matter what direction you are shaving the hairs. You really need to "map" your face, which is letting your beard grow out a day or two to see exactly which way your whiskers are growing. Many will make several passes in different directions to combat directional whiskers. Personally I use three passes: north to south, from the ear towards the chin on the face and a diagonal on the neck towards the chin, and south to north. This is what works for me.
Secondly, was your razor honed by a someone who is proficient/experienced with honing? What is the maker of your razor? Could you have rolled the edge while stropping (we have all done that one)? No matter, it sounds like the razor could use a touch-up as long as the razor was being held about a spine width off the face or lower. If you live here in the USA & cover return shipping, I would hone/touch it up for you.
+1 on Shooter's response.
Stubble going in crazy directions is pretty common. Learning how to get those areas smooth will occupy most of the first months of shaving. The 'ripping out' feeling sounds like an edge issue, as Shooter says. You might be wise to take him up on the offer to touch up the edge. That's where having at least a 2nd razor is handy so you can keep str8 shaving while one is out being touched up.
I have a cow-lick (circular beard pattern) near the concave section between the jawbone and neck. No single pass can possibly clean this area. It becomes a sometimes frustrating education on how to do several passes or direction of strokes with a light enough touch to keep from giving yourself razor burn from the pressure. It may help to think of your stretches and strokes not like taking a blade to the stubble, but by your stretching, making the stubble available to the blade. It'll take some time and experience to get the whole face mapped, but it'll come. In the mean time, you'll likely be getting the best shaves of your life.
Hi shooter
Auto correct on the pc made a mess of my last sentence. My lower neck hair are awkward and as such i get some razor burn. Regardless of brand new Mach 3, shick quattro, whatever. I suspect it is my direction since the hairs are every which way.
I have had a bit of lractise on sharpening woodworking tools and what not, so the honing was not too bad. The razor is ok. It's a new dovo finished on an 8k stone plus strop. I will be getting 1, .5 and .25 micron pastes for my paddle soon. This should finish the razor nicely.
I am doing a 2 pass shave, this is close enough for me. Face feels far better than with a cartridge razor however, like I said, the neck is a problem.
Is your hair all pointing one direction? Any tips?
Yes, first tip is a properly honed razor. Second, give it 30 shaves. Third, learning to shave and hone a razor should be done separately. It takes a LOT more time to learn to hone than shave. I get burn on my neck in the warmer days myself. My solution even today is Proraso shave soap, alum block after the shave, followed by an alcohol based aftershave like Clubman Pinaud. I bet every man here wishes their hair is going in one direction. Tips: keep at it, use a light touch, pay attention to angle, make multiple passes in different directions, & have fun experimenting. There is no one way to shave, we each have developed what works for us.
A sidenote: While on vacation about a month ago I decided to leave the straights at home while camping on the beach due to the salt. I used a top shelf disposable & my shaves literally sucked. There is no other way to say it. The razors pulled (I used a new cartridge every day) compared to my straights & felt like they were turning my face into ground beef.
i'll second (or third, or fourth) everyone's advice for a proper honing, as well as the whole beard mapping thing.
I have that problem in a big way and I'm improving by using very short, very quick (but also delicate and gentle) strokes of the razor in problem areas. I've also been including the scything method in those strokes.
What I do I use an North-South shave direction first. I shave with quick and short strokes...instead of one long stroke from chin to chest, I do maybe 10 short ones. Then for my second and third passes, I add the scyth, followed by blade buffing if I need to. I'm still a beginner so who knows if I'm doing it right, but I'm getting results and minimal irritation, if any.
I've got that neck hair problem too. I get irritated after shaving no matter what I use: straight - properly honed-, DE with fresh new blade etc. I can shave them off completely but that leaves me with sore points that I'd rather leave a barely visible stubble just to get out cheap. I didn't find a way to smoothly get rid of that hair no matter what direction I'm shaving towards.
You've likely heard this-I've not had time to read all 7 pages of this thread! Mine tends to go different directions, especially lower down on my neck. What I do is to treat the "collar" or "turtleneck" area of my neck differently. During the WTG strokes, I do the collar-region both straight down and also about 45 degrees each direction, in very short strokes. Straight down from ear around to below the chin, then kind of diagonal L-R, 1 inch strokes, then diagonal R-L short strokes. I actually make these fairly light strokes. Then doing ATG I do something similar--straight ATG, then on an angle. Doing this you need a light touch, a short stroke, a very sharp razor, and proper blade angle. My chaotic lower neck stubble has been much better.
What is "blade buffing"?Quote:
Originally Posted by U2Bono269