Thread: Shaving Accross Neck

The neck is tough, and I am still struggling as well. I have found Guillotine cuts work best for going EW and that is the only way I can fit a blade there in that direction. Be careful, and good luck

I've been working on this area ever since I started straight shaving. what I have found that many do is to use a DE as a touch-up, but it is possible with a straight. I actually use one of my wife's shorter blades for this as it works better for me, but it does work with my normal length blades as well. I use a round point for this. I start by pushing my chin into my chest fairly tight. Grasping the skin at my chin with the chin in the joint between the thumb and palm with my fingers grasping the skin on either side. I then lift my head and had together stretching the skin up on my neck. I can then run a razor from the outside towards the adam's apple and get a close shave. I don't do this every time as I rarely wish to use specific razors for certain areas and generally have a couple of razors from other people to try along with my shave. I just have come to a point where I enjoy my shave and accept what happens. I usually get a very close shave, but on occasion they are lacking in some areas.

I haven't been using a straight very long and this is the exact same problem i have been having. I find that using a choke hold grip on the bottom of my neck with one hand and tilting my head backwards and slightly to the opposite side that you are shaving allows me to shave that area of my neck easier because it causes the skin to become flatter and i can shave with the grain. If this isn't working for me sometimes i just have to stop and use a DE to get that area which is no big deal, i still use the straight for the reast of the shave. Still gives a close shave, hope this helps!

I find I don't need to worry too much about a E to W pass on the neck. Generally, I don't get overly concerned about the few hairs that I find almost impossible (within reason) to get. I feel I COULD eliminate every hair, but I'd probably end up with some irritation; and the hairs (that I can feel) are generally not visible. I do understand how annoying it'd be for people who have a lot of hair on the neck. I think if I had thick hair on my neck I'd use a straight and a DE everyday in combination.

At the same time, there's always a challenge...

I have the same problem but found that Guillotine cuts and also rotating the blade in somewhat of a circular motion when i do my touch ups remedies the problem.

Originally Posted by JordanM

The neck is tough, and I am still struggling as well. I have found Guillotine cuts work best for going EW and that is the only way I can fit a blade there in that direction. Be careful, and good luck

Well said, and this is exactly what I do.

The guy in the video doesn't quite do E-W or W-E on the neck, but great technique. I have the same problem I am working on, and the sort of sw-ne and se-nw with a little guillotine motion seems to be working, although I have yet to get bbs on my neck yet, even with that. I have faith that it will come with practice though.

edit: having a goatee to work around makes it even harder, I find.

Originally Posted by srmd22

The guy in the video doesn't quite do E-W or W-E on the neck, but great technique. I have the same problem I am working on, and the sort of sw-ne and se-nw with a little guillotine motion seems to be working, although I have yet to get bbs on my neck yet, even with that. I have faith that it will come with practice though.

edit: having a goatee to work around makes it even harder, I find.

Yeah, I goatee does make it harder, but I take comfort in the fact I have less to bother about. My moustache, soul patch and goatee are all separate, so i have a few edges. I shaved the goatee off a little while ago (it's back now) as I wanted to shave ALL my chin at least once. I've never shaved my upper lip.

Just this morning I did manage, by coincidence, to get a particular annoying little patch on the neck that grows SE to NW (bottom right to top left), but I wouldn't even try it with a spike point, I'd just do my best or use a DE if I HAD to get it...

I have the same (or at least a similar) issue. To make matters worse, the hairs that grow east-west on my throat come out almost completely flat against the skin. What I wound up doing was stretching the skin directly opposite the direction of growth, and then using a guillotine stroke in the direction of the stretch (looks like XTG but it's actually ATG for those whiskers). You might find some help in this thread: http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...-neck-xtg.html. Near the bottom of the first page there's a useful diagram. Good luck!

When I was doing touch ups with the old multi-blade cartridge I got a better sense of how the hairs were laying.
They pretty much point backwards from the chin to the ear- so a careful pass from ear to chin seems to get most of them.
Practice, practice, practice. And the sharpness of the razor makes a big diff here & dexterity of the non- dominant hand is improving...
Not something I've tried yet with the spike points- ouch!