Thread: never fails................i always get razor burn on my neck

no matter what i try i always get razor burn on my neck along with a less than ideal shave. my hair grows up not down so i make sure i do wtg then atg and still same results ive tried everything i know how. for those who will ask i use vdh soap and brush and always a hot shower before. im lost help me find my way.

My two initial concerns would be 1) pressure - aka too much and 2) angle.

There was a time when my neck was hugely sensitive .....it took about 3 months for me to realize that my angle was too steep. Then even later on I realized that what I thought was "very little pressure" turned out to be much more than that. The razor should almost float on your skin.

A third point could be that the razor is not as sharp or smooth as it could be. This can be a contributing factor to discomfort.

Lastly, try varying your prep. Try a double lather for a couple days. See how that helps. Construct a thin lather, let it sit on your face while you shower. Then wipe off and re-lather with well built stiff lather. Let it set for 3 minutes or so....then shave. The "set" in my opinion is very important.

Just my two quick cents.

I had the same problem sometimes it's the beard prep and it's very important and I mean importan. But maxi is also right the razor could not be sharp

+1 to Maxi's post

I always sweat during a shave...I realized my bathroom suffers from decreased airflow..I've become accustomed to irritation

Do you hone your own blades 308?

Originally Posted by smalltank

I always sweat during a shave...I realized my bathroom suffers from decreased airflow..I've become accustomed to irritation

Now THAT sounds miserable. Have you tried the cold water shave?

Same for the original poster--try doing your whole shave with cold water. The lather works just as well, the beard gets just as wet, and your skin gets a little less bothered by heat.

The cold shave and letting a real sharp razor float on my skin is how it works for me.I only shave my throat always have,tight skin good lather and a sharp blade are what works for me.Keep trying you'll find your combo!

Originally Posted by hellrazor308

no matter what i try i always get razor burn on my neck along with a less than ideal shave. my hair grows up not down so i make sure i do wtg then atg and still same results ive tried everything i know how. for those who will ask i use vdh soap and brush and always a hot shower before. im lost help me find my way.

For me irritation is pressure/angle. Dull razor forces pressure to cut whiskers ergo scrape off skin. Angle is higher than necessary to cleave whiskers erg the razor begins to scrape off skin. Scraped off skin equals abrasion and razor burn.
Only enough pressure to wipe of lather should be enough to cleanly cut whiskers if not your razor is dull. Angle should start at nearly 0degrees and increase only until the whiskers begin to slip off the face. If your angle gets much past two spine widths from the skin(or about 30 degrees) you are scraping and not cutting.

If your prep is insufficient, think of what dry shaving feels like, it compels you to pull hard and raise up the blade and scrape the skin to remove the hair. Abrasion and burn result from one of or a combination of those three elements.

Prep
Pressure
Angle

YMWV (your mileage will vary)

Practice shaving a lathered balloon.


It just keeps getting better.

Originally Posted by hellrazor308

no matter what i try i always get razor burn on my neck along with a less than ideal shave. my hair grows up not down so i make sure i do wtg then atg and still same results

My neck was the last hold out on getting a perfect shave. It's grows up at the very bottom, but side-to-side from my Adam's apple to chin...learning to get a WTG pass going side-to-side took FOREVER...and I'm still working on the ATG. Maxi hit the nail on the head - it's probably TOO much pressure. I'm amazed at how little pressure is needed to get a shave, it only makes sense that you should have to push the razor a little to cut the hair, but with a properly sharpened razor you need no pressure. Good luck!