Thread: help out a noob with shaving neck

I stopped shaving with the grain/against the grain. My beard growth is all over the place. It is much easier for me to shave north to south and south to north. Another mistake newcomers make is they shave using slow strokes. Doesn't matter how sharp the blade if the strokes are very slow the blade will pull and tug the beard causing an uncomfortable shave. Make sure your strokes are confident and efficient. If you don't have confidence in your strokes you have to fake it until you make it

Originally Posted by TucoRamirez

I stopped shaving with the grain/against the grain. My beard growth is all over the place. It is much easier for me to shave north to south and south to north. Another mistake newcomers make is they shave using slow strokes. Doesn't matter how sharp the blade if the strokes are very slow the blade will pull and tug the beard causing an uncomfortable shave. Make sure your strokes are confident and efficient. If you don't have confidence in your strokes you have to fake it until you make it

A buffing stroke helps with this. It gives you enough feedback in the razor and is very efficient. You will be able to move much more quickly once you decide to try it! (Buffing is moving the blade in and out in the direction of the pass. It replaces the soap/cream and lets you take several mini strokes at once) It seems scary at first and don't let your swmbo watch as it looks scary even when you are comfortable with it! If you can scythe, you can buff!

I’ll assume you want to go with wtg or xtg passes first. Assuming you do, make your fist pass on the left side straight down. If your beard is growing on an angle from top left to bottom/middle, you should be going approximately xtg. On the right, hold the razor like a hot dog with the spine between your thumb and index fingers with the edge facing up. Anchor the skin at the base of your neck on the right and perform the same pass as the left but in the opposite direction. If the beard is growing bottom/middle to upper/right, you should again be going mostly xtg. When you want to go atg, use that same grip on the left but angle the cutting edge toward your ear, hold the skin at the base of the neck securely, and cut upward toward your left ear. For the right side, I would use the cleared area of the left to pull the neck skin hard to the left with your RIGHT hand. Using your LEFT hand, I would shave downward on an angle from as high as you can along the upper right side down toward your lower middle. Awkward? Yes. But you CAN get the hang of it. I perform similar cuts every time I shave in order to do the same thing. For xtg passes you might also alter that grip such that you’re still holding the blade between thumb , forefinger/indexfinger by the spine with the cutting edge facing left (tang pointing upward). Lean your head back and move the blade directly across the neck, right to left. Don’t try running over your adams apple though. Again, awkward? Yes. But I do it every time I shave.

Cheers for all the replys. I shave tomorrow so Will try a few suggestions and see how it goes. Hopefully don't end up looking like i shaved with a sander again.

I have trouble with my neck also, the hair seems to grow in all directions. If it helps it is getting easier as time goes by and my technique improves. I usually get it pretty smooth after the second pass.

Russell