GROOMING

How To Shave Your Neck with a safety razor

By Philip Yiga | January 22, 2015

Every man want to have that exclusive perfect shave every morning, however, a safety razor can be the only shaving tool to offer you with that wish, at least it will not leave you guessing any more. It should not be that difficult to shave your neck, especially when using a safety razor, but still I will not assume that it’s that easy to do, because any simple mistake you make can result into serious trouble, for example, if you make wrong razor strokes, you might end up cutting yourself. In this post, I will teach you how to shave your neck with a safety razor; I might as well suggest a few products which might be of good use to you during this process.

Preparation: – It is better to first get prepared before doing anything. Gather up everything you might need to get a close neck shave. Products you might need include; shaving soap/cream for lathering up, a safety razor, I suggest you go for the most recommended razor (Merkur / Edwin Jagger) those two brands will do the best job, safety razor blades for de razors, badger brush for applying shaving cream, after shave for calming down that neck after shaving, warm water for opening up skin pores and making hair on the neck soft and easy to shave. If you have ingrown hair or acne, you might need to use a close comb razor not an open one, i think that will be gentle on your skin.
Map your grain:- Hope you don’t get confused by the mapping term. Hair on your neck grows to different directions, so you might have more than one accurate grain. In most cases, some men shave against the grain, this gives them the best close shave, but the only side effect of shaving against the grain is skin irritation which latter results into razor bumps and ingrown hairs. When you map your grain very well you will save yourself from shaving against it. The time spent shaving your need might be longer than the time you spend shaving your chin simply because you have to twist the razor every now and then, this is so because the neck can feature more than one grain direction, and any mistake you make can result into big issues. So be very patient, take your time, there is no need of rushing especially when you’re dealing with a sharp shaving tool on a very sensitive area.
Use warm water:- Before lathering up that neck, I suggest you wash it clean it warm water. You can get a clean face towel and dump it into hot water, let it get warm and then put the towel on your neck. This will clean dirt on your neck and at the same time make that hair soft and easy to cut.
Leather up:- So why leather up after washing your neck with warm water, after roll hair is soft and easy to shave? Yep, right question….after washing your neck, it will become dry in no minutes and hair will become hard to cut in a few minutes, but when you leather up after washing your neck, that shaving soap / cream will ensure that the neck & hair on it stay moist. Wet shaving with a safety razor on a neck can give you the best safe results.
Select the right razor:- You can shave your neck with a safety razor or straight razor, both tools will give you the best results, however, a straight razor can be risky if you have never used it before, that is to why it’s called a ”cut throat razor” because any single mistake you make can clear your throat in no minutes. That being said, I would rather use a safety razor, because its head is curved and the blade cuts hair while it’s bent, hence reducing on sharp cuts. Check the status of your safety razor, its blades have to be in good condition, if not, replace them with new safety razor blades, a full packet of 100 safety blades can cost you only $10 – $15. ….nice deal… Those with cartridge razors like Gillette; you should invest some bucks in new cartridge.
Flatten the neck:- At this point, your razor is ready for the challenge, but before shaving that neck, try to flatten the area to be shaved with one hand and shave with another hand, this will make it easy and safe to shave that neck. By default, skin on your neck is soft and not flat, so if you don’t pull it a little bit to become flat, it will get caught up in the razor head / comb, but don’t over stretch it, that might hurt you as well.
Follow Grain:- At the first place, you started by defining the actual direction to which your hair grows too, now shave towards that direction, I know this might require you to make more than one stroke compared to when you shave against the grain, but this is the safest option,
Don’t use too much pressure: – I’m sure this is clear to everyone; I don’t have to explain about this, because it’s plain and clear. If you use too much pressure, you will cut yourself, safety razors are sharp too, so be gentle, it does not hurt, it actually rewards and leaves your skin clean and woundless.
Make Creative Strokes: – Since your neck features more than one grain, I suggest you shave in more than one angle. Practicing different strokes will clearly show you which strokes offer the best results. I just hate following the book, I love it when I discover something for myself.
Wash your neck:- Now that you have got a clean shave, it’s time you wash off that shaving cream / soap, use cold water to rinse off shaving cream and shaved hair, cold water will close all skin pores. However, if you spot some unshaved areas, try to go over them gently and get a uniform clean shave. You can as well leather up those areas before shaving them to avoid any problems that might occur if you dry shave them.
Use after shave:- Choose the best after shave for men, and apply to the shaved area, but make sure you dry that neck very well before applying after shave.