Irritation under the neck

I'd leave off the alum, spot treat nicks, if any, with a styptic pencil and try BBA's excellent Post shave balm,.don't ever shave areas where you have removed soap, reapply soap first...and when you are certain that you are using the lightest pressure that you possibly can,....use less.
Ill give this a go on tomorrows shave. I do think the alum is drying my skin out and I already have dry ash skin as It is.
 
I started using cold (or at most luke warm) water shaving almost a year ago. At the at time I stopped shaving against the grain on my neck and did XRG both ways instead. It made a big difference in terms of lack of neck irritation
 
Sounds to me like you're using too much pressure, try to aim to shave off today's growth,...not tomorrow's.

This, definitely.

Apart from the excellent advice above.

OP, I used to have such a problem... I now do 2 (as in two) ATG passes on my neck, just to get it smoooth... The secret? NO pressure, a sharp blade and my preferred razor. Did I mention NO pressure?
 
Sounds to me like you're using too much pressure, try to aim to shave off today's growth,...not tomorrow's.

This, definitely.

Apart from the excellent advice above.

OP, I used to have such a problem... I now do 2 (as in two) ATG passes on my neck, just to get it smoooth... The secret? NO pressure, a sharp blade and my preferred razor. Did I mention NO pressure?
 
had to quit alum after discovering it caused more irritation than it solved... Especially on the neck.
I had precisely the same alum experience and subsequent action.
Regarding the OP, I have problem areas on my neck, primarily due to mixed growth directions in certain zones, and wire brush bristles. I echo the zero pressure approach. What worked best for me was two actions. Firstly, my shaving strokes in the problem areas were too tentative, and I achieved better results with a positive and slightly faster stroke speed, but again, zero pressure. Secondly, I focused on these problem areas in my pre-shave routine, working a glycerine/lanolin soap into the bristles to soften them, and using a pre-shave gel or emulsion to further soften them.
 
I've had the Same problem however it's only just started. I've always shaved from jaw downwards however I let it grow a bit to check I was with the grain after the irritation started from nowhere. After this I found I should be going up and out diagonally. However I'm still getting the irritation. Usually coming up the morning after ( I shave at night)
 
I agree with the alum hypotheses...

I still use alum but I KNOW it gives me a little irritation. One day I may stop.

I have a cream (TOBS Sandalwood) and a soap (Caties Bubbles Conneticut Shade) that I can't use as they leave my face bright red and itchy (well... I no longer have the cream. It went in the bin because I want the tub).

The worst offender I ever used, I'm sorry to say, was a Whickham balm as you mentioned above. I had to scrub it off my face with cold water as it was burning so much.

So yeah... may not be 100% technique at fault.
 
Back
Top Bottom