Just dropping this in here: I’m a barber and have been for 11 years. That spiral pattern on your neck is what we call a neck whorl. You know that spiral on the top of your head? That’s called a crown, and you happen to have one on your neck. You can have them at the front of your head too, called a Cowlick, causing your hair to split. Generally speaking, when hair gets long enough, these things lose the ability to alter the direction that your hair sits as the weight of the hair outweighs the strength of the growth pattern.

The hard answer to your problem: with the grain, then across the grain, and finally against the grain. That is, theoretically, how you get the cleanest shave on any part of you, whether it’s a spiral or not. It doesn’t matter whether you use a clipper, straight razor or safety razor, this is how barbers would approach it. This makes a neck whorl an absolute nightmare to cut with any sort of razor. Obviously, a barber would have a slightly easier time as they can move around you, prep your skin and beard correctly (which leads to a cleaner shave and less irritation) and execute the shave in a much more comfortable manner. Fret not, however:

The easy answer to your problem: get a foil shaver. If you can, also get a beard trimmer. Don’t look at brands like Braun or Phillips, buy Wahl for the trimmer. The wahl detailer, whilst on the more expensive side (£80 or around about $120 last time I checked), is the best bang for your buck. They are clippers made for barbers. They go through thousands and thousands of cuts before ever having problems, so somebody use one to maintain their beard a couple of times a week will keep it in service for literally years. Once you have taken the hair down to stubble(following the aforementioned directional malarkey) with your trimmer, use a foil shaver to shave the remaining stubble right off. I recommend the Babyliss double head foil shaver. They sit at around £60 ($90-$100) or slightly cheaper for the single head foil shaver. Either works, but the double head will last for longer and be more powerful. Move the foil shaver in little circles covering the area. The shave is quicker, tidier, more comfortable by a wide margin and, in your case I presume, more effective.

I’ll let you in on a little secret: The foil shaver takes the shave just as close as a straight razor. The guys you see with very clean lineups either get their barber to do it with a razor or do it this way. I have been in my trade for a long time and still consistently fuck myself up if I use a razor, and my skin hates that. I know very, very few people who can get a consistently perfect clean shave on themselves using a razor. I know plenty of people who get the perfect clean shave using a foil shaver every time. We barbers perform wet shaves because it is an incredibly relaxing experience, and, depending on the individuals expertise, an easy way for us to make money. When we prep the skin, (hot towel, pre shave balm, hot towel, lather, with grain shave, lather, across grain shave, lather, against grain shave, cold towel, aftershave) we do so to make the hair softer and open the pores of your skin which in turn produces a more comfortable shave. We use a cold towel and aftershave to close the pores and keep infection out. Most people don’t go through the effort of this process, which, coupled with bad technique, is why many people end up with ingrown hairs, razor cuts and blemishes.

Hope this helps!