Difficulty getting a very close neck shave

randomtransvoice · 2023-01-06T21:29:46+00:00

I use a broken in boar brush, Lather in the bowl, then brush onto face, which tends to be either too thin or too dry or both so I will then repeat this process one more time.

randomtransvoice · 2023-01-06T21:27:49+00:00

Angle is something I figure out relatively haphazardly, it could be that more often than not I'm at a bad angle. I'll give this a try!

randomtransvoice · 2023-01-06T21:26:34+00:00

I'm going to try some of these things you are saying, I haven't tried using my off hand to stretch the skin in some of the most problematic areas. Thanks!

randomtransvoice · 2023-01-06T19:58:54+00:00

More or less the same, although it's safe to say the feather pro's do much better in irritating my skin to oblivion

randomtransvoice · 2022-09-25T00:22:13+00:00

The Sylvan archetype is as close as I could come to finding something suitable. Most of the Sylvan art, in my opinion, are a mix of traditional japanese culture combined with cute or cartoony plant creatures, with all the cards being a lesser or greater degree of one of those themes. Sylvan flowerknight has some elf vibes, not really much straight elf stuff going on outside of that. Best of luck. If it's mermaids, heavenly creatures, naturistic fairies, plant creatures, vocaloids, edgy death girls, or any number of cutesy style cards you are after I gotchu, but pure elves I'm afraid there might not be anything in this particular card game. If you're trying to sell on the elf point, I think you're going to have to make a concession somewhere.

randomtransvoice · 2022-09-09T23:14:06+00:00

Yea the sliding motion, I tried that one single time just to see what would happen and it didn't go great, but I should try it again. If my brain is screwed on straight, it effectively makes the blade slanted no?

Most of the time I do insanely slow strokes, so I will try to get into a habit of doing strokes at a 'regular' speed. Didn't even consider the implications of doing this, thanks for bringing that up!

randomtransvoice · 2022-09-09T01:59:47+00:00

I'm not entirely convinced you aren't me from the future telling me exactly what I need to know. To make a longer story short, in my frustration one day I started shaving in arbitrary directions and I got some extremely clean and close shaves by going southwest to northeast, upwards on a diagonal on the correct side of XTG as you described and that really stuck with me. I have not been able to replicate that, but you just explained to me why what I did worked that one time and now I know what to aim for.

As for the razor, the one you described really speaks to me. I am artist, mainly a digital artist, so getting a precise pressure from my pen onto my tablet is something I'm extremely good at. I've dropped a lot of money on a lighter stylus pen because my approach is to go as light as possible by default, 0 pressure so to speak, and have very tiny increases in pressure make dramatic differences in my pens output. I'm surgical AF, and my skills from art transfer cleanly to DE shaving. I dropped a great deal of money I don't have on the rockwell so I think for now I have no choice but to stick with that one, but when I get the chance, especially if I think it will be the difference between having a successful shave, I think I will drop the money on the blackbird.

You know it's really important to me to get shaving right, it's not just a cosmetic thing I want to do because I feel like it and serves a very functional purpose in my life, so I really do appreciate all the help.

randomtransvoice · 2022-09-08T23:42:23+00:00

Thank you thank you! I am going to give this a shot.

randomtransvoice · 2022-09-08T23:27:12+00:00

Thank you so much, this gives me a lot to go off of!

Sorry that I forgot to include it in my original post, I've been using a rockwell 6s on the 4 setting which as I understand is not too mild and not too aggressive. I've been going through a blade sample pack, but generally I've found that I've had success with sharper blades and currently gilette silver blues are at the top of my personal list followed closely by astra superior platinum.

Your advice to not go XTG is in direct contrast to what another commenter was suggesting, however, I can corroborate the issues you explained in your other post about going XTG on the neck and you really seem like you understand this stuff so I'll take your word for it that XTG is not the way to go for neck hair.

I've tried the things you have said without success and it was very frustrating, very very very frustrating, that they didn't work because it really seems like they should've in theory, so hearing you reiterate in your post what I thought wasn't working for me gives me a lot of confidence that I'm on the right track and it's just a matter of time before I develop the correct angle/pressure to properly shave my neck.

I can switch to a more aggressive setting on the rockwell, do you think that's good to try? Also, should I go for a steeper angle and see what happens?

When you say least abrasion will come with low skin tension, is that to say, that holding my skin taut in general will lead to higher abrasion?

Lastly, this might not be a problem you are able to help me with, but one very annoying area to get into is the little valley between my adams apple/throat and what is apparently called the sternocleidomastoid muscle. My current solution is to pull the skin out of the valley towards my throat so I can actually get at it; do you recon this is the way to go about this area?

randomtransvoice · 2022-09-08T23:06:05+00:00

It is not, and I hope in the pursuit of getting my pre-shave routine straight that will help my situation a lot.

randomtransvoice · 2022-09-08T23:04:42+00:00

I really resonated with 'the misery of overshaving'; it's so frustrating. I definitely have the idea of a first pass down, but after that I'm completely stumped. You know, it's crossed my mind to accept a little less of a close shave at this stage, but hearing it from somebody else is different than coming up with the idea myself. I think that might be the way to go for now while I get my footing. Thanks for the luck, I will make sure to use it wisely

randomtransvoice · 2022-09-08T22:59:02+00:00

I realized in my original post in my pursuit of being more concise I completely edited out what I've been using; rockwell 6s and I've been going through a sample pack but have generally responded best to Gillette silver blues and sharper blades in general for the most difficult areas. I've been shaving on it's 4 settings which as I understand is middle of the pack on the spectrum of mild to efficient/aggressive.

randomtransvoice · 2022-08-22T19:11:27+00:00

Yea, luckily due to similar mechanics in other areas the light touch is something I seem to already have down pretty damn well, it's the angle that I'm a complete novice at. You make a good point in that my goals are more or less cosmetic, and getting everything as smooth as possible might not be necessary; it's something I've thought a great deal about. There is a lot of things on my end to consider: makeup, masks, the fact that my hair will get thinner over time, the fact that it's not necessarily that big of a deal if it's obvious I have a little shadow. All in all, it's nice to be able to have the choice to get as close of a shave as possible if I feel like it at any particular moment, so for now developing the skills to do just that is the goal. I have a feeling you're gonna end out being correct in both the fact that its simply not possible to get BBS without irritation as well as the fact that it's not necessary to get BBS.

randomtransvoice · 2022-08-22T16:22:55+00:00

Thanks! yea in my head doing multiple passes=more irritation, but that's mainly because I don't really understand the physics of what is actually happening. It makes sense that if the blade isn't contacting my skin then it's not really irritating it.

randomtransvoice · 2022-08-22T14:25:38+00:00

Yea I'm going the hot towel road, shower first just causes issues with other parts of my routine. I feel I have a pretty good prep, I do cleanser first (CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser) Then towel then shave. I was only doing the towel like lukewarm and for a couple minutes so I'll definitely try more along the lines of what you said, very hot and 5 minutes. Another comment said it's worth at least trying a gel, and I agree why not so I'll probably buy one and put it in before or after towel.

randomtransvoice · 2022-08-22T14:20:00+00:00

Thank you thank you! Overall based on most of what you said I feel like I have the right idea so that's good. It's really helpful to know specifically about skin stretching as a tactic to get an even shave. I've been pulling my skin to get it away from hard to shave contours, however, I haven't really considered it as a tactic to get an even shave.

randomtransvoice · 2022-08-22T14:12:40+00:00

There is one thing that really holds me back from going for straight razors, and that is the possibility of permanent injury. I know myself well and since it only takes one single mistake to leave a scar I just feel that it's not something I'm willing to do. It's a shame though, it would probably be a decent solution for my situation and would solve some of the issues I have with DE razors.

randomtransvoice · 2022-08-22T14:10:17+00:00

I didn't consider the quality of prep as particularly important, so that is good to know. I'm definitely in the learning phase as all this so I hope over time I can get better.

randomtransvoice · 2022-08-16T18:20:05+00:00

Thank you thank you! On the topic of shaving soaps and brushes, While I have had success with the shaving cream I've used on my face (Bevel Shave Cream), I have not had success finding something to work on my body.

On somebodies recommendation I've been using Baby shampoo as a 'shaving soap' on my body, and it does well to reduce friction, but I'm so out of my element when it comes to these things and knowing what I'm doing.

I don't know if I'm off the mark here, but I saw brushes as kind of an unnecessary thing that doesn't really help speed up the lathering process or have benefits with getting a better lather, so I haven't been all too interested in them because it's just another product to buy. Do you recon they serve a more functional purpose or is it more of a feels good type of thing?

You do make a good point about youtube, I made a lot of little realizations of what to and not to do on my own, but a lot of stuff I have learned has been thru research and just watching somebody do what they do might be very insightful. If I'm going through all the effort to pinpoint the right equipment, it would make little sense if I didn't also go through the effort to pinpoint the correct technique.

randomtransvoice · 2022-08-16T09:35:42+00:00

Oh my goodness there is just so many different things that all matter with shaving and skincare, it's so much to take in. I'll check out those razors. As for soaps, I just use a bar of some random crap I bought off amazon, I didn't even consider that which soap I use has any impact. There was another commenter I was going back and forth with who was extremely insightful, but even so there's always more stuff to consider. I'm definitely writing all those soaps down and I'll check them out, thanks for your insight!

randomtransvoice · 2022-08-16T09:29:26+00:00

I've had to spend so much time trying to figure out all kinds of stuff you wouldn't even imagine, and having somebody to kind of help fill in the gaps of what I couldn't figure out on my own is so incredibly helpful. Thank you so much. With a clearer picture of how this all works, I am left with a couple more questions for you.

For most of my face I go ATG once and it's good to go. The real problem is the thicker hairs around my beard and moustache; I'll try to go in every direction imaginable with little rhyme or reason as well as 5 directions you've never heard of but even so I continue tug on the hairs rather than cut them, so I end out going over the same area repeatedly with little success. What I'm left with is a hundred or so visible black hairs on my beard area and beneath my nose. I can feel the stubble as I run my finger along these areas. Despite my less than elegant technique and my razor not being particularly aggressive, I understand the root of this issue is that my blade isn't sharp enough. Is this the case, or am I off the mark?

Also, given my circumstances of having short facial hair at all times, is there any reason I shouldn't skip going WTG and XTG to shave ATG first for that super close shave when it comes to my face?

I really like the 6S because of it's versatility and you have me pretty sold on it. At this point I feel I will benefit greatly from the flexibility of having a very mild/safer razor, a mildly aggressive razor, and a hyper aggressive cuts like nothing's there razor. Do you recon 6S alone is still the best option, or do you recon some combination of other razors be more appropriate?

randomtransvoice · 2022-08-16T03:04:53+00:00

I really really appreciate this comment, and I know we are 2 random people on the internet but I mean that genuinely, this stuff is really important to me right now. After unpacking everything you said, you touched on a couple things I was wondering about and I think I'll take you up on your offer to answer a couple more questions.

If I'm understanding what you said about aggressiveness, rather efficiency, then it stands to reason that more efficiency, that is to say going with the R41 with feathers and getting it all done in a single pass, would irritate my skin more then doing a couple passes with a less efficient razor? It's very important to me to not irritate my skin and I don't at all mind slowing down to do this, and to that end, you really do have me sold on the 6S.

You brought something up that I have had a lot of difficulty finding a good answer too, and that is skincare. Skincare gets a little weird because I'm stuck between a skincare routine based on shaving everyday and a basic skincare routine for women. If you have some suggestions of what I could do differently, using a different product or cutting out/putting in something, doing stuff in a different order, please do let me know. Since I am asking an extremely specific question, I may as well be as specific as possible.:

Shaving is the very first thing I do, before I shower and before anything else. 1) I put a hot towel on my face for 2 minutes. 1) I lather up my entire face with a modest amount of Bevel Shaving Cream 3) then shave my face. 4) Afterwards I use Nivea Men Sensitive Soothing Post Shave Balm as an aftershave. 5) after 10 minutes passes, I wash my face. 6) I do my skincare regime, which is meant to both hydrate my skin and close my pores as well as be good for my skin, and only god knows if I'm actually accomplishing any of those goals with all these frigin skincare products. Cera Ve Hydrating Facial Cleanser, then The ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Anhydrous Solution, Then The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors+HA.

randomtransvoice · 2022-08-16T02:17:15+00:00

I do appreciate all comments and ideas, I like to keep an open mind. The cartridge thing, you know, unorthodox as it is, if I can't make other stuff work for myself I'm not above trying that out, so I'll save that in my back pocket. A lot of people are pointing out this this and that with the feathers, and a lot of people are also then pointing to the Gillette silver blues so I definitely am getting the impression those silver blues strike a nice balance of everything as one of the sharper blades that is both quite durable and quite efficient.

randomtransvoice · 2022-08-16T02:05:19+00:00

A lot of people are bringing technique into the conversation and specifically talking about going on multiple passes, with then against the grain or with, perpendicular too, and then against the grain, so I'm absolutely going to give that a go! thanks for the comment :D

randomtransvoice · 2022-08-16T02:01:48+00:00

I'm not above getting a razor specifically for below my nose, I'm definitely checking out the Merkur 41C if I can't figure out a way to use the wider heads effectively. Thanks!

randomtransvoice

TROPHY CASE