Preparation does the work
Whiskers that have absorbed warm water for two or three minutes are far softer than dry ones and cut with much less force. That is the whole reason to shave after the shower, or at least after holding a hot, wet cloth to your face for a minute. Work a fragrance-free shaving cream or gel into the beard with your fingers or a brush and give it a minute to sit.
The pass itself
- Map your grain once by running a fingertip over a day's growth. The direction that feels smooth is with the grain, and on most necks it changes direction at least once.
- Hold the skin taut with your free hand and shave with the grain in short strokes of an inch or two.
- Use almost no pressure. The weight of the razor is enough, and pressing is what causes razor burn.
- Rinse the blade under hot water every two or three strokes so that it never clogs.
- Re-lather before any second pass, and go across the grain before you consider going against it.
Never run a blade over bare skin with no lather on it. That single habit accounts for a great deal of neck irritation.
The blade matters less than its edge
An expensive cartridge that is dull shaves worse than a cheap blade that is fresh. A dull edge tugs, so you press harder to compensate, and the pressing is what cuts and burns. Replace a cartridge or blade every five to seven shaves, which for a daily shaver is about once a week, not once a month. Rinse the razor, shake it dry and store it outside the shower, since a blade left wet dulls faster. More blades in a cartridge do not mean a better shave, and men prone to ingrown hairs often do better with a single-blade safety razor or an electric trimmer that leaves a fraction of stubble.
Afterward
Rinse with cool water, pat dry and apply a fragrance-free, alcohol-free balm or your ordinary moisturizer. A nick stops bleeding under firm pressure with a clean tissue for a minute, or with a touch of a styptic pencil. Recurring bumps on the neck usually mean you are shaving too close there. Shave with the grain only, and every other day if your workplace allows it.
Tip If the neckline of a beard is giving you trouble, set it one finger-width above the Adam's apple and curve it up toward the back of each ear. Higher than that makes the jaw look weak.
