around the ears

[Asher]

hey all.  so the difference between my head six months ago and my head today is night and day.  i used to get razorburn all over (very sensitive skin and coarse hair), but thanks to many of your suggestions and just general reading of this forum has made it much much better.  so thanks to everyone for that. 

but now around and just above the ears is the biggest pain.  i know it's a problem for many of you all, too.  i always seem to have an irritated, red, bumpy patch above and behind my ears after shaving.  i generally shave horizontally across the sides from back to front, and yes i'm careful--but too careful seems to make it worse.  i've tried vertically but that tears my head up.  i refuse to go with the grain. 

what advice can you all share?  which direction do you shave that area, and the sides in general?  bueller?

[warhawk]

asher....i hate that region "around the ears".  that's a tough spot because it seems that U gotta go many directions 2 get it smooooth.  however....that's the beauty of using the fusion (manual).  there is a 5th razor that is located in the opposite direction of the main head which is actually one single razor.  ever since i started using that 5th razor...my problems have been solved.  if i'm not mistaken don't U also use the fusion.  U gotta luv the fusion.

WARHAWK

[Asher]

i do use the fusion warhawk, but i find it hard to believe you can cut through all that hair with just that teeny little razor.  guess i'll give it a try here in twenty minutes and see what happens. 

[Spleener]

I've found that little extra blade helps a lot where I'm extra sensitive (the base of my neck, where I had some issues even before I started shaving my head) I can keep the hair at bay back there without raising a whole new crop of bumps.

[Asher]

no dice with the backside fusion razor.  the hair around my ears just kind of laughed at it and threw spitballs. 

[JDog]

Asher, I've always used the Fusion Manual as Warhawk pointed out to clean up around the ears. Trying pulling the skin in that area taunt with your free hand. I can't really offer much advice aside for that as I've never had a problem around the ears.

[schro]

Asher,
Yeah, around the ears is a tough area. When I shave the dome, I use the Headblade Classic. I start going front to back, switching hands for each side of the head. Usually I'm not too concerned about the area around the ears in this direction because I then flip the razor around and go back to front for the back of the head, including the sides. I also switch hands and use "free hand" (the one that I'm not holding the HB with) and press my ear down. This allows me to go against the grain in the area right above my ear. I get my head pretty darn smooth using this technique. If there are any rough patches, I'll do a little touch up with my Schick Extreme3.

Hope that helps,
Schro

[Koaa2]

I have the same trouble. Will sometime touch up with an electric. Will try pulling a little more, sounds like a good idea.

[Sgt. Pate]

Yeah, it's a pain but I manage to have good results going very slow with my HeadBlade bottom to top keeping that area well lubed!    I sometimes touch up the area directly above my ears with the Fusion.

[xnewyawka]

Asher, around the ears is a tough spot, but with time you will be able to get down lower.
I do mine similar to how Schro does his.
I will pass front to back as low as I can, then go back the other way. I also start at the top and go down to the tip of the ear, to hit it from all angles. You can then touch up any missed spots at the sink when you shave the face.

[skinhead002]

I always shave against the grain everywhere but when Im through on the sides of my head, Ill pull my ear down and run the razor arounf it.  That gets that little bit of stubble that frows right next to the top of the ear