against the grain - cause of bald patches?

django said:
I've had this happen to me!

I only use a straight so its not to do with DE shaving.
It's not ingrowns, trust me I've had more than my fair share of them, that's why I became a straight shaver!
It's not to do with the prep, lather etc.

The area it has happened is the halfway point between the top of my adam's apple and bottom of chin. I do a full stroke from these two points ATG and the point it happens is where I have to adjust the angle of the blade because the contour of my neck becomes steeper. It would be fair to say that I could get it wrong sometimes, not enough to cut me but it would be shaving closer than the rest of the stroke.
So it does look like it is something to do with going ATG but it just doesn't ring true. I've never heard anyone say "don't shave too close, you'll go bald!"!!

I too go for BBS, I don't suffer for it in any way.
It has happened twice and gone away and I had no redness or irritation which you would expect with an error in technique.
I just put it down to age until I saw this thread so thought I should let you know you are not alone!
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Thanks django, hmmm interesting....what you describe sounds very similar...maybe it's wimpy hair follicles that can't take the heat of proper shaving? Maybe something to do with the ATG action damaging the follicle? I have to adjust the angle for the ATG stroke in that area in a similar way. I imagine anyone who shaves ATG there does. I'm bemused...perhaps an expert barber or hair specialist could cast some light on the conundrum. Are there any such members here?
 
Shaving with 4 or 5 passes seems a lot. I wouldn't do more than 2 or 3 at the most.

You could try using an open comb razor when you feel ready to try new hardware. The Merkur 25c is a mild open comb razor and works well with Feather blades. This may be because the mildness of the razor balances with the sharpness of the Feather blade.

I occasionally use the Merkur 25c and I get a close shave with 2 passes.
 
Tim B said:
Shaving with 4 or 5 passes seems a lot. I wouldn't do more than 2 or 3 at the most.

You could try using an open comb razor when you feel ready to try new hardware. The Merkur 25c is a mild open comb razor and works well with Feather blades. This may be because the mildness of the razor balances with the sharpness of the Feather blade.

I occasionally use the Merkur 25c and I get a close shave with 2 passes.
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The amount of passes isn't the cause of this.
I only do one pass ATG.
I've not found any benefit in 3 pass shaving except when I was learning.
 
Just done a google search of this and it seems it has nothing to do with shaving.
It's something called Alopecia Barbae and it is the immune system attacking hair follicles.
Causes seems to be unknown but some sufferers say its stress related.
Steroids can be used to treat condition.

So its a mystery to the medical profession too then!
It's not something that will bother me unless my beard area starts looking like a patchwork quilt!
 
django said:
Just done a google search of this and it seems it has nothing to do with shaving.
It's something called Alopecia Barbae and it is the immune system attacking hair follicles.
Causes seems to be unknown but some sufferers say its stress related.
Steroids can be used to treat condition.

So its a mystery to the medical profession too then!
It's not something that will bother me unless my beard area starts looking like a patchwork quilt!
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I looked that up too, but, in my case, I don't think that's it...since the only area that seems affected is 3 or 4 small patches in my under-chin area (not totally bald, just noticeably thinner growth). This is what makes me think it might be something to do with going directly ATG in that area to clear it out properly (I do more obliquely ATG for the final pass on the rest of my mush)...I might be completely wrong about that of course.
 
Dr Rick said:
If it's an area you're shaving, why do you mind if it goes bald?
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Strangely enough, when I don't shave for a few days, or grow a beard out, which I do now and then, i like it to look full and healthy...the moth eaten look aint one I've ever had to put up with and I don't wanna start now, specially if it's somehow self-induced via my shaving method. It's nothing drastic, just thought I'd pose the question in case anyone had a useful insight or had experienced anything similar.
 
Dr Rick said:
It was a joke. I probably should have marked it more clearly.

(Or maybe made it funny. Hmmm. New concept to explore.)
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nee worries, i was likely having a (unrelated) sense of humour failure when i replied...i wouldn't take up stand up any time soon though ;-) ...tongue firmly in cheek
 
I have a feeling (as others have suggested) that pressure is playing a part here. I am newish to this and had a pretty uneventful first month. However, second month in my neck began to have some areas that felt as if there was no stubble there at all. Nor did it grow in properly. The only other symptom was a slight inflammation and numbness in the problem areas.

I wasn't too bothered about it (I put the smoothness down to my new miracle razor) but things came to a head when I sprayed some EDT onto my neck (ironically on a day when I hadn't shaved.) The previously bald / numb areas became very itchy and went red. I suffered with this for a week and a half before the symptoms began to subside. Coinciding with easing of the itching, my skin began to flake off from around the bald spots and lo and behold I had stubble again.

Was this some sort of alien ingrown hair disorder that didn't result in bumps? I doubt I shall ever know, but removing the XTG from my neck and easing off altogether has made a massive difference.

Don't know if this is anything like what you've got (the pre-outbreak stuff sounds similar) but a good exfoliate of the neck and a gentler shave might be worth considering.
 
Thanks for all the comments. Taking them on board, and thinking about my present routine, I think it's most likely that the area in question is getting over shaved by the number of passes and amount and tidying up I'm finding necessary to get the area properly cleaned out. The relative mildness of the EJ and high street blade combo are unlikely to be helping. Will get myself some sharper blades and then maybe a more aggressive razor and see how that compares. Would be nice to be able to get a good shave on my neck with fewer passes.
 
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