shaving the back of your own neck

May 11, 2018 10:43 AM

I've looked, and I can't believe this hasn't been asked yet. How do other men deal with hair on the back of their neck?

I have a fairly short haircut. Whenever I get my hair cut the barber always cleans up my neckline and shaves the hair on the side/back of my neck. It then grows back into stubble in about a week. I don't like the way that looks, but more importantly I don't like how it feels - it's like I'm constantly aware of the hair there.

I have a solution because the lovely Mrs. unix is willing to touch up my neck weekly, but how do other potentially single people do it? Do you ignore it? Do you set up a complicated set of mirrors so you can reach around and see the back of your neck so you can shave yourself? Or do you just go to the barber every week?

posted by unix to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (30 answers total)

I ignore it. I shave my own head and have done for maybe 17 years now? I just graduate the cut length shorter as I go down the back of my head (using my patented 'straight finger across the back of my head lined up in the mirror in front of me' technique) and do a final downward No1 cut on the bottom part of my neck. Then I just never look at the back of my head. Works for me.
posted by Brockles at 10:46 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

I’m a lady person with an undercut. I generally do all the shaving myself but my husband helps sometimes. I grab a hand mirror and turn the back of my head to the big wall mirror so I can see well. I then use one of those little pen style touch up electric shavers and go from the bottom neck fuzzies up to the hairline slowly and repeat all the way across. You can try it without the razor on as you learn where to move your hand since you’re looking into two mirrors. Becomes pretty easy.
posted by Crystalinne at 10:51 AM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]

Oh and if you don’t want upkeep you can consider laser hair removal or electrolysis. Seems worth it if it bothers you that much.
posted by Crystalinne at 10:52 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

Most barbershops will give you a free neckline cleanup between cuts. Not that I've ever once in my life been organized enough to take advantage of it, but still.

I manage fine with a hand mirror and my large bathroom mirror. Protip: turn your back to the big mirror and look at the hand mirror. Much easier than trying to figure out what is going on in the tiny hand mirror (like Crystalinne said).
posted by Rock Steady at 10:54 AM on May 11, 2018 [6 favorites]

I know some gents go to the barber every week. Friday night - get ready for the weekend.
posted by beccaj at 10:58 AM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]

This is the main thing that gets me back to the barbers. That, and the floofy bits that stick out above my ears. Very nice to run your hand (or: have someone run their hand) over your freshly trimmed neck.
posted by rd45 at 10:59 AM on May 11, 2018 [4 favorites]

Yeah my barber will give me a cleanup.

Or I just do it myself with my safety razor. It's not that difficult if you're reasonable flexible ;)
posted by teabag at 11:07 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

I cut my own hair recently as a cost-cutting measure. Yes, two mirrors and a clipper (I only clipped mine). And yes, it totally messes with your head to have to adjust your hand movements to match what you're seeing.

But yes the broad answer is that I ignore it. It gets clipped/shaved when my hair gets cut - usually by someone else.
posted by O9scar at 11:07 AM on May 11, 2018

If mine gets bothersome I put one hand across my hairline to guard it and I use my face razor to get the rest with the other hand. I'm sure I don't get the line exactly right but it's better than nothing.
posted by ftm at 11:13 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

As a woman who has dated ...a lot of men, I feel pretty confident in saying that most men ignore or are oblivious to their neck hair.

I’m the last person to tell anyone to do anything to their hair.
posted by bilabial at 11:14 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

Wet your hair, bend over, brush it all forward, drape a towel over your head and do that twisty-turny-hair-turban-thing. Then lather up a bit and shave blindly however because you don't have to worry about the hair under the towel.
posted by zengargoyle at 11:14 AM on May 11, 2018

I shave in the shower and just do it once a week or so at the same time. I just do it by feel and it seems to work fine. I've done it with both a regular razor and an electric.
posted by The Deej at 11:16 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

I trim the back neck with scissors*, by feel, no secondary mirror. I also cut my own hair using only a wall mirror, fwiw. It’s not that hard if you’re willing to practice a bit.

*not terribly often. Just checked, I probably should do that this week.
posted by SaltySalticid at 11:17 AM on May 11, 2018

I use the Norelco I shave with and just hold my hair up out of the way with one hand while hitting that area with the electric razor in the other hand. I don't even look at what I'm doing.
posted by COD at 11:21 AM on May 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

I am extremely lazy and also blessed with Good Hair, so I've just grown it out into a big ol' bushy ponytail which I get lightly trimmed about once a year. I also rock a full beard, for similar reasons. So I'm already more than hairy enough up top that a little neck hair just blends right in.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 11:21 AM on May 11, 2018

I shave my whole head now which has simplified things (no more mirror!) but I used to shave the back of my neck between hair cuts using a hand mirror in conjunction with the wall mirror. Occasionally I'd let it grow too long and would have to trim with scissors too (I'd grow this awful rat-tail thing otherwise), which was similarly simple.
posted by Urban Winter at 11:44 AM on May 11, 2018

So - I don't know how yours grows, but mine grows primarily along the two ridges that run from my neck up to my hair. I am comfortable taking my electric beard trimmer to it. It's particularly easy if you never let the hair grow to the same length as the rest of your head because you can easily feel where the hairline is to avoid over-cutting.
posted by notorious medium at 11:52 AM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

I am a hirsute fellow who doesn't really care what other people think, so take it for what you will.

I don't shave my neck.
When I get my hair cut, I ask my guy (or used to, before he became "my guy") to not block or shape the back of my hair. It is part of the look and it grows in at the same rate as the rest of my hair. It can even look good if your neck hair has a shape (and doesn't just connect with your back hair, which mine doesn't yet) and your hair person works with it.
posted by Seamus at 12:16 PM on May 11, 2018

I use the brim of a baseball cap held against the edge of my hairline in back as a guard, then use clippers. Saw it online somewhere a year or two ago.
posted by outfielder at 12:37 PM on May 11, 2018 [3 favorites]

nthing the advice above to use a hand mirror with your back to the larger wall or cabinet mirror. I’ve been cutting my hair with clippers that way for years. If you want it very short, get a pair of balding clippers (and be careful—they cut close). You can also use a regular or maybe straight razor this way, but it might be harder to get the hairline right than with clippers.
posted by cyclopticgaze at 12:47 PM on May 11, 2018

My husband just does it with a disposable razor, no mirror or anything. I do it for him when he asks, but that's maybe once every few weeks. I think he generally cleans it up about once a week.
posted by jabes at 12:59 PM on May 11, 2018

I do it by feel every couple of weeks. I'm quite hirsute in general, but that seems sufficient.

I also wear collared shirts almost exclusively outside the house, so most people are not in a position to see my neckhair even if I grew it out or if shaving by feel left it super lopsided or whatever. But my partner has never commented about my neckline being really uneven or anything, so my seat-of-the-pants technique must be fairly accurate.
posted by tobascodagama at 1:07 PM on May 11, 2018

I just shave my neck (front and back) while I shave my face, and I don't even use a hand mirror.

I buzz my hair down to a neat 0 all around on roughly a once-a-week basis; I'm bald on top, so having hair on the sides/back much longer than that just looks clownish. Once I have it buzzed, I can shave the back of my neck without worrying too much about keeping the edges neat, because it's so short anyway. I just feel around the base of my skull as a guide for where "neck" ends and "head" begins, so it comes out looking pretty tidy without the need for visual aids.

On preview, what tabascodegama said.
posted by Strange Interlude at 1:14 PM on May 11, 2018

I'm surprised to see this question. Every man I've known well enough to know what they did about this has just let the barber shave the back of his neck at hair cut time, and ignored it the rest of the time.

I tell my hair cutter to cut my hair just long enough that I don't have to get my neck shaved. I loathe the feeling of neck stubble on the back of my neck, and it looks good for only a few days anyway.
posted by chromium at 2:06 PM on May 11, 2018

I am well-practiced at placing the palm of my hand against the back of my ear with my thumb away from my head such that my index finger makes a nice line to the tip of the V on the back of my haircut. I then shave that side, then repeat with the other hand/other side of the head.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:07 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

I scissor then shave it by feel in the shower, whenever I happen to think of it. (I do have curly hair, which nicely covers up any unevenness.) I've tried it with mirrors as well, but it's awkward to set up and honestly more confusing than just trusting in proprioception.
posted by ook at 2:49 PM on May 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

When my wife won't do it, or insists on using the opportunity to squeeze my backne, I do it myself just using a finger. I place my left index finger along my hairline and use my right hand to hold the razor on the right side of my neck, and switch for the left side. It ls good enough, usually. I then use my phone camera to check.
posted by kevinbelt at 3:48 PM on May 11, 2018

I grow a full beard in a week and, the one time I shaved my chest it was back to being sufficient for bamboozling "no shoes, no shirt, no service" signs in less than a month.

But I had my last barber visit 6 weeks ago and I just felt my neck and it's smooth as a baby's bottom. So maybe not everyone has this problem.
posted by 256 at 5:52 PM on May 11, 2018

I clipper my hair short, and do my neck (with a 000 clipper) by feel. No one has ever commented, though I am sure I screw it up sometimes.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:08 PM on May 11, 2018

I generally let my hair grow a bit too long, to troll people, and then I have it cut short to accentuate the change, to troll them again. I consider not shaving my neck integral to the trolling process. As ever, YMMV.

That said, I did set up a ridiculously overblown solution once with two laptops and a skype call between them, camera focused on my neck, but, it wasn't quite as fun as the trolling now.
posted by Juso No Thankyou at 7:16 AM on May 12, 2018