Recently while shaving my legs, I scraped and area about an inch long right by my ankle bone. It bothered me for weeks. Despite years of practice, women can still find shaving to be challenging.
Below are tips to get the smoothest, least irritating shave of your legs and underarms.
1. Legs should be wet and the skin softened for at least two to three minutes prior to shaving. This works well if taking a shower rather than a bath, which can cause the skin to swell up around the hair follicle.
2. Investigate and find the right razor for you. Everyone has different hair texture and skin thickness so it is worth spending some money to determine which type of razor feels best in your hand and gives you the closest shave.
Some have pivoting heads, multiple heads or lubricated strips. You may even want to ask your friends which ones they use.
3. Use new blades to avoid nicks. Do not use your guy’s razor. Men’s hair is coarser so the blades become dull faster.
4. Don’t bother spending money on fancy packaged shave creams. Those advertised as good for sensitive skin are fine choices. Most of the differences in shaving products have to do with fragrance and choosing a fragrance free one is less likely to be irritating.
One extra tip is to rub a small drop of any kind of oil on the area to be shaved first before lathering on the shaving cream.
5. Avoid shaving creams that have potential irritants such as alcohol or menthol. If you are out of shaving cream when taking your shower, use hair conditioner instead of soap to get better coverage for a good shave.
6. Begin by shaving with the grain of the hair before going against the grain. Use even pressure and rinse the razor often.
You may have to shave in several directions to get your underarm hair totally removed. I find that one underarm is always easier to do than the other.
7. Pat your legs dry after shaving and apply a moisturizer with sunscreen if you are going to expose them to the sun, or use some other gentle lotion or oil.
8. If you have had problems with ingrown hairs (hair that curls back and goes under the skin as it re-grows) you might want to exfoliate the skin daily with a loofah or other scrub type cleanser. Do NOT do this the same day you just shaved as you have already exfoliated the skin with the razor.
Remember, shaving does not change the texture or rate of return growth of your hair. The amount of hair you have and its thickness is determined by genetics, not the frequency of your shave.
Sources:
The Art of the Perfect Shave. Paula's Choice-The Cosmetics Cop. Web. May 13, 2012.
http://www.cosmeticscop.com/body-nail-care-perfect-shave-art.aspx
Top 10 Shaving Tips. About.com Beauty. Web. May 13, 2012.
http://beauty.about.com/od/hairremoval/a/shavetips.htm
Shaving Tips for Women. eHow Style. Web. May 13, 2012.
http://www.ehow.com/way_5423044_shaving-tips-women.html
Michele is an R.N. freelance writer with a special interest in woman’s healthcare and quality of care issues. Other articles by Michele are at www.helium.com/users/487540/show_articles
Edited by Jody Smith