Get Baby Smooth Skin Every Time You Shave

Shaving is one of the most tedious of beauty rituals that most of us hate, but there are some things you can do to make shaving your legs (or any other hairy body part) a little bit easier. As we get closer and closer to the dreaded bikini season, its time for us to dust off our razors and start removing our winter coats. These tips will help you get the closest shave possible without irritation, bumps or slicing up the back of your ankles.

Don’t Start Shaving Right Away: The hair on your body has a courser texture than the hair on your head. So, you should give the hair you want to remove a few minutes to soften in the warm water. This helps prevent irritation and itchy skin and make shaving much more comfortable (especially in the bikini area).

Exfoliate First: Shaving by itself provides some exfoliation, but if it has been more than a few days or weeks since shaving, removing any dead skin will help your razor get as close as possible. The best way to achieve a light exfoliation that won’t cause irritation is by using something soft, like a washcloth or a soft pouf, to gently slough the surface of the skin. Be sure you don’t scrub too hard though, because that can lead to irritation. Just a light pass over the skin to be shaved will do.

Change Your Razor Often: I know razors are bloody expensive, but changing your razor often will prevent all sorts of unpleasant shaving side effects. As your razor gets older, the metal on the blade not only starts to dull but can develop microscopic pitting (instead of a smooth edge it becomes slightly jagged) which can cause nicks, cuts and ingrown hairs. If you are prone to these, it is even more important to change your blades frequently. As you shave, you cause friction between your skin and the blade. Multiply that by the blade itself being heated by hot water and you get the idea of what a hot, dull blade will do your skin. Not good.

Don’t Use Soap: I know your soap or body wash is usually the most handy thing to shave with, but your skin will hate you for it and punish you by itching relentlessly. Shaving creams work well but I have found that the best thing to use as a lubricant for shaving is your hair conditioner. Think about it, your hair conditioner is designed to soften your hair after shampooing and it works the same for the hair on your legs. The only drawback is that conditioner can clog your razor up faster, but a few swishes in some warm water washes the residue away quickly.

Avoiding Ingrown Hairs: If you are prone to ingrown hairs, the best thing to do is to shave with the grain of your hair than against it. This does not give as close a shave as you can get going against the growth pattern, but the pain of ingrown hairs is worse. I like this method for the bikini area and underarms which are the body parts most prone to ingrown hair. Another way to prevent ingrown hairs that is a little more time consuming is a little tip that I learned from a barber: Use warm water for everything involved in shaving except wetting and rinsing the blade. Use cold or lukewarm water instead. The idea is that you cut down on the amount of heat that is actually touching your skin since the blade will create friction and will heat up on its own as you shave.