As we are getting closer to spring and more sunny days, the desire to wear clothes that leave the legs uncovered becomes a necessity. Therefore, the fight against unwanted hair becomes very important: on one hand there are those who prefer epilation, which involves the removal of hair at the root, such as waxing, laser, tweezers, and then there are fans of depilation, that is the partial removal of hair, which involves the use of razor blade or depilatory cream. Shaving legs with the razor is definitely the fastest, simplest and cheapest solution, thanks to the new razor blades designed specifically for women, which are increasingly safe and easy to use.
Would you like to avoid cuts, razor rashes and skin irritations when shaving your legs? In this article of How to shave your legs, we will share everything you need to know about how to shave your legs properly to get some good looking smooth legs. While knowing how to shave your legs may seem simple enough, there are some key steps you can take to reduce the risk of skin irritation. Here we will start with a few simple tips to keep in mind while shaving your legs.
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This is How You Should Shave Your Legs
The biggest challenge when shaving legs is shaving without skin irritation, pimples or cuts. Particularly skin that is not yet used to the stress of a razor can quickly become sensitive and irritated. Young women and girls who are shaving for the first time can have painful experiences. But some legs also need after the winter break a short fresh acclimatization phase.
However, it is always important to use a moisturizer after shaving. You should not do without it under any circumstances. Now let’s take a look at 5 steps on how to shave your legs perfectly.
Step 1 – Use a sharp razor blade for your shave
This is one of the most important things on how to shave your legs properly. If during shaving your razor blade pulls hairs or is rough on your skin, it’s time to replace it. Using a dull blade while shaving increases the risk of cuts, razor burn and irritation.
Step 2 – Moisturize your skin before shaving your legs.
Failure to properly moisturize your legs before shaving will make it more difficult to trim hair, thereby increasing the risk of skin irritation, cuts and razor burn. Dry hair shaving can cause your blade to become dull more quickly. Soaking your legs in hot water, particularly a bath or shower for a minimum of three to five minutes will thicken the hair in that area upon coming in contact with the water. That helps soften your hair follicles and eases the task of shaving your leg.
Step 3 – Use Shave Gel
Once your legs are moistened, massage the shaving gel into a foamy lather and spread it evenly across your legs. By using the shaving gel, you maintain moisture and help the razor blade slide off your skin more smoothly. Plus, you can see where you still need to shave to avoid a full shave again.
Step 4 – Make long, steady strokes to shave
If your razor blade is sharp and clean, you don’t need to push hard on it while shaving. Simply shave in long, constant strokes. Make sure you shave properly around bony points like your knees and ankles to avoid getting scratched.
Shave your knees by bending your leg to shave the front of your kneecap and straightening your leg to shave the back. After each razor stroke, feel free to stop and wash your razor blade to remove any remaining shaving gel or hair. Remember to be careful to avoid cuts and slashes.
Step 5 – Keep your legs moisturized after shaving
Wash your legs after you’re pleased with your leg shave, pat dry with a towel, and apply a moisturizing lotion or cream to keep your skin smooth and moisturized. This will help prevent skin irritation and keep your legs hydrated after shaving.
The Best Razor Blade to Shave Your Legs
Now that we know the best method to shave your legs, in this section of How to shave your legs article we will see what types of razor blades are good for shaving legs, stay tuned.
The Perfect Women’s Razor
We all value a smooth shave! In order for this to work out as desired, the right razor clearly plays the main role. Blades made of stainless steel, skin-friendly pads with nourishing active ingredients and a flexible oscillating head that guarantees a smooth shave even in difficult areas are a must!
Overall, a larger head with a nourishing pad and blades reduces pressure on the skin for a smoother shave. The blades should be made of high-quality material so that they stay sharp longer. After all, dull blades do not cut the hair, instead tearing it or not shaving them at all.
Disposable Razor vs Safety Razor
The term “disposable razor” suggests only a single-use, but in reality, high-quality disposable razors can be used several times without any problems and are in no way worse in quality than safety razors. The key difference between them is the blade change.
While such a change is possible with safety razors, disposable razors must be disposed of entirely when the blades are dulled. When buying disposable razors, pay attention primarily to the number of blades, quality and flexibility of the head. Consider a number of three blades as an absolute minimum. This makes a smooth shave more likely. If you are not sure which razor is the best for your needs, test yourself through the existing range of razors.
How Often You Should Change Razor Blades?
It is impossible to say in general whether the blade should be changed after a week or after a month because every person has different hair thickness and hair growth. However, over time you will notice that the blades of your razor become dull. Not all hairs are removed properly anymore, your skin reacts irritated at once and you may cut yourself more often. These are the signs that tell you to change the blade.
When it comes to shaving legs, there are some mistakes that all of us at lease made once. In this section of our article, we want to talk about some mistakes that you should avoid while shaving your legs.
10 Mistakes to Avoid While Shaving Your Legs
Shaving with a razor is the preferred solution for many women, it is in fact very practical and fast, unlike other methods of hair removal such as waxing or laser. But there are some mistakes that almost all of us make when we use the razor blade, and that can compromise the final result. Here are the most common mistakes to avoid for a perfect leg shave.
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Avoid shaving in the tub and use the shower instead.
People often think that shaving in the tub is the best thing to do, as the warm water helps prepare the skin for shaving by softening the hair. This is true but, the hot water also contributes to swelling the skin and then, once out of the tub, the swelling vanishes, and we could end up with legs full of hair. The ideal solution is therefore the shower: here you can make a perfect and accurate shave. However, again, do not use the razor as soon as you get in the shower, but wait about ten minutes, to allow the pores to open up and the hair to soften to the right point.
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Always prepare your skin for shaving
Especially when you’re in a hurry, you often don’t have time to prepare your skin for shaving: this is the most common mistake to avoid. Before using the razor it is important to prepare the skin with an exfoliating scrub, which will remove dead skin, ensuring a thorough shave without ingrown hairs and irritation: choose scrubs for delicate skin, especially if you have to shave the hairs of the groin, so not to stress too much the area to be shaved. First, cleanse the skin with mild soap and warm water and then apply the scrub for optimal results.
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Don’t shave in the morning
Even the time at which we shave with the razor is important: one of the most common mistakes is to shave in the morning, perhaps in a hurry before leaving home. First of all, we must always shave calmly and above all in the evening: this is because, when we go to sleep, our skin is not in contact with light and is not subject to the rubbing of jeans or socks, which could cause post-shave irritation. The contact with the sheets is certainly more delicate, and the skin will have time to rest without problems.
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Choose the right razor to shave your legs
If you know how to shave your legs you also definitely know that the choice of the razor is important for perfect shaving, so avoid buying those too cheap or those for men and do not borrow the razor blade of your boyfriend. These razors are in fact designed for less extensive areas, such as the face, it is also better to avoid as a matter of health: during shaving, you may experience small cuts, then particles of blood and bacteria could remain on the blades, causing infections.
Razors for women are usually equipped with multiple blades and are shaped, for a better shave. Remember then that each area of the body has different needs with regard to shaving: the ideal would be to use razors suitable for different parts of the body, with sharper blades for areas where the skin is more resistant, such as the legs, and razors with more delicate blades for critical areas, such as the groin.
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Use shaving gel and no soap
Another common mistake we make is to shave dry, especially when we do not have time: in this way cuts and irritations are guaranteed. It is also wrong to use soap or shower gel, as they do not create the right lubrication for shaving, increasing the likelihood of cuts. Always use shaving gel to shave with the razor: it will make the blades glide perfectly against the skin, minimizing cuts and irritation.
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Shave in the right direction
Being in a hurry often leads us to start shaving with the razor in the wrong direction, i.e. against the hair. In this way, we risk causing irritation and small cuts, especially if the skin is particularly delicate. Always start shaving in the direction of the hair. Then make a second pass against the hair to finish the shave: remember to apply shaving gel again.
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Not changing your razor can cause irritation
Avoid using your razor to the limit, when the blades are no longer sharp. Doing so will definitely irritate your skin and cause annoying cuts. It also increases the likelihood of ingrown hairs: do not underestimate the possibility of infection when the blades have been used too many times. You should choose razors with a shaver head because they are usually equipped with colored strips that indicate when the blade should be replaced.
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Avoid leaving your razor in the shower or on the tub
A mistake that almost all of us make, especially out of laziness, is leaving the razor in the shower, on the sink or in the bathtub after use: often without the protective head. In this way, the razor risks getting wet all the time and getting damaged in a short time. You should always store your razor after use: dry it carefully and place it in a bathroom drawer or in a well-protected place to prolong its life.
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No daily shaving to avoid irritating the skin
One of the main drawbacks of razor shaving is that regrowth occurs quickly, after approximately 2 days. This can make us shave every day: by doing so you will make your skin very sensitive and increase the risk of irritation. If you need to shave your skin every day, you should choose the electric shaver, which puts less stress on your skin or opt for hair removal methods that last longer, such as waxing.
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Always moisturize your skin after hair removal
Moisturizing the skin after shaving with a razor is very important to prevent irritation and soften and protect the skin, which is in a very delicate moment. Immediately after shaving, in fact, small red dots may appear. So apply a moisturizer, a special body oil after shaving, which does not contain fragrances or alcohol, or a light lotion applying a gentle massage until completely absorbed.
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4 Misconceptions About Shaving Legs
Now with all that information about how to shave your legs that we have so far offered to you in this article and so much more on the internet, there are still some misconceptions about shaving legs. In this section, we take a look at four of them.
Shaving Makes Hair Regrow Faster
Technically this is indeed false. Waxing removes all the hair, from the root to the tip; shaving simply cuts it off at the surface of the skin. With waxing, it thus takes longer for the hair to regrow. However, after waxing some of the hairs may already be preparing to grow back in other places.
On the other hand, shaving cuts the hair at the level where it is thickest. When it grows back, the thickest part of the hair appears on the surface of the skin. This is what gives the impression that the hairs grow back thicker if you use a razor.
But the hair, even thicker at the exit will resume its normal growth and become thinner as it grows. In the end, it will have exactly the same behavior as hair that has been waxed. Whether you use waxing or shaving, the hair will always grow back.
Shaving Damages the Skin
Obviously, if you shave without using shaving gel or foam, the blade you pass over your skin is more likely to irritate it. But in reality, if you do the test of shaving on dry skin; the little skins you get are actually the dead skin that accumulates on the surface over the course of days and nothing else.
Shaving Damages the Tan
Tanning does not occur in the surface layers of the skin but deep down. However, shaving is by nature only effective on the surface. There is therefore no risk of “making your tan go away” because you are shaving.
Shaving Causes Ingrown Hairs
This is false. Ingrown hairs are the ones that are lost under the skin and cannot find their way to the surface. Curly or very thin hairs are more prone to this type of problem, but clogged pores can also be the reason. A pre-shave scrub and usually regular body scrubs limit the appearance of ingrown hairs.
In our article of How to shave your legs we tried to cover all the aspects about it. How do you usually shave your legs? Please let us know if you have any tips in the comments section below.
