Probably every teenager has gone to school, or God forbid, on a date, with a band-aid to cover a nasty cut sustained while shaving. Lots of grown women still get a nick every now and then, shaving those shapely legs in a hurry. There are a bevy of costly products, such as shaving cream, foams and after-shaves which are intended to prevent or remedy these mishaps.
The objectives of shaving are obvious, but so hard to attain with the methods of conventional wisdom. You want to remove the hair as close to the skin as possible, for a smooth appearance and feel. You want to avoid cuts. That’s it. Simple as it sounds, it never seems to work out that way. Once you are privy to the art of shaving, you’ll wonder how you ever managed the task the old way. No fuss, no cuts.
First, begin shaving on dry skin. Do not apply foams or creams and do not tackle the job in the shower. Wetting or otherwise moisturizing the skin prior to applying the razor makes the hair lie down. Even a steamy bathroom will make those hairs limp. This results in multiple swipes over the same area to get all the hairs. You want the hairs to stand up in all their bristly glory. This produces the closest shave. Rule number one of the art of shaving is absolutely dry skin.
Whether on face, legs or underarms, hair always grows down. Simple gravity. Many people mistakenly begin shaving in a top-down approach. This results in a shave that’s not as close as you’d like. Always begin from the lower surface and work your way up. This catches the hair right where it emerges from the skin.
When shaving the legs, hair on the inner thighs grows somewhat diagonally. Shave diagonally to get a smooth result.
Perhaps the most important secret to the art of shaving is to stretch the skin. It only makes sense that the razor will catch on the contours of the skin’s surface. For example, many a woman repeatedly cuts herself on the outer bone of the ankle, very unattractive when you put on a nice pair of heels. The trick to avoiding this is to prop your foot up on a chair, turn your ankle to the side and relax your foot. Gently stretch the skin close to the ankle bone until you have a smooth surface to work on with the bone protruding as little as possible. Carefully shave away, from bottom to top, shaving just that small area. Voila! No cuts. Use the same technique for underarms.
When you’re finished, apply witch hazel to the skin to close the pores and soothe the skin. That’s all there is to the art of shaving!
Tags: dry skin, razor, shaving cream
