Shaving
April 25, 2006 by Christina Jones
Filed under Hair Care, Hair removal
Why is it that American women shave, and many women of other cultures don’t? Interesting article at Straight Dope about just why that is. Marketing is the culprit – what a surprise. But, regardless of why, the fact remains that we do, and I personally wouldn’t want it any other way. I read a bit at AgingFabulous this morning about cavemen shaving with shells, and thankfully we don’t have to do that anymore. There are a zillion alternatives, a zillion razor styles and brands to choose from along with soaps, creams, potions to make it easier/better/safer/smoother.
The razor I am currently using is the Intuition razor, by Schick. As far as razors go, this is by far NOT the closest shaving razor out there, but what it lacks in super closeness it gains in speed and convenience. I can shave my legs on the fly with this razor, there is no need for soap, because it is built in to the head of the razor. I can do a “drive by” shave, all I need is a bit of water. I keep one of these on our boat as well, with a floatie attached to it, and when I feel the need, I just throw it in the lake, jump in, and shave right there in the lake. Nice!
There are times when I love a super close shave. Let me make a little confession here – my husband and I went to an…er…exotic dance club one time – well, honestly, we have been more than once (is that bad? LOL), but this particular time I wound up sitting with one of the dancers and talking for awhile. She had, by far, the closest shaven legs I have ever even imagined – like a hair had never grown there in the first place. Yes, I rubbed them pretty well, it was truly amazing to me. Ha! Anyway, she told me that she exfoliated very well and shaves in every which direction until there is absolutely nothing there. I suspect she had very fine hair in the first place though.
So to make a wrap of a post that is, and could continue going on forever – the steps to getting as close of a shave as possible:
1. Soak in the tub or stand in the shower for a few minutes to allow your hair to soften. Not too long though, or your skin will swell up and make your shave not as close as you think it is.
2. Use a fresh blade on whatever razor you love (always a good idea for infection prevention anyway).
3. Exfoliate your legs first with soap or a scrub and using an exfoliating glove (these are the BEST).
4. Shave a couple of times, in a couple of directions, using long, smooth strokes.
5. Follow up with a good body cream.
While I was writing this, my friend Hsien left a comment wondering about how to get a close shave on your underarms that doesn’t leave a shadow. This is tricky, and honestly is nearly impossible to do with shaving, especially if you are a brunette (which Hsien is). Avoiding the shadow is best done with another method of hair removal, which will either be more expensive or more painful than shaving. Pick one. 
I pick – more painful. I’ll talk about that later on this week. I would love to hear your razor recommendations – they are so expensive to just try out, and I would like to have a good, close shaving razor along with my trusty speed and convenience razor.
I’m always trying a different razor, and never fall in love with one.
One of my biggest problems with shaving, both on my legs and the bikini line, is that I get really ugly (and sometimes painful) red bumps that are caused by ingrown hairs. I exfoliate, and have tried a variety of products that are supposed to fix this problem, but nothing seems to work.
Am I destined to one of the more expensive choices?
I was going to touch on that – and I probably should in another post. This one was getting so long with just the basic info.
Everyone says exfoliating and new razors are the way to avoid bumps – but it has never worked for me either. What I do, that works, is keep 2 razors, and when the first razor has outlived its duties (after about 3-4 shaves) I retire it to use on my upper thighs and bikini line only. If I use a slightly dull razor there, I don’t get the bumps at all, where I am a total mess of bumps with a new razor. Try that and see if it works for you.
My doctor told me that shaving in one direction reduces the chances of getting ingrown hairs. It definitely makes it more difficult to get a close shave, but I haven’t had a problem with ingrown hairs since following her advice.
Thats probably very true – but then I always have the question – what direction? With the hair, against the hair? And that upper thigh hair is all swirly, so who knows which direction to pick.
Aargh. I am glad it worked for you, perhaps I will give it the ol’ college try. 
Oh, sorry, you’re supposed to shave with the hair. Good luck with the swirlies
I still like my age-old Personal Touch razor (by Schick?) I can’t find the blades locally anymore though, but found them at our trusty drugstore. com. Razors have become expensive, haven’t they? Whats up with that?
Boy, Gail – I used that razor – I cant even remember how long ago.
I guess you are lucky you can find them at all anymore. YES razors are expensive, that is a big rant of mine. I mean, how the heck much can they cost to produce anyway???
Gail, my dad is always complaining that there’s only one drugstore in my hometown that carries two-blade razor blades any more (everything else is three and four blades), and when the shop gets a shipment in there’s a run on them
I feel like every time I go to buy razor blades (Gilette Venus) they’ve gone up in price! I mean, I know oil prices have gone up considerably, but the profit margins on razor blades must be huge, especially on the three and four-blade ones.
I have totally given up on razor shaving and love my personal shaver. It’s absolutely the best shaver ever. You won’t believe how easy it is to use and it takes care of all of the problems you have talked about. Get more info and lots of articles at http://www.easyhomehairremoval.com and http://www.shavingpubichairtips.com