I’ve never been a fan of waxing but
I’m not going to bash it just because its not my cup of tea. To each, her own.
However, if you want to try shaving but are apprehensive about it or you’re
thinking of getting rid of that body hair because of the incoming summers, I’m
sharing some tips with you. I have been using a razor to get rid of body hair
since years now and this is all my experience.
My hair has never grown back thicker or darker post shave. In addition, I’ve never felt my hair get prickly. My underarms do feel itchy if I don’t scrub them post shave, but that’s it. Hair growth after shaving is relatively faster than hair growth post waxing. When I’d get my arms waxed, hair would start growing back after 2 weeks, in the case of shaving its 1 week. But this depends on one’s age, gender etc.
My hair has never grown back thicker or darker post shave. In addition, I’ve never felt my hair get prickly. My underarms do feel itchy if I don’t scrub them post shave, but that’s it. Hair growth after shaving is relatively faster than hair growth post waxing. When I’d get my arms waxed, hair would start growing back after 2 weeks, in the case of shaving its 1 week. But this depends on one’s age, gender etc.
WHAT
I USE DURING SHAVING :
St.Ives Apricot Scrub
It is important to exfoliate. I use the scrub to prep
my skin before shaving and even after shaving. Using a scrub before
shaving helps you get rid of toxins & dirt in your pores, get
rid of dead skin cells & most importantly, it prevents
ingrown hairs. Any scrub will do. Just make sure that it actually
exfoliates your skin. I love the creamy St.Ives scrub. Using a scrub post shave
also helps in getting rid of any possible ingrown hairs (more on that below).
However, the first few times you shave, you might accidently nick
yourself so I’d advise you not to scrub after shaving. Can be bought
through Flipkart & Amazon.
Gillette Satin Care Sensitive Skin Shave Gel :
I don’t always use this whilst shaving. I use it
only if my skin is dry, which it is a lot these days. You have to pump out some
of the product (the nozzle dispenses A Lot) and spread it across your skin with
your hands. It foams up while spreading. Then you can proceed to shave with
your razor. You don’t necessarily need a shaving gel, a lot of people use
cleansers & shower creams too. Although there are articles online that
advise against it, I don’t see any harm in using them. You should opt for a
creamy product, as they tend to moisturize your skin, leading to a smooth
shave. My personal recommendation is The Body Shop Shea Shower Cream or Cocoa
Butter Shower Cream. Nivea also makes good creamy moisturizing body washes -
Crème Soft & Crème Care.
Gillette Venus razor :
This is the razor I prefer as it’s
the only one available specially for women in India. I’ve been using it for almost 2 years
now & its pretty effective. You can use the cartridge till the blue band
turns white & the replace it. The cartridge refills are easily available.
A very real side effect of shaving – Razor Bumps and Ingrown Hair :
Now I can’t share a pic of what these
look like, but basically, they look like pimples. The head of the pimples have a black dot. The
bumps can be reddish too. They get itchy in some areas. I would ask
you to research a few more articles on Google that explain razor bumps and
ingrown hair as these are two different things but both can occur due to
shaving. I haven’t experienced razor bumps as much as I’ve experienced
ingrown hair.
There’s nothing to be
scared of here. Yes they’re not the most attractive looking thing,
but your body is not deformed, ok ? When I first started
shaving, I didn’t know such a thing could exist. The sides of my knees have
ingrown hair(since a long time) and I didn’t even realize that until last year.
I just thought they were leg pimples. Yes, I’m a genius like that. Since I
ignored them for so many years, they just got darker and darker, but not
completely black, more like a dark grey. Again, this depends on your body.
After I realized I had ingrown hair, I inspected my dad’s face. I felt that
he’s been shaving for probably 30 years, there’s definitely gotta be some bumps
there, and sure enough, there were! They were on his neck actually, and I’ve
seen him scratching that area quite a few times as well (probably because of
the bumps). So you see, there’s absolutely nothing to be scared of.
But it doesn’t serve well to ignore ingrown hair & razor bumps either.
Here’s my solution for getting rid
of ingrown hair :
Exfoliate !
SCRUB your skin !
Like I said earlier, I had ingrown hair
that were at least an year old and I got rid of it by scrubbing my skin.
It doesn’t have to be everyday, but keep doing it frequently till it
goes away. The sooner you identify & work on them, the faster they will
go away. Its as simple as that.
There’s one way to minimize
the chances of razor bumps appearing – scrubbing your skin
before and after shaving. I find my skin much smoother after scrubbing it
and consequently it is easier to shave. Scrubbing your skin post shaving simply
ensures that you’re cleaning out all the hair follicles
I do not use any fancy products to
get rid of ingrown hair. I use the St.Ives Apricot scrub on my body, that’s my favorite scrub
& it became pretty much irreplaceable once I realized how many problems it
solves. I’ve come across articles saying that using a proper shaving cream will
prevent razor bumps. I really don’t think this is true. Once when I used the
Gilette shaving gel, I decided to forgo my religious procedure of scrubbing
before & after the shave. And I still got razor bumps on some body parts.
For me the best way out is being liberal in exfoliating your body, there really
isn’t a better solution.
I’ve read articles saying that ingrown
hair or razor bumps can lead to infections & need to be treated with so
& so product. I’ve personally never experienced this so I cannot address it
at all.
So
that is all for shaving tips from me, for now. Hope you found them helpful !
