I'm tagging this as gender journal, but it's not really an announcement about my life or anything. I decided I wanted to shave my legs and it took me a few tries to figure out how to actually do that, so I wanted to share my method in case it benefited anyone else. Note the title: it's how I shave my legs, not how you should shave yours, but if it helps someone else or gives you some extra data to ponder, it'll be worth the couple minutes it took me to write.
I decided to trim down my crotch hair a month or two ago, and I just took a pair of grooming scissors to it. I didn't exfoliate or shower afterward or anything, and the next two to three days were the itchiest of my life, it was pretty unbearable. I'm really really lucky I didn't get an ingrown hair, because that could have made things so much worse. Anyway, everything I experienced with shaving my legs was an improvement on that (so far), so that at least is good.
I tried to shave my legs three times before I finally figured out the method I wanted to use:
I used a Gillette like 4-blade razor for men's beards in the shower, lathering up my legs with soap and water. It removed some hair but it was super patchy, so there would be patches that were completely smooth and then parts that were just as hairy as before.
I did the same thing again the next day, and got even less results.
I went to the store, bought a pack of 12 safety razors (1-blade) for about $5, and watched an online guide that said to cover your legs in shaving cream and "firmly pull the razor." Trying to follow the guide, I put on way too much pressure, and I kept nicking myself and eventually had to stop cause I started bleeding pretty bad.
Here's the final method I settled on:
For my very first shave ever, my goal was to remove as much of my leg hair as possible without hurting myself. I put down a towel, put on a movie, and with a completely dry safety razor very softly and patiently went over literally every inch of my legs, just pushing down enough that there was contact and the razor could kind of gently scrape the skin and shave the hairs without cutting my skin. I had to adjust the angle a little bit, but eventually got in the zone. It took maybe 30 minutes for each leg. I did this in the morning so I could jump in the shower and exfoliate my legs with a loofah or a washcloth to prevent ingrowns.
Once I had done that, it was just a matter of maintenance since I don't have thick clumps of hair to worry about anymore. Now, about once a week, in the shower, I'll lather up my legs with soap and use a safety razor to just go over them very gently. The stubble is helpful here because it's easier to tell by feel which parts I need to go over or back over. When that portion of the leg feels smooth, I know I'm good. Then I make sure to go over my legs and scrape off any dead skin or hair with a loofah or washcloth.
So that's how I do it now. Once again, this isn't a recommendation for everyone, but I found this way a lot more effective and less painful than the tips I saw online, so maybe this method will be useful to others. If you have suggestions for me, I'd love to hear them, too!
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