Major Key Alert: The Perfect Shave
Summer is just under one month away and many of us who have been hibernating in all regards are elated to start the Summer ‘16 festivities. We’re taking the word of many fine people all over and saying if your hibernation includes a complete obliteration of the word “shaving” from your vocabulary, we have you covered. We’ve compiled our best kept secrets for the finest shave that you’ll ever know but we’d also like to give you a fair warning… you will not be able to stop feeling your legs, these tips leave your skin so soft, it’s almost unapproachable.
1) It’s a common myth that not shaving for a period of time until just prior to needing to shave, will result in maximum smoothness, this is entirely incorrect. The faster you get into the habit of shaving, the smoother your legs, arms, etc. will be. So if you have a date, party, seance, make sure you start several days before to ensure the smoothest shave when it is really necessary.
2) Shaving with Oil - yes, we fulllllllllyyy recommend shaving with oil but this needs to be expanded on just a tad. Per our experience and we’ve tried every oil under the sun (coconut, argan, rosehip, olive, castor, you name it!) Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the absolute crème de la crème of oils to shave with. Not only is EVOO the most hydrating for us but it also for some reason leaves us completely smooth longer. Our great Aunts to our best friends have aggrandized coconut oil for every use under the sun but we’re telling you; EVOO leaves us smooth for 3-4 days while coconut oil is a mere 1-2 days, tops!
ALSO, on the topic of oil, it’s extremely tricky to shave with but here’s a no frills account of how we do:
-Pour about 1/4c of EVOO in a container and place in shower with you.
-Allow the steam of the shower to soften your hair follicles for at least 5 minutes.
-Once your skin is feeling supple, take a quarter size amount of oil into your hands and massage it onto your leg for around 2 minutes (or whichever body part you’re shaving, just make sure to massage each body part in between shaves i.e. massage oil into left leg, shave left leg, then repeat steps for each body part of your choosing.)
- When the leg is coated, rinse your razor and begin shaving against hair growth, making sure to rinse the razor head completely every 2-3 swipes to prevent clogging.
MAKE SURE TO KEEP THE SKIN COMPLETELY MOISTURIZED WHILE SHAVING! IF YOU’RE NOT THE QUICKEST SHAVER, NO WORRIES. JUST MAKE SURE TO RINSE THE SKIN EVERY FEW SWIPES!
Skin that is not adequately dampened is the #1 cause for nicks while shaving.
Once done go ahead and massage the remaining oil into the skin, you’ll be a walking heart-eye emoji for the next couple of days. After leaving the shower, we like to moisturize again with our Leighis Butter for an absolute goddess radiance.
3) Ingrown Hairs and Itchiness after Shaving. To prevent ingrown hairs and itchiness after shaving, we recommend two things. One- Use a toner over shaved areas after shaving. We recommend Witch Hazel or your own DIY Sea Salt Toner or ACV toner, just send us an ask if you need the recipe. Two- Exfoliate! We dry brush 3 times a week at least to keep the dead skin at a minimum. We also whip up a quick Pineapple Mask that we use over our entire body as a chemical exfoliant which we prefer over scrubs. Shaving also helps to remove dead skin, so the more you do it (as long as it’s in a hygienic, safe fashion) the less issues you’ll have with ingrown hairs and itchiness.
4) Men razors give a closer shave than women razors. I believed this for so long! My absolute favorite razor was the Gilette Fusion, my step-dad had purchased a bulk of them from Sam’s Club and I was completely hooked for years until trying my favorite now, the Schick Hydro Silk which has the smoothest glide ever! We’ve done our research, Gilette uses the same razor blades for their men and women lines and we’ve read that it mostly comes down to the angle of blade, the curvature of the razor head, and the handle as a whole. Overall, we like that women’s razors are designed for the hair on our most commonly shaved areas (i.e. legs, bikini, and underarms) so we’re voting Women’s over men’s any day but we implore you to experiment for yourself. We just recommend a razor of quality with at least 4 blades, the Schick Hydro Silk and the Gilette Fusion both have 5 and that you change the razor head as soon as it dulls.
Here’s just a few more pointers:
- There’s no need to push down hard when shaving! Simply glide the razor over the skin in straight, controlled strokes.
- Shaving with oil is going to extend the life of your razor, which is great for your bank account and no more poisonous shaving creams but you’ll have to spend a few more minutes cleaning the razor. After each use, we rinse our razor head, soak it in an alcohol solution for a few minutes, then take a cotton swab with alcohol, and dab it clean. This is necessary and will prevent infection just in case of a nick.
- If you do happen to cut yourself while shaving, just rinse with cold water, cleanse with hydrogen peroxide, treat with Neosporin, and cover with a cool bandaid (recommend: Spongebob or the Simpsons [our aura is Yellow])
Lastly, if you’re feeling fancy, soak in a warm bath tub enchanted with a natural bath bomb, we use the Leighis Goddess Bath Velvets to start a really penetrative moisture. These bath velvets are no joke when comes to moisturizing so much so that the oil isn’t even necessary but we use it anyway. After daydreaming in the tub for around 20 minutes, we feel our legs, ascend to heaven, come back, shave, ascend again then moisturize once more. But this is almost lethal luxury! We reserve it for birthdays, Christmas, and every Thursday because Treat. Yo. Self.
We hope this helps! Thanks for reading, our ask is open for advice!
With so much love and so much light,
kianamaiart
theartofmadeline
turnnoffyourmind
