the best way to shave your legs

The Best Way to Shave Your Legs – Tips and Techniques

Have you been shaving your legs wrong? If your answer is yes, believe it or not, you’re not alone! There is a correct way to shave your legs. And if you’re wondering who cares if you shave incorrectly, well, you will! Shaving the wrong way can cause cuts, scratches and more ingrown hairs.

Most people do experience some shaving hiccups more than once in their life. This can happen either from the shaver slipping, or simply not being careful enough. Either way, it’s frustrating.

However, if you follow this method chances are that all your cuts will be a thing of the past. Here we share the best tips and techniques on how to shave your legs the correct way and to prevent these accidents from happening!

1. Use the right razor

Gillette-Venus-Extra-Smooth-Sensitive-Womens-Razor

Before you begin shaving make sure you have the correct razor for your skin. Sounds simple, right? Well, actually there are so many razors out there, each one promoting something else that it’s easy to get lost.

Gilette is one of the best brands. Their razors have specially designed handles which give you better control over the razor. It also has a pivoted head which fits into hard-to-reach areas.

A good razor also has more blades so that you can shave the skin in just one stroke! Many also come with a lubrastrip with a touch of Aloe which makes the shave smoother. Check out the best razors for sensitive skin.

Now that you have the right razor, it’s time to make sure your skin is ready for shaving.

2. Exfoliate before shaving

Exfoliating is a really important step to do before shaving. Doing so helps get rid of the dead skin cells that can clog up your razor. If you don’t exfoliate you are more likely to cut yourself as the shave can be a too-close shave.

By exfoliating, you are creating a smooth canvas on which to shave. This automatically results in a better shave and shaving experience!

3. Shave after a shower

Shaving after a shower is always a good idea. This is because the heat from the shower opens up your pores making the skin softer to shave on. This also allows for a more precise, smoother shave.

4. Do not shave on bare skin

This is one of the most important steps so even if you’re in a rush do NOT skip this! Always use shaving cream or another product that does a similar job.

Without shaving cream, the chances of you cutting yourself are a lot higher. This is because the razor doesn’t have a protective barrier.

If you don’t have any shaving cream on hand, one of my favourite hacks is to use conditioner. It works a charm! Many cuts and scraps come from not using shaving cream or an alternative.

5. Shave in the opposite direction of your hair growth

This may seem obvious, but what’s obvious to one is not always obvious to everyone! Shave in the opposite direction that the hair grows, this way you get all the hair in one go, reducing the number of strokes you need to do. Fewer strokes mean less chance of cutting yourself!

6. Shave with care

Between each stroke, rinse the shaver so that the hair doesn’t clog up on it. Doing so creates a less bumpy, smoother ride! Also don’t shave too fast, especially around areas that aren’t flat, like the ankle area.

7. Moisturize, moisturize and moisturize

Jergens-Ultra-Healing-Moisturizer-for-Dry-Skin

Always moisturise after shaving. Your skin needs a lot of TLC post-shave, shaving basically shaves off a layer of your skin. You can expect drier, more sensitive skin for a couple of days, so load up on that body moisturizer.

Also, be careful when drying your skin from a shower post-shave, do not rub your skin as this will aggravate it. Simply tap it dry lightly.

8. Change the blade frequently

Everyone knows this but how often do we keep to it? I have to admit that I often forget to change my blade. If you shave daily, it’s recommended to change the blade at least once a month. A blunt blade is harder to shave with, and often is the cause of cuts.

My Thoughts

If you follow these tips and techniques to shave your legs, you’ll have smoother and cut-free legs! Our bodies are very sensitive so we have to treat them sensitively!

If you still struggle with shaving, why not try out one of these laser hair removal devices that you can use from the comfort of your home? These semi-permanent devices give hair-free legs for a lot longer than a shaver ever can!

Hollie xx

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About Hollie

Hi, I’m Hollie, and I’m passionate about everything beauty. Over the last decade and a half, I’ve tested thousands of products to bring you the best of the best! I also love bringing you fun and creative beauty looks. Learn more.

Beauty profile – 35, dry, aging skin, focused on aging well with a healthy glow and natural makeup look ✨



Anastasia Beverly Hills bareMinerals Benefit Cosmetics Bobbi Brown CeraVe Chantecaille Charlotte Tilbury Clarins ColourPop Dermalogica Dior Dyson e.l.f. Cosmetics ELEMIS Estée Lauder Eucerin Fenty Beauty Fresh Giorgio Armani Hourglass IT Cosmetics L'Oreal Lancome Laura Mercier LORAC MAC Makeup Revolution Maybelline Molton Brown Morphe Nars Natasha Denona Neutrogena NYX Origins Peter Thomas Roth PÜR Cosmetics Revlon Sigma Beauty Smashbox Stila The Ordinary Too Faced Urban Decay YSL

12 Comments

  1. Thanks for the great post. These are all very good tips! Since the summer is approaching, I’ll have to remember all your advice. I think I do most of them right, but I have to remember to moisturize afterwards as my legs can get very dry after shaving. The right tools are also really important!

    1. It’s true the right tools make all the difference! Good luck:)

  2. Hi hollierose, I think its content is fantastic explains with much detail and presicion what we must do in each case, I congratulate !! If she were a woman she would take her place, seriously.
    PS: If you need anything do not hesitate to contact me, we are here to serve you.
    Best regards.

  3. What a great tip list! And just in time because I’m in need! 🙂 I love the idea of exfoliating before shaving. Definitely doing that today! Thank you! I’ve not tried the Venus, but will keep it in mind. Even though you suggest not shaving till after the shower, I still think it’s so much more convenient to do it in the shower! Maybe toward the end? Anyway, thanks for a very useful post!

    1. Yes, you totally can shave towards the end of your shower. I agree with you, it is much more convenient:)

      Have a good day x

  4. Lok Which says:

    This is really informative and educative. A guideline everyone must follow in shaving. Sincerely I must confess I have not been following the right way in shaving, I love the idea of exfoliating before shaving. Thanks for sharing this post, it has really educate me on the right way to shave my legs which I will keep following from now.

  5. Snap Brisk says:

    Great tips on how to shave your legs. 

    You are right there is a right way and wrong way. Once, when I was really in a hurry, I tried to shave on bare skin… OMG luckily after the first second I realized how crazy idea was it. My skin became red and itchy. 

    I love using Venus for me personally it is a really one of the best product. What moisture you can actually recommend and how important good moisture can be?

    1. Unfortunately, most of us learn from making that mistake of shaving on bare skin! Some of us (me!) more than once:) 

      Some of my favourite moisturisers are the Clarins ones. After just one use my skin is soft. A good moisturiser is very important or it won’t do the job properly.

  6. Seun Afotanju says:

    Great article  on shaving our legs I love every piece of information written on this article mostly the tips on shaving , before shaving my skin I always make sure they are wet after which I add shampoo to soften the hair for easy cut, after which I rinse and add my shaving cream and gently shave off with a new razor.

  7. cjciganotto says:

    Hello Hollie,After reading your article I have to congratulate you because I have discovered serious mistakes when I shave my face.There are very few occasions that a cut in my skin does not occur, due to the incorrect direction I give to my shaves.

    I emphasize the clarity that you express all the care we should have when we shave.Greetings! Claudio

    1. I’m happy it helped you.

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