Shaving Your Legs

Perhaps the first rule of shaving your legs is to make sure that you have the time to shave them. This is one thing that you do not want to rush. When you rush shaving your legs you increase the risk of nicking your legs or sometimes even taking out a little chunk of skin. You can also miss places on your legs if you hurry. Just make sure that you have the time to do the job right.

First you will want to get out all the supplies you will need and locate them altogether in the shower or tub. Here's what you'll need:

• Water
• Razor
• Lotion
• Lubricant

This last item may take a bit of explanation. In this instance, the lubricant is typically shaving cream. You can use a foam or gel; it doesn't matter. Some people even use hair conditioner for their shaving lubricant. (Hair conditioner works great, leaving the legs feeling smoother afterwards.)

You will want to wet your legs with warm water. Shaving when your legs are dry will dry out your skin more than it already is. It also increases the chances of nicking your legs. If you are shaving your legs while taking a bath, make sure that the water is warm and not too hot. (Hot water will dry your skin out.)

While in the bathtub, prop your leg up on to the ledge of the tub. Making sure that your leg is nice and wet, apply the lubricant. If using shaving gel, make sure that you work it into a nice lather before applying it to your skin. You will want to keep your leg out of the water as you are shaving. Leaving you leg in the water will cause the shaving lubricant to rinse away.

A little safety note is in order here: If you are shaving while taking a shower, make sure that there is a bath mat in the shower. Slipping in the shower would be no fun.

With a clean, sharp razor start to shave your legs. Start down by the ankle using small strokes. When shaving around difficult areas like your ankles and knees you will want to use small soft strokes. Remember to rinse your razor in the water after a few strokes. Keeping the razor clean of hair fuzz will help keep you from nicking or cutting yourself. Shave in an upward motion, covering your calf and shins with long strokes.

Shaving around the knee you will want to be careful and use small strokes like you did when you shaved around the ankles.

There really is no reason to shave the thighs. The hair that is on the thighs is usually very soft and light. There are some people who want to shave their thighs, but just remember to use smaller strokes than you did on your calves and shins, but longer than you used around the ankles and knees.

Rinse your legs in the warm water, running your hands over your legs to feel if you missed any spots.

Now that you are finished shaving your legs and you are getting out of the shower or tub, pat your legs dry. You will want to leave the legs damp so that you can massage the lotion into your them.