How to Shave Your Legs

I remember in sixth grade when (if you were a girl of course) you were really cool if you shaved your legs. You were "grown up" and quite sophisticated (well, as sophisticated as a twelve-year-old can be). You wanted to show your razor to your friends and have them feel your smooth, lotion-smooth, legs and when it came down to it, you just felt cool. Apart from the "coolness" of barely adolescent smooth-legged girls, what exactly comes from shaving your legs and how exactly do you do it? Shaving your legs is a basic beauty routine that once adopted can easily become second nature.

I remember my mom showing me the tips and tricks of shaving my legs and I remember the initial smoothness that made me feel so grown up and excited. Whatever age you are when you start, you need to start slow and shaving the first few times in a bathtub is usually a good idea. That way you don't have water from the shower falling into your eyes and you can really focus on what you're doing. Buy a nice razor, one that has a swivel head to get those hard to reach places like the ankles and knees, and start from the bottom moving up your leg.

Especially when you first start you should use shaving cream to make the shaving easier and smoother, but if you'd rather not use it all the time later on, that's perfectly okay. Go slowly around your ankles and knees because cuts there may be small, but they hurt and bleed a lot. Do accept the fact that you probably will cut yourself a time or two when you first start and even after you're an experienced leg shaver, nicks will still happen. After you finish shaving, put on some lotion to moisturize the skin and to maintain the smoothness.

One thing to always keep in mind when shaving and something to consider before you start, is that once you start, you're usually in it for the long haul. After a day or two, the hair will grow back prickly and darker, necessitating another shaving session and this will continue for years and years and years. Most women are accustomed to it and don't have a problem with the need for shaving often (I can usually get away with not shaving for a couple of weeks at a time during the winter when no one really sees my legs anyway!). However, if you don't want the commitment of shaving your legs a few times a week then you might want to consider alternate methods of leg hair removal (e.g. waxing).

Shaving does make you feel more grown up and it does make wearing capris, shorts, and skirts more fun, but you do need to start out slow and know going in that you could very possibly be shaving for the rest of your life!