We all know about
shaving. Using a razor, the hair is basically chopped off on top of the
skin, leaving a smooth, hairless surface in its wake—albeit for a very
short time. Everyone’s hair grows at different rates, but shaving offers
the shortest amount of time between the removal and the regrowth of
hair.
Men generally only shave their faces, whereas women shave many different parts of their bodies. The most common areas for a woman to shave is her legs (some women only shave the lower legs, others shave the entire leg—upper and lower), the underarms, and sometimes even the bikini line. And then there are those of you ladies who shave your face.
Shaving the face should be left for the men of the world—only. Let me
reiterate that point: If you are a woman, do not shave your face!
There are many articles on this blog that contain alternative techniques to remove
unwanted hair on your face. If you start (or continue) shaving, you are
only going to be ensuring the need to do it forever.
Men generally only shave their faces, whereas women shave many different parts of their bodies. The most common areas for a woman to shave is her legs (some women only shave the lower legs, others shave the entire leg—upper and lower), the underarms, and sometimes even the bikini line. And then there are those of you ladies who shave your face.
Shaving is a relatively inexpensive way to quickly get rid of hair virtually anywhere on the body, and it is generally painless. If you aren’t paying attention, shave too quickly, use an old or dull blade, or if you have problems with your skin, it can preclude a smooth shave.
Does hair really grow back darker if you shave?
It is my experience that once a particular area has been shaved (and I believe this holds true for waxing as well), the hair does
grow back darker and possibly thicker than it was before. Some reports
dispute this, but use your own experience as a measure of the validity
of my observation. Perhaps for some people the hair grows back as it was
prior to shaving. This has not been the case for me, however, nor most
people I have spoken with. So in essence, once you shave an area, you
will eventually become a slave to shaving it.
Usually
women start shaving their legs as teenagers, many times as proof of
maturation—a sort of rite of passage. I know this was true for me when I
was a teen, around 13 or 14 years old. Like a young man shaving the
peach fuzz off his face, I started shaving my legs long before I needed
to. I was simply removing fine (and unnoticeable), light-colored hair
from my lower legs. At this young age, noticeably dark hair had not
become a problem.
I don’t remember specifically when I noticed the hair
growing in darker and coarser, but it was. The hair also seemed to grow
in quicker, probably due to the darker color being more noticeable. Now,
of course, I can’t go for more than a day or so without shaving, lest
the dark hairs scare off my clients! The point is, don’t remove peach
fuzz from anywhere on your body unless you just want to speed up the
process of being a slave to shaving.
I don’t remember specifically when I noticed the hair
growing in darker and coarser, but it was. The hair also seemed to grow
in quicker, probably due to the darker color being more noticeable. Now,
of course, I can’t go for more than a day or so without shaving, lest
the dark hairs scare off my clients! The point is, don’t remove peach
fuzz from anywhere on your body unless you just want to speed up the
process of being a slave to shaving.
Prepare or despair.
Preparing your skin is of the utmost importance when it comes to
shaving. For men, if you can shave in the shower, it will greatly
increase your ability to get a clean shave, as well as make you less
susceptible to irritation and razor cuts. The steam coming from the hot
water does a great job of warming your skin and making it smooth, so the
razor just glides right over your face. The same shower technique goes
for women and shaving. Shave your legs in the shower to ensure your skin is
“warmed-up” for the process.
If the skin is dried out
and flaky (dehydrated skin), it can cause irritation anywhere on your body you are shaving. So in order to ensure a smooth shave, you’ll want to
incorporate these three components: Exfoliation, using a good shaving
cream, and using a triple (or more) blade razor, which will be discussed in future articles. For now, see:
