You have probably heard countless tales of people who accidentally cut themselves in the middle of a shave. You may not know it, but these horror stories are way more common than you think. You might think shaving is easy just by looking at your dad or by watching shave commercials, but it’s very different when you are the one doing it yourself.
Before you start shaving, make sure to know the proper techniques to avoid irritating or cutting your skin. If you want to get a clean and safe shave every time at home, you must read the following tips first:
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Always Prepare Your Skin Before A Shave
The first and most important thing to do before you decide to have a shaving time is to prep your skin first. Make sure to always hydrate your face or skin before a good shave. That said, the best time for shaving is right after you come out of the shower. However, you may also hydrate your skin with warm water if you don’t want to take a shower yet.
Aside from the skin, you must also prep your facial hair. You can do this by applying a pre-shave oil that can soften facial or skin hair. To prepare your beard, use a pre-shave beard soap and warm water. You may also place a hot towel on your face to soften facial hair and help you get an even shave.
When you are ready, apply a shaving cream and massage it on the skin with a brush in a circular motion. Leave the shaving cream on your skin for a few minutes so that it can penetrate and soften the hair. This is especially helpful if you have thick hair.
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Invest in Good Quality and Clean Tools
One of the secrets of getting a good shave lies in the quality of your tools. Therefore, it’s essential to invest in a good quality shaving brush and razor. A good quality brush should help you spread the shaving cream evenly, exfoliate your skin, and ensures that you get a clean and even shave.
Aside from that, you have to make sure that your tools are kept clean and sanitized right before you use them. Dirty and rusty tools are dangerous, because it could lead to infections, especially if you cut yourself during a shave.
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Use Short Strokes
As previously mentioned, it is skin cuts and irritations commonly happen among people who save. To avoid this from happening, you must practice using short strokes whenever you shave. This means that your strokes should not be longer than two inches. Ideally use smooth, gentle, and slow strokes with even and light pressure. Then, always make sure to rinse the blade often so that it doesn’t get clogged with hairs and cream as you keep shaving.
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Lather Up Again
No matter how careful you are, there are sometimes spots that you could miss whenever you do a close shave. Some men start a second round of shave without lathering up first. This is not recommended as it could lead to cuts and irritation. Therefore, when you need to shave for a second time, be patient and lather your face or skin again with a hydrating shaving soap to get a smooth and safer shave.
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Don’t Forget Aftershave Products
When you are finished shaving, rinse your face with water and pat dry with a towel. And that’s not the end of it. To soothe your skin, prepare aftershave products like a lotion or soothing gel that can help keep the skin moisturized.
When choosing an aftershave products, look for the ones that has tea tree oil or witch hazel oil in it. These elements can keep your skin supple and hydrated after a good shave. You may also use products with Aloe Vera to soothe the skin and reduce any chances of skin irritation later.
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Blow Your Cheeks To Reach Sensitive Lip Areas
Facial hairs can grow at any direction, and some of them choose to grow near sensitive lip areas. These areas are rather hard to reach, and the skin is very sensitive. A slight wrong move can cause a small cut and heavy bleeding in this area. So, to get a safe shave, blowing your cheeks can help. Yes, it may look silly, but blowing your cheeks will help expand the skin above the lips, and it therefore helps you shave more comfortably.
Conclusion
There is nothing worse than getting cuts and skin rashes after a shave. Improper shaving techniques and low-quality or unclean shaving tools can give you red bumps, ingrown hairs, and other types of skin irritation and infections.
Aside from good tools, you also need to invest on quality pre-shave and after-shave products. That includes soap, cream, soothing gels, and lotions. These products help keep your skin moisturized and soften hairs so you can get a clean and even shave.