Feeling bursts of pain after shaving because your skin is too sensitive? Noticing too much redness? In this article, we take a look at 10 shaving tips for girls with sensitive skin.

Unfortunately, shaving becomes a regular part of your life when you reach a certain age. Many of us shave each day. But while some girls neither look forward to shaving nor dread it (they just see it as part of their everyday routine, like brushing their teeth), some girls dread it. Why? Because their skin gets rashy and red even at just the sight of a razor.

Shaving can cause your skin to flare up if it’s too sensitive. And unless you start doing the things to prevent this, it’s going to keep on happening.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way out of this. Shaving with sensitive skin is hard, and it will take some time before it gets better. But you could ease the irritation a bit by taking a look at our 10 shaving tips for girls with sensitive skin.

Shave When You’re Most Alert

Ever seen guys come into the office with fresh cuts on their face? It’s likely that they decided to shave when they weren’t feeling too awake.

Shaving cuts often happen to us whenever we’re feeling tired and unfocused. Therefore, you should always shave when you’re most alert.

This is a golden rule if you have sensitive skin. If you decide to have a quick shave despite feeling tired, listless and foggy, you will make mistakes that can cause irritation.

From now on, always try to shave when you’re feeling fresh and alert.

Exfoliate

One of the reasons shaving causes flare-ups is because your skin is just too rough. There are too many dead skin cells and hairs on the surface. The blade keeps catching it all, which is what causes irritation.

To stop this from happening, you should exfoliate. Before your next shave, take an exfoliating scrub (we like a coffee scrub) and gently wash your face with it. Don’t be aggressive – be tender and take your time.

Don’t Push Down

Ever been annoyed when there are a few hairs that you just can’t seem to get rid of? They’re such a pain! Eventually, you get so annoyed that you push down.

"I’ll show you!”

This is a bad idea, as it will further irritate your sensitive skin. It will make things worse. And usually, it’s a poor quality blade that causes us to push down.

Find a top quality blade – one which only needs the faintest of pressure to whip off your hairs.

Brush On Oil Or Cream

If you massage shaving cream or oil in your skin, you might think that you’re doing your skin a big favour. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. Far from reducing the risk of irritation, you’re actually increasing it! Oh no!

There is an easy way to change this, and it doesn’t mean that you need to stop using shaving oil or cream. Instead, you just need to start massaging it into your skin with a suitable brush (a badger brush will work best) instead of your fingers.

The brush is easy to clean, and it’s also really soft – softer even than your fingers! Moreover, the fine hairs of a badger brush coats your skin better than you could with your fingers.

Keep Your Blade Clean

Sometimes, we’re at fault for our sensitive skin by not keeping our blade clean. You might not realise it – or maybe you choose to ignore it – but your razor can quickly build up with with masses of hair, cream and general gunk. This prevents your razor from doing a smooth job, which can lead to a rash.

Soften The Bristles

There are some parts of your skin that are harder to shave than others, because the area is more sensitive. This is a given. And when the area is more sensitive, it’s harder to remove your hair smoothly.

It’s just basic math – the softer your hair is, the less fight it puts up against the razor. It will acquiesce much quicker.

To get a head start on this one, take a towel and soak it in hot water. Then, press it against your face for around five minutes before shaving. This will both dilate your pores and soften your hairs. The blades of the razor will then be able to cut the hairs better, with much less pulling.

You then need to take a shave aid and apply it. This will add more protection between the blade and your skin – which means you’ll wince much less!

Apply Lotion

Dry skin thrives in the winter time, and just one of the foul things it creates is sensitive skin.

There is an easy way to combat dry skin – just apply lotion each day.

Make Sure Your Razor Matches Your Hair

If you’re working with a razor that doesn’t match your hair, you’ll be causing unnecessary friction against your skin. This will in turn cause lots of irritation.

All shaving causes friction, but you can reduce the damage by choosing the right razor. How do you do this? You need to establish your hair type – especially if you have sensitive skin.

If you have a straight hair type, for example you’ll want to stick to razors that have three or just two blade. If you have coarser hair, you should use a single bladed razor.

Follow The Grain

If you have sensitive skin, you must never ever never EVER shave against the direction in which your hair is growing. If you are, this could be what is causing you irritation.

This is actually a simple mistake that many people make. But while those without sensitive skin can get away with it, those who have sensitive skin can’t. Follow the direction of your hair – always.

Rinse After Shaving

Lastly, you should always swill your skin with cold water after shaving. This will minimise inflammation and close your pores.

Stay beautiful!