How to Shave Your Bikini Line

In today’s day and age, most women do a little something to at least spruce the bikini line up. If not for the sake of wearing a bikini, then for the sake of the man – or woman – in their lives. Shaving sound old fashioned and useless to you? Let me tell you why it’s not. To begin with, modern miracles like waxing can do some serious damage to your flower patch, if you know what I’m saying. Even if you opt to have it done at some kind of spa – human error is always possible and I’m so not offering myself up for guinea pigging.

I once saw a show on British television which detailed horror – and I do mean horror – stories about waxings gone wrong. Skin loss is nothing to smile about, and it’s not something you can just stick a band-aid on and be done with it. Do you want to risk scarring over this? I don’t. More importantly, do you really want some stranger all up in your goods?? I don’t! But, most importantly – I am not into pain! What else is there? Electrolysis? Give me a break. Unless you’re a porn star, this shouldn’t be necessary! How about special creams that burn the hair off? Do you really want to put that in the love vicinity? I don’t. All said, however, I should note that I have extremely sensitive skin and don’t dare try waxing or any other such thing in that area. Not when shaving works just fine –if you do it right. And today I’m going to tell you how.

A good razor, preferably new.

Do you see men shaving with a single blade razor? Not often, you don’t. And you shouldn’t either. You should get one with a sensitive lotion strip on it – most girlie razors have them, so it shouldn’t be hard to find. If you can get your hands on a triple blade, get it. Otherwise, a double will suffice. You also need to make sure its flexible – you don’t want the old fashioned Bic that doesn’t move at all. You also need to make sure you can hold it comfortably. Personally, I recommend the Venus system from Gillette. It has 3 blades and is very flexible. Alternatively, there is the Schick Quattro – 4 blades. That sounds a little overdone, but it might be worth trying. Avoid the Gillette Sensor – it’s just not good enough. Also avoid the Gillette Daisy and Bic Comfort 3 – they are anything but flexible.

A pair of scissors.

We’re talking regular hair-cutting scissors here, don’t go trying anything bigger than that.

Cream Oil Body Wash.

Yes, for the shaving bit. Avoid soap altogether, you don’t want this area drying out after you shave. I personally don’t like the shaving gels – neither on my legs, nor here. But I suppose if you really insist, you could go there. My personal recommendation is Dove’s Cream Oil Body Wash.

A hand mirror.

This is to make sure you don’t have any stray wanderings. It probably wouldn’t matter if you do, but some of us are retentive and want to be sure.

Baby lotion.

For general smoothing afterward. Nothing should burn, so it doesn’t need to soothe – you just want to be sure it doesn’t dry out. You could go for baby oil, too, but personally I hate feeling greasy. If it doesn’t bother you, go for it. Just remember – it’s a topical application! Do not use it internally!

• Step 1

Firstly, let me say I’m a strong advocate of bathing first. Not showering – but bathing. I have a large bathtub that has a built-in seat. It’s FANTASTIC for this. You can sit on the edge and shave comfortably, no bending over, no standing on one foot, etc. Do your regular sudsing up whilst soaking. By the time you’re done you’ll be ready to shave.

• Step 2

Trim the hedges first. If you’re going for the Kojak (you can figure that one out, right?) it won’t matter how close you trim – get as close as possible. If you’re going for the landing strip or something similar, be careful not to trim too much in that area, or it will look patchy.

Note – if you screw up you can always go for the Kojak, most men will not mind!

• Step 3

Apply the cream wash liberally and don’t oversuds it. You want it to still look and feel like a cream a bit, so you have some protection. If you shave the same spot several times you will probably need to re-apply – do not skimp on this, or you risk shave burn.

• Step 4

Shave downward first. I know, it feels more natural to shave upward, because we shave our legs this way. Nevertheless, do not use that technique for this. Shave downward, long strokes, and not too hard. Don’t press it into your skin, you don’t want to make yourself raw.

• Step 5

Shave downward and laterally. In other words, shave at a SW or SE angle, whichever one is going towards the hip. This will give you a closer shave, it works very well and should prevent ingrown hairs.

• Step 6

Let yourself soak in the tub for a few minutes so your skin can relax. When you get out of the tub, pat yourself dry – or air dry – but be gentle with the area. If you want to apply lotions, go ahead, just don’t overdo it.

One thing to address is the itch factor. If you shave carefully and closely, the hair will be gone for at least a day, depending on how fast your hair grows – we’re all different. For me, 3 days of no shaving would feel like poison ivy. Not fun. Which is why you need to be prepared to either maintain this, or deal with the itching. If you decide to shave every day, lotion is a good investment.

xx Isabella