Summer is here, hoooorraaahhhhh! If you love to wear dresses but hair removal can be an issue (that's if you choose to remove the hair, if not then hey you don't need these tips), hopefully my suggestions below may help.
My legs are hypersensitive, shaving, waxing, a blade of grass, anything can set them off - it's extremely frustrating. Here are my skincare tips on hair removal, which will hopefully stop, or at least dramatically reduce, the irritation you may experience. These tips are also useful for men who may experience sensitivity when shaving their face.
- First things first, the blade you use is important - the more blades, the better! Look for a blade that's designed for sensitive skin, these usually have at least 5 blades and remember to change regularly - a blunt blade riddled with bacteria is no one's friend!
- The length of the hair makes a big difference, if it's more than a few mm then you're going to have to go over the area a few times and you want that blade to touch your skin as little as possible, ideally you should only shave the area once. So trim the hair first, a pair of men's hair clippers without a cover is perfect and will trim your hair to practically nothing (obviously using great care, especially if you're trimming "sensitive" areas).
- We all know the tip about shaving with the direction the hair grows rather than against it, but we also know it doesn't really give a smooth shave, so there's no point in me advising that. Instead, as mentioned above, try to only go over the area once when you shave, repeatedly shaving the same area is just going to inflame the skin.
- The skin lubricant you use is extremely important, forget the stuff on the high street, they're full of alcohol, even the sensitive ones. Ideally go for an oil, I like the oil by Shaveworks, the subscription box Friction Free Shaving have also recently introduced an excellent, natural shave cream to their range. Never, ever dry shave!
- Moisturise, moisturise, moisturise. Shaving dehydrates the skin so moisturise at least once a day either using a specific aftershave product (high quality and not an alcoholic splash) or look for a moisturiser that contains Urea, it's great for dehydrated skin.
- Exfoliate a few times a week, avoid harsh scrubs that contain nut kernels, use a Dermaflannel or buff your skin with a cotton flannel, you need to exfoliate to prevent ingrown hairs but you also don't want to irritate your skin further. Exfoliating will also give your skin a lovely, healthy sheen.
- If like me you have extremely hypersensitive skin, unfortunately all of the above may not work, in which case you need to go for an electric razor, they are so much gentler on the skin and there are some great razors available these days and so it doesn't take long to shave. When used daily it takes no more than a couple of minutes to do both legs. I've recently reviewed my favourite so please do take a look at my Twitter account.
- Laser, obviously this is a bit of a luxury, but if you follow discount websites such as Groupon you can find special offers in your area of extremely discounted laser treatment, even a few sessions will thin and lighten the hairs meaning you need to shave less, and if you do use electric razors, which can leave the legs a little stubbly, you won't notice the stubble when it's lighter.
I do hope you find these suggestions helpful. If you have an amazing tip that's worked well for your sensitive skin, please do share it in the comments below.