Skip to content

How To Properly Exfoliate Your Legs Before You Shave

How To Properly Exfoliate Your Legs Before You Shave

You’ve likely been there before—you spend all that time shaving your legs only for ingrown hairs and blemishes to appear the next day. This happens because of trapped hairs and dead skin cells clogging your pores. To get rid of dead skin cells and loosen hair follicles, you can exfoliate your legs for a smoother shave. Here’s how to properly exfoliate your legs before you shave.

Step 1: Steam

While showering with hot water can lead to dry skin, washing your legs with warm water and showering with room temperature water can help open your pores and loosen up stubborn hairs. You’ll also want to cleanse your skin to make sure your exfoliator doesn’t have to go through any extra layers of dirt, SPF, or tanning products. With this method, your exfoliator will penetrate deeper and work better.

Step 2: Exfoliate

When you exfoliate, make sure to pay attention to your ankles and inner thighs. This is where the most chaffing tends to occur, especially because the rubbing of socks can cause a lot of ingrown hairs to form. It’s best to exfoliate in circular motions and avoid exfoliating more than twice a week. Too much can cause your skin to become dry and lead to irritation and redness, which is one of the most common mistakes people make when they exfoliate.

Step 3: Shave

Now that you’ve removed the dead skin and loosened up any trapped hairs, rinse off the exfoliator and break out your favorite shaving cream, gel, or oil. Whatever you decide to shave with, make sure it’s moisturizing and not a regular bar of soap. Clean your razor blade of any dirt and debris, and make sure your blade is sharp. Next, shave with the grain to avoid pulling hair follicles up and away from the skin, leading to irritation.

Step 4: Moisturize

Once you’re out of the shower, your skin is at its most vulnerable to dryness. So applying lotion will help your skin feel smoother and protect the new skin cells that you’ve exposed by exfoliating. Moisturizing can prevent irritation from cropping up, especially if you shave during the day and expose your skin to the elements.

Knowing how to properly exfoliate your legs before you shave means getting it right the first time and avoiding annoying razor bumps and ingrown hairs. You deserve to have beautiful, smooth legs whenever you want.

Leave a Comment