BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Body Care Shaving and exfoliating

Which one should you do first when it comes to your legs? Shave or exfoliate?

Also, what is (in your opinion) the best lotion? I change so often that I don't know anymore. or maybe that's the problem...hmmmmm..

The action of shaving actually has the effect of exfoliating so to do both is not only unnecessary, but extra exfoliation could wind up contributing to skin irritation.

I use a nice natural soap to lather with when I shave, something with extra emollients if I can get it as my legs get extremely dry when I shave them.

I quuite agree with Rae.. doing both is unnecessary. If you feel you must do both, however, exfoliate first, then give your legs a 'calm down' period, then shave. For example, exfoliate as soon as you get in the shower, do your hair washing and other 'showerly duties', then shave just before you get out.

I'm with Rae on this one. But if you really have to exfoliate, do what Jennie said.

But really, if you do exfoliate first, you'll end up killing your legs afterwards. You'll dry them out too much and they'll get itchy and burn. <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Thanks y'all. My legs are dry to begin with so I'm avoiding exfoliation when I shave.

Thanks y'all. My legs are dry to begin with so I will avoid exfoliation when I shave.

If you're legs are already dry, then instead of using shaving cream or gel use hair conditioner. It does the same thing, and is a lot less expensive. Plus, it moisturizes a lot more than a shaving cream or gel would.

Be sure to have a good after-shower lotion or spray-moisturizer, as well. A lot of times I prefer the spray-moisturizers for my legs, because they tend to shed some of the dead skin after the shower, which makes putting on lotion rather unpleasant.

I find this simple, exfoliate when washing, shave, then moisturize. Intuition shavers are excellent for touch ups.

In any case you NEED to exfoliate to avoid the ingrown hairs.

I add in a hydrocortisone after each shave as well to calm down any inflammation.

I probably shouldn't know all this

And why do you say you 'probably shouldn't know all this'? Because you're a guy? I've known many guys that knew plenty about shaving, either because of their GF's, or a multitude of reasons by which they shave, themselves. And besides, nearly all guys know about shaving... although granted, shaving the face and shaving the legs are slightly different subjects. But still, there is NOTHING wrong with a guy knowing about shaving the legs.

WEll, the good news is that when you reach my age there is very little hair to shave on the legs and I know several women who have discovered this to be true. The bad news is that I still have hairy pits(sigh)

Really hot water does contribute mightily to dry skin; especially in the colder months...

Jennie, I know what you mean. This just isn't stuff I'd mention to my pals. I do workout and so I do shave my legs (but only during the summer). I do think its harder for man because we grow body hair much more quickly than women.

I've been wondering about laser hair removal for my private areas, does anyone know about this?

I can see not mentioning it to your pals... for some reason, if a guy says he shaves his legs, everyone automatically thinks he's a cross-dresser or something similarly "deviant"... though personally I don't see the big deal even if that were the case. But there are a number of quite "legitimate" reasons... such as in your case, or for those who swim or bicycle competetively, and so on. I've also known a few guys who simply found it more comfortable (I know that when I let my legs go for a while, such as in the winter, the hairs 'snagging' on things drives me insane).

Unfortunately, I know nothing about laser hair removal. I did have electrolysis done for a while, and that, in my opinion, was a waste of time. It was uncomfortable, took forever, and I didn't see any lessening of the grow-back, nor did it seem to take particularly longer to grow back than if I had used tweezers (this was on facial hair, like the eyebrows, obviously, not the 'private' areas.)


And indeed, as Roni said, very hot water can contribute quite a lot to the dry skin problem. If you have a problem with dry skin, go for warm rather than steamy-hot.

I never exfoliated when I shaved. I always shaved then took a shower then put on body lotion or not.