Hello JoAnn, thank you for your question—”What is the best way to shave your legs, to prevent a rash”? JoAnn, this is such a wonderful questions. for tg’s who do not have a lot of experience with shaving their legs, underarms and bikini area.

First, I have found out how important it is to exfoliate your skin before shaving. It gets rid of all the dead skin cells that could clog up your razor, preventing a close shave. I exfoliate my face with a hand pad, and with a good exfoliating lotion, from the drug store. I exfoliate my arms and legs with a hand pad from the drug store. This also removes sun spots, or liver spots. (This is a very important step, if you’re going to use any tanning product, as dead skin will cause the tanning product to show these spots even more).

The trick to shaving is to wet your skin and let it soften from the heat and moisture. You don’t want to shave dry skin. Shaving is a natural exfoliator and you’ll clog up the razor with dead skin while putting yourself at risk for nicks. I sit in a very warm bath with yummy soaps I purchase from a soap store. There’s no need to waste your money on shaving creams formulated especially for women. They are virtually the same as the creams sold for men, unless you enjoy the smell of womens shaving creams. Same goes for your razor, you can use men or womens razors. You are going to have to experiment with razors until you find the perfect one for you. Look for a razor with lubricated strips, pivoting heads and spring-mounted multiple blades. I’ve sampled several types and varieties and was amazed at how different each feels. With trial and error, I have found the Schick Quattro for Women, which has four super-thin blades and a pivoting head, works best on my legs.

Be sure to change razors or cartridges on a regular basis, a dull blade can lead to nicks. Also, it’s best not to use the razor you use in guy mode, on your face..as your facial hair can be coarser and will dull a blade.

Since your leg hairs grow down, you’ll want to start at your ankles and shave up. For your underarms, you’ll need to shave in every direction since the hair there grows every which way. When finished, apply oil or moisturizer. The skin on your legs has few oil glands and has a tendency for dryness. Don’t forget to put lotion on your feet! And, shave any hair on your feet, or toes. (Please clip those toe nails as men have thicker toe nails, and this can be a give away).

Ingrown hairs are caused when the hairs curl back under the skin. Avoid ingrowns by exfoliating daily and using a glycolic acid body lotion. You can purchase this, at your local drug store. (Be sure and get a glycolic acid for your face also, as a man..you will be shaving your face closer to apply makeup).

If you tend to get a few ingrown hairs try Tend Skin –an over-the-counter lotion for ingrown hairs, applying it in the morning and at night. The bumps should disappear within a couple days.

 If you’re full time, consider opting for waxing, at least on your legs. You’ll find that men do have coarser hair, it won’t grow back as fast. If your a CD, consider purchasing a good electric shaver, which has three blade sizes. Take your leg hair down, leaving some hair for guy mode. When you wear hose…they cover the light amount of hair you left on your legs).  You can use your electric shaver, for your arms or legs. If your hair is really dark, try “Jo Lynn” body hair bleach, from any drug store. Simply rub it on, (it is like tooth paste) and wash off in 5 mins. Your hair will be lighter. This can be done, in the summer, when the sun would normally bleach out your hair. (okay, it sounds good, right)? JoAnn, Good Luck! Hugs, Denae

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