Top 5 Shaving Tips for African American Women

We do it every day. But shaving can be tricky when your skin doesn't always cooperate with you. This can be especially true for African American women like me. Just one wrong move and you can suffer for weeks. Here are 5 shaving tips that will help you get the best each time.

1. Shave after 6pm

Sounds weird, I know. But shaving should be done at night. Our skin does all of its healing and renewing while we sleep. And we are not subjected to damaging elements such as wind and sun rays.

At night, subconsciously we are in relaxation mode. We move around less so there's less skin-to-skin contact or rubbing against our skin. Freshly shaved skin is ultra-delicate. The less contact it has, the better.

2. Dare to Go Bare

Again, sounds weird. But it goes back to skin-to-skin contact. After shaving, our skin is very sensitive and prone to irritation. Friction from clothing just makes matters worse. Try to keep freshly shave areas free from clothing.

3. Remove Dead Skin

Exfoliating is a fancy way of saying removing dead skin. Taking time to exfoliate before shaving will create a smooth foundation for your razor. A smoother surface = less nicks. Just imagine roller skating on rocks - yeah, not good. Now, picture roller skating on a dance floor. That's what exfoliation does for shaving. It creates the perfect canvas for the razor "to roll."

3. Use Baby Oil

Baby oil and shaving are the perfect combination. Baby oil creates the perfect surface for the razor. It's slippery nature reduces tugging on the skin giving the razor more freedom to glide. The results are an incredibly easy shaving experience. Other shaving creams and gels are ok too. But I just adore the results I get with baby oil.

4. Rinse But Don't Repeat

Shave each area once - maybe twice. Shaving the same area repeatedly will irritate your skin. If you exfoliate first and use baby oil or shaving cream, you should not need to repeat many times. If you're finding yourself wanting to repeat an area then that's a pretty good indication your razor is dull and needs to replaced.

Orphaned hair can be annoying, I know. But fight the temptation to re-shave. The best thing to do is tweeze away anything that's left behind.

5. Let Your Hair Direct Traffic

Listen to your hair. The direction of growth will tell you which way to run the razor against your skin. You should never (ever) shave against your hair's growth pattern. If hair is growing downward, run your razor in a downward motion. The same applies for when hair grows upward or even sideways.