Best Shaving Technique for Women

Even mentioning shaving to women is a no win deal. It’s a flashpoint that evokes a reflexive visceral reaction of annoyance and concern that their hair will get coarser. But there’s actually a way for women to shave and still avoid this dreaded outcome. Stay tuned!

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So many women shave their legs and those who do regularly have come to terms with the annoyance of having to repeat the process very frequently… even daily. But even so, many women fear, think or believe that shaving makes their hair thicker or courser.

In the DermTV episode on “Does Shaving Cause Hair to Grow Thicker,” I explained that it doesn’t… that the actual thickness or diameter of the hair shaft remains absolutely the same, but the tip… instead of being thin, tapered and wispy like an unshaved hair…

[SHOW WISPY HAIR]

…actually gets an almost rectangular shape….

[JUST CUT HAIR]

…which makes the end of the shaved hair, as it starts to grow out from the skin, much wider and coarser than the end of an unshaved wispy hair. So the ends look thicker and feel much coarser.

That’s usually the result when you shave against the grain, which means shaving in the opposite direction in which the hair grows. When you do this...

[DIAGRAM]

...the razor lifts the hair toward an almost vertical position so the razor then cuts perpendicular to the shaft creating the rectangular coarser tip.

In the episode on “How to Avoid Skin Irritation while Shaving,” I explained to first shave with the grain and if you wanted a closer shave to then shave against the grain. But look what happens when you first shave in the direction the hair grows.

[DEMO]

The razor cuts the shaft at an angle that leaves the end tapered and thinner… not as thin as a wispy unshaved hair but much thinner and finer than the rectangular shape from shaving against the grain.

So if you can forgo a very close shave by not shaving against the grain, the tips of the shaved hairs will look much thinner and feel much less coarse and stubly when they start to grow out. This will make you feel a little less intimidated by and fearful of shaving to control your hair.