Shaving

By Soul Thief

Shaving pubic hair is something that tends to be very popular in the scene. There are a whole variety of reasons for doing so, from aesthetics to age-play, control to convenience.

While it is more commonly accepted as reasonable for women to shave, there is just as much validity to men shaving too. There is also one simple benefit for males to consider, whether they are Dom or sub: A lot of porn stars shave the base of the penis as, by removing the hair that shrouds the base, it makes it look longer.

I personally do not shave there but, having to shave like most males, I have picked up a lot tips. Talking with submissives who shave regularly has led me to pick up even more. The intent of this article is to share as much of that advice as possible in a general, tutorial kind of fashion.

Trim The Hair

Conventional razors are not much good at cutting through long hair. Even when you do manage it, you often clog the blades very quickly, not to mention the fact that the blade is already a little older by the time it gets to the sensitive work.

Rather than attempting to use a razor immediately, use either a pair of scissors or an electric hair or beard trimmer. This will let you cut through the majority of the length, leaving you free to use the razor for what it was intended for later.

Take A Bath

Once you have the hair trimmed, take a bath. Soaking for a while gives your hair time to soften which will allow the razor to go through it more gently.

While you are in the bath, use an exfoliant to remove any dead skin from the area and generally prepare it. I will talk more about exfoliating later.

Apply A Good Lubricant

Do not just use a razor. Lubricants let the razor glide more easily, reducing nicks and giving a smoother shave. They protect the skin from irritation and also often contain moisturizers, hair softeners and other chemicals to make the whole experience work better.

Some people recommend using Neosporin soap, which they claim can reduce re-growth (though this is not confirmed). A more obvious benefit is that there is a plus pain relief version that can be very soothing.

Others recommend hair conditioner and report very positive results. This makes some sense as its thickness allows it to act as a gel, it is likely to be tested as safe for the skin and it should soften the hairs you are trying to shave.

With each pass, you may want to consider reapplying the lubricant. It can be a lot of hassle but, if you are having problems, can be well worth it.

Use A Good, New Blade

Blades have to be incredibly thin at their tip to cut. This means that, for all very strong metals tend to be used, they are prone to nicking with use. These nicks then lead to an imperfect shave and can result in you accidentally cutting yourself.

When you first start shaving consider using a new blade every time. With experience you will learn what you can and can not get away with but it is worth making the first experiences as painless as possible.

The quality of the blade does make a difference. Those expensive ones you see advertised really are worth the price difference over the bags of a dozen. The blades are a better quality, mounted better so they can follow the curves of your body, have moisturizing strips and those extra blades allow them to cut more evenly. Ultimately, consider where you are cutting - do you really want to take the cheap option?

Consider Using An Electric Razor

Rather than using a traditional razor, consider an electric. The advantage of electric razors is that they do not cut so closely. In-grown hairs are caused by ones that can not break the surface of the skin. If you have not cut the hairs that low, they will not in-grow.

While this approach does not lead to quite the same degree of baby softness, if you are having problems with in-growing hair, this may be a problem. You can always do it more regularly or just before playing to get much the same results.

Stretch The Skin

When you run the razor over your skin, pull the skin taut with your fingers first. Doing this allows the razor to shave everything evenly and also prevents it from catching any folds of skin.

Cut With The Hair

You will find your hair has a natural lie to it. On my face, it lies left to right. This works wonderfully for me as I am right handed and so shave with each pass going somewhat left to right anyway.

By shaving with the lie of your hair, you are cutting it relative to your skin. This will help avoid in-growing hairs later. If you try to cut against the lie, you end up pulling the hairs away from the skin, pulling the skin so it is not smooth and cutting them unevenly so they are more likely to in-grow.

Clean The Blade With Each Pass

After each pass with the razor, rinse it. If you do not, it tends to clog and gives a less even shave, again resulting in nicks, cuts and in-growing hairs.

Rinse Thoroughly

When you are finished, clean the area thoroughly. While the lubricant is probably good for your skin, you do not want to leave it there for too long, especially if it contains short, itchy bits of shaved hair.

Once you have rinsed the area, gently pat it dry.

Let It Breathe

For all the care you have taken, you have still just dragged a knife over your skin. Giving it every chance to heal will save you from rashes, itching, in-growing hair and flaking skin (which really is not that attractive down there).

To give your skin the best chance of healing, it needs to be kept dry. To do that it needs to get air to it. Cotton and silk underwear both allow the skin to breath. They are also relatively smooth and so are less likely to rub the already sensitive skin.

Remedying Itching

If you do find it itches afterwards, you may want to consider a topical itch or pain relief. Many people recommend witch hazel, especially as it can come in a convenient tube that you can take with you throughout the day and apply when needed.

Exfoliate

As already mentioned, exfoliating to prepare the skin is a good first step before shaving. It is also worth doing regularly afterwards as it removes any dead skin, opening up the hair follicles that might otherwise get blocked and cause in-growing hairs.

Repeat Regularly

Probably the single best piece of advice I can give is to repeat it regularly - every day or two, depending on how fast it regrows.

Much of the itching is caused by the flat heads of the shaved hair growing out and rubbing against sensitive skin. If you keep shaving regularly, the hairs do not grow long enough to become a problem.

Gently taking off the top tiny fraction of a hair is much easier than hacking away large amounts. If you repeat regularly then you have less to do each time and the results will come out better.

Finally, the more regularly you do it, the more experience you will get. I can talk about the concepts at length but the biggest effect you are likely to find is your own experience and figuring out what works for you. It May Not Be For You I have covered how to get the best results from shaving. That said, shaving is not for everyone. Some people are simply too sensitive, some ethnic groups grow hair that is statistically more likely to in-grow because of how it curls, there are all sorts of reasons.

This article covers shaving alone. There are other alternatives such as waxing, plucking, hair removal creams, lasers and electrolysis. If shaving really does not work for you, they may well be worth looking in to. Alternatively, you can always simply learn to accept the hair.