Are you as excited as we are to show off those legs this summer? We bet! So, we figured it’s time to talk about how to achieve a flawless shave in preparation for baring those gorgeous legs (queue the summer wardrobe, please). Getting an ultra close shave is not as easy as it sounds. Here, we’re going to cover our best tips and tricks to attaining a perfectly smooth shave on your legs each and every time. Here’s our Whish recommendations on how to shave your legs and our top 10 tips on the best way of going about this everyday beauty task, as well as a few shaving mistakes you might be making and didn’t even realize. 1. Exfoliate Skin Here at Whish, we’re all about exfoliating. It has so many benefits, yet many people don’t think to incorporate it into their skin care routines. It’s not only relaxing (hey there, at-home spa nights, we see you!), but it’s incredibly good for promoting a healthy glow year-round. Why? Every day, you shed thousands of skin cells. Unfortunately, some of those cells can become trapped inside pores, along with debris, causing larger problems like ingrown hairs, redness, dryness, and an overall dull look—yes, even on your legs. When considering how to shave your legs, exfoliating should be your first step. Prep skin for a close shave by regularly exfoliating legs (we recommend several times a week), by using an exfoliating body wash with ingredients like alpha hydroxy acids to help slough off dead, dry skin, or a relaxing sugar scrub. Our Lavender Sugar Scrub offers a gentle exfoliating treatment with brown sugar; a gentler option to granulated sugar and also produces glycolic acid, which encourages cell turnover. Whish Pro Tips for Using Sugar Scrub Start with wet skin in the shower or bath. Allow the warm water to soften skin. Massage a dollop of scrub into your legs in a circular motion, focusing extra attention on rough areas like knees and ankles. Rinse legs and pat dry (no need to moisturize extra). Use several times a week for best results. 2. Use a New Razor Shaving legs is serious business, so you definitely don’t want to use a dull razor on your legs. If you’re one of the many who uses disposable razors, you should be tossing them after each use; however, some razors are made with higher quality standards and can last much longer with proper cleaning and storing. Using a dull razor not only puts you at risk for tiny cuts, it can irritate skin and cause ingrown hairs because, let’s face it, a dull razor just doesn’t cut it with leg hair. When it comes to how to shave your legs in the most effective way, use a fresh razor with a conditioning pad to get a smooth, painless shave. Once you’re finished, clean your razor off with alcohol to sanitize it and put it away in a dry area – not in your shower where it can collect bacteria and rust. 3. Wet Legs Before you start shaving, remember to thoroughly wet your legs. Shaving in a steamy shower or hot bath helps to soften follicles and open pores, so you can have that super close shave. One of our best leg shaving tips is to relax first – literally. Take your time when showering or bathing and don’t rush into leg shaving first thing. 4. Condition Legs This is one of the most important steps in regards to how to shave your legs. In order to avoid painful razor burn and ugly ingrown hairs, always apply a conditioning barrier to your skin before shaving. If you don’t, you are setting yourself up for creating too much friction between your razor and skin, which can cause tiny cuts and nicks—ouch! If you suffer from spider veins, apply a generous pump of Whish all-natural Rose Shave Cream to moistened legs. This incredibly creamy shaving cream is formulated with vitamin K to reduce the appearance of darkened veins and broken capillaries, omega 3 and organic shea butter for intense moisture, and other organic ingredients like green tea to soothe and nourish skin. If you’re one of the lucky ones with flawless legs, then our coconut shaving cream will give you just the right amount of nourishing protection thanks to ingredients like organic shea butter, coconut oil, and jojoba seed oil. This thick whip provides the closest shave with no drying foam. Side tip on how to shave your legs without shaving cream: try using body lotion or body oil if you ever find yourself out of shaving cream! 5. How to Shave Your Legs: Slow & Steady Wins the Race If you’ve ever wondered how to shave your legs without irritating them, here’s the answer: go slow, there’s no need to rush. Start at your ankles and slowly work your way up and above your knee using slow, smooth strokes. Slowly shaving, along with using a high-quality shaving cream will help you get a close shave each and every time. Yes, it’s true that shaving against the grain will most definitely help you achieve a smoother shave and it’s generally ‘ok’ to shave against the grain on your legs; however, if you know you have ultrasensitive skin, then we recommend shaving with the grain to mitigate irritation. Also, if you pull your skin taut while shaving, you may cause hairs to remain below the skin’s surface once tension is released and this can cause ingrown hairs. We recommend that you avoid this technique altogether when possible as it’s not the best way to shave legs. And, of course, rinse your razor in water after each stroke to clean shaving cream buildup off of blades. 6. Rinse Shaving Cream This may seem like an obvious one on a list of how to shave your legs, but it’s very important to thoroughly rinse off shaving cream once you’re done shaving. Leftover residue can dry on the legs and clog pores. And we all know what clogged pores lead to…yep, ingrown hairs. 7. Pat Legs Dry When you first learned how to shave your legs, we bet no one told you that it’s essentially a form of exfoliation. Shaving can strip the skin of its natural oils and using a rough towel to dry legs can cause even more dryness. Instead, try patting legs dry with a clean, soft bath towel. This is a much less invasive technique to vigorously drying legs and body and your skin will thank you later. 8. Moisturize Legs It’s so important to replace moisture lost through shaving, since the process of shaving strips the skin of naturally occurring oils. We absolutely love our Coconut Milk + Verbena Luminous Body Oil for luscious post-shave moisture. Not only does this body oil provide fast absorbing, lightweight moisture, it also has clinically proven peptides to calm inflamed skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Apply a small amount to legs, spread across skin and rub in for a magical moisturizing treatment. 9. Use an Ingrown Hair Serum It can never hurt to use an ingrown hair serum post-shave. We especially love our powerfully effective serum that works to clean out pores, prevent future ingrown hairs, soothe, restore, and most importantly, moisturize legs. It’s our little secret when it comes to best practices on how to shave your legs. Apply a small amount into your palm and massage Whish Flawless Post Wax & Shave Ingrown Hair Serum into legs after shaving. Unlike drugstore brand ingrown hair serums that dry out skin with alcohol-based formulas, ours doesn’t dry out skin. In fact, this product replaces moisture for radiant looking skin. 10. Avoid Harmful UV Rays Protect your freshly shaven legs from tanning under harmful UV rays which can damage and age skin. Instead, opt for an all-natural self tanner lotion. Whish’s provides buildable, streak free coverage, intense hydration, and a gorgeous sun-kissed glow. You can’t go wrong with a self tanner as good as this one! How NOT to Shave Your Legs: Are You Guilty of These Shaving Mistakes? Now that we’ve covered the correct step-by-step process of how to shave your legs, are you guilty of the following shaving practices? If you answered yes, that’s okay! However, we recommend that you make some changes on how to shave. Your legs will be summer-ready if you avoid the following things: Forgetting to Exfoliate Don’t overlook this important step in preparing skin for a close shave. Be sure to exfoliate your body at least twice weekly. Using an Old Razor If your razor is old, then it’s most likely dull, too. And a dull razor requires you to put more pressure on it in order to cut hair, which can lead to cuts. An old razor is also unsanitary. If you have an old razor, toss it and buy a new one. Using Soap Bar soap is notorious for drying out skin, but unfortunately many of you probably learned how to shave your legs with a good old-fashioned bar of soap. Avoid using soap to shave and instead go with a moisturizing shave cream to create a protective barrier on skin. Not Moisturizing Post-Shave The combination of shaving and hot water is enough to dry out skin and fast! Reinvigorate skin post-shave by applying a nourishing body butter to legs. Shave legs with powerfully effective natural skin care products. Shop our all-natural and organic hair removal products as seen on broadcast television and in publications such as People, Marie Claire, and US Weekly. Cheers to your smoothest shave yet!