A gentle thing: to shave or not to shave?

In front of Parasha’s mirror, sitting respectfully,

The cook shaves. What about my widow??

“Ah-ah!” – and flip-flops. When you see it..,

That one, in a hurry, with a soapy cheek

Through the old woman’s honor,

Jumped in the hay, right on the porch,

No way to run with your face covered…

. . Pushkin. “House in Kolomna”

If Alexander Sergeyevich had written these lines in our time, then perhaps shaving the cook would not have caused such surprise to the reader: almost every modern woman has to deal with the problem of removing body and even sometimes facial hair.

The most progressive ladies in the home use epilators, but still many hesitate to use this device for fear of pain and prefer a razor.

In addition, some areas can not be subjected to hair removal: it is, above all, the face and armpit area. So, you can’t do without a razor?

Now the market has a fairly large selection of special female devices-stants, but also manufacturers of household appliances do not doze off and try their best to make our lives easier.

Along or across?

If “shave or no shave” is out of the question, all that’s left to do is pick a direction. If you shave hair in the direction of its growth, the result may not be ideal, but this method is less traumatic to the skin.

Shaving against the growth of hair is considered more “clean”, but also the risk of cuts and irritation increases. For those who don’t want to choose between two evils, a special lady electric razor can be recommended.

A machine or electric razor?

The CUT is cheaper, that’s a fact. That’s pretty much the end of its benefits, as its use does not preclude cuts or skin irritation. Shaving with a razor every day is not safe because the blade removes the top layer of epidermis. Most modern women’s electric razors are mesh shavers that is, their moving blades are “hidden” under the mesh . The latter are made of special hygienic alloys very often with precious metals – gold and silver , do not contain nickel, which is often allergenic, so the risk of injury or skin allergies is minimized.

Just like men’s razors, women’s razors are designed for both dry and wet shaving with warm water and foam. The undoubted advantage of electric device – the ability to do without water. These devices are very compact, lightweight, battery-operated, and travel-friendly. As a rule, in addition to the mesh itself, razors have trimmers: they shorten long hairs, which are then easily and cleanly shaved with the mesh.

Care for electric shaver is not complicated: heads, as a rule, washed with water, and the kit includes a special brush for cleaning. If the kit includes oil to lubricate the blades, it is recommended that you do this once a year. Here’s what the experts at Philips say about caring for your shaver and the need for a minimum amount of maintenance:

We recommend changing your foil & cutter block every two years. You should also change the shaver’s foil if it’s damaged or worn out.

If your shave is not close enough, there may be long hairs or hairs in your shaver which have built up overtime. Stop using it and clean your shaving head, trimmer, and foils.

We recommend cleaning your razor after each shave. Remove the head from your shaver and either rinse it under running water or use a brush to keep it clean.

Do not use abrasive cleaners, metal brushes, or solvents like alcohol, gasoline, or acetone nail polish remover to clean your device.

Manufacturers and products

Most appliance manufacturers still rely on epilators. But almost any modern epilator comes with a special shaver head – so it combines your hair removal needs in different ways.

Generally speaking, this is very rational and justified. So, razor heads are in epilators Braun, Panasonic, Philips, Rowenta, Valera. Special women’s shavers are produced by few companies but among them are such respected manufacturers as Philips models called Ladyshave Double Contour , Remington models WSF3000 and WSF4000 , Rowenta model LOVELY ELITE RF3330 , Panasonic model E-177 , domestic MIKMA model MIKMA-117 .

In addition, there are special female bikini trimmers models HP6379/00, HP6375/00 from Philips, BKT3000 from Remington, DP503 and DP501 from Gezatone , which also have razor micro nozzles.

Another “relative” of the female razor is a groomer, whose task is the precise and precise removal of hair. This is often necessary in the brow area, the chin area and any area of the body where there are “uninvited guests”. You can find such a device in the Braun range SilkFinish FG 1100 , it comes with a bikini head.

What to look for when choosing?

Women’s razors usually have simplified probably as a compliment to a woman’s logic controls and no speeds or modes, so a very basic device with only one button is fine.

Important parameter – battery life. Shaving time is shortest at 20 minutes and longest at 45 minutes. It’s handy when the device runs on rechargeable AA batteries, but they do run out quickly, and shaving is a more frequent and regular activity.

Charging indicator – very useful thing: you will always know if your shaver is ready or not ready to work and you will not run out of batteries at the most inappropriate moment.

Most modern shaving machines are waterproof, but be sure to check on that when you buy them.

Mesh material is an important part of your shave quality and safety. Gold and silver alloys, special patented hygienic alloys and coatings are more gentle on your skin than simple stainless steel. If you have a nickel allergy – definitely do not buy stainless steel!

It’s not my fault, they just grow…

Armpit hair is the hardest area to remove, because the skin is very soft and pliable. A woman’s legs and armpits contain approx. 78000 follicles.

An average of about 16800 hairs on legs and 600 hairs in the armpits. The hair growth rate differs on different parts of the body. Average hair growth rate 6mm per month.

Since most men only remove hair from their faces and necks, and women remove hair from their armpits, legs and bikini line, the total hair removal area for women is 18 times greater than that for men: 1690cm2 vs. 95cm2.

The hair on a man’s face is thicker than on a woman’s legs, underarms, or bikini line. The amount of hair in a man’s beard is comparable to the total amount of hair on a woman’s legs and armpits.

Female hair is thinner than male hair, but almost as strong as a copper wire of the same thickness. The season has a definite influence on hair growth: studies have shown that hair growth becomes more active in spring.

What you need to know about shaving

* The irritation after shaving is not as much due to minor nicks and scratches with proper shaving technique and a quality shaver, there may be none left at all , but rather to the general scraping of the thinnest layer of epidermis. For example, an epilator doesn’t touch it at all: the tweezers grip and pull out hairs, but there’s no friction against the skin.

When shaving, avoid rubbing your skin, press the device too hard, or run the shaver unnecessarily over an already-treated surface.

On the other hand, the correct pressure of the razor on the skin as a result of shaving sloughs off dead skin cells, and the skin looks fresh and well-groomed.

* The observance of personal hygiene rules is something to remind the lovely ladies once again. Tools regardless of type or design should be carefully personalized and kept exceptionally clean.

* Sharpness of blades and timely change of cassettes in shaving machines – a guarantee of quality and painless procedure.

It’s no myth that shaving leaves hairs thicker, starting to grow thicker and faster. We have conducted plenty of research on this topic, and the general conclusion is the following: the structure, thickness and color of hair are only affected by the condition and natural characteristics of hair follicles we used to call them hair roots .

Hair can’t get any bigger, since the total number of hair follicles attention! is laid down in every body during the foetal development of the fetus!

Hair doesn’t grow any faster, but this illusion is because we’re usually unable to see it growing: the tiny fractions of a millimeter that each hair grows in a day or two simply cannot be seen with the naked eye. But when your skin’s clean, it’s all too visible – and it feels like your hair’s growing out at an unnatural rate.

* Skin needs to be prepared for shaving: a special shaving gel opens the pores of the skin and makes the hairs softer – as a result, they are removed “at the root”. Dermatologists again and again urge not to use soap to create lather see “The Lather” . below .

* a lot of people complain about dry skin after shaving. It may be due to normal water and soapy foam exposure as well as skin can get dry after washing with soap and water , but remember that many areas that need a shave legs, bikini line, upper lip are not as naturally moisturized as other areas of the body.

So moisturizing your skin after shaving with special lotions and creams is a necessity! Dermatologists advise to avoid applying fatty, nourishing creams on the skin: it can contribute to clogging of pores, development of inflammation and ingrown hairs.

* No dermatologist has confirmed to us that they believe in lotions and creams that slow hair growth. “As a doctor I can’t imagine how a cream can slow down this biological process” – this is the opinion of Dr. Petra Staubach, head of scientific medical research at BRAUN Germany .

* Do not use deodorants, antiperspirants, and lotions containing alcohol after shaving.

Forum girls won’t hide it

• 

  I switched to this miracle technique a long time ago. Much more comfortable, it’s impossible to cut yourself and the result is not worse than a normal razor..

• I use the shaver attachment of an epilator to remove hair in the bikini area, t. to. I get irritation from razors. It removes well and makes my skin smooth and fast. I like it.
• I can get used to it, and I can shave my legs and underarms in minutes.
• The trimmer attachment allows you to shorten the hair in the intimate areas, not shave. Which again is good, because they easily ingrown there. And if you shorten it to 4 mm, that, in my opinion, is not much different from a full “shave” and avoids ingrown hairs.
• I have no discomfort with dry shaving, and I’m very impressionable in this respect. I forgot about burns from depilatory creams and stopped wasting money on depilation creams, after depilation, burn creams, etc. . It turns out both the skin better, and in financial terms, the shaver has paid off, since batteries are cheaper than creams.
• And the mesh is so thin and delicate!
• My razor adds extra moisture to my skin with an aloe vera strip. Thought it was purely an advertising “bait”, but it turns out that really this strip works: the razor glides better, the skin is soft. I’ve been using it for almost a year and it works.
• I have varicose veins on my leg – if there is a cut or irritation, then it does not heal for a long time!. I can’t use a razor, only a female mesh razor. If you don’t shave the hair, but shorten it with a trimmer attachment, it’s a pretty slow process.
• The shaving head on my epilator pulls hairs and hurts. I used to have a special razor for women, I must buy one again – at least for the armpit area, very delicate skin there, an epilator is not good for her.
• I can’t shave at all – not at all! Only wax, alas
• It is impossible to be hurt or burned, although if there is a protruding mole, it is possible to scratch it.