Scarleteen

Hello! I need some advice about shaving. I want to shave because I don't want hairs down there. This is my first time shaving so I need some advice. What are the things you usually need when shaving? How do you properly shave in particular? I heard you can have ingrown hairs if you don't shave properly and I don't want that. Thanks!

Ps. I already read 'troublesome pubes' but the question is not similar to mine.

Hi Krys,

If you're wanting to remove your pubic hair, both shaving and waxing are an option (waxing seems to be less likely to result in ingrown hairs or other bumps). If you don't want it completely gone but to just be a little "tidier," you can also trim it with scissors. If you want more advice on how to shave safely, this page is a good starting place: https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/shaving-query.html.

Too, it may help to think about why you want to shave. Is it for a partner? Your own comfort? Something else entirely?

It's for my own comfort. Sometimes when the hairs are too long they become itchy. And I think it would be cleaner down there if I shave.

Got it. One thing to keep in mind is that shaving or waxing will also involve some itchiness when the hair starts to grow back, but it's up to you whether that's more comfortable than the itchiness that comes with not shaving. As for those worries about cleanliness, this article does a good job of breaking down the ways shaving or not does (or does not) affect things like health: https://www.scarleteen.com/article/advi ... the_answer.

I do just want to add that one thing pubic hair does is help keep bacteria *out* of the vestibule and internal genitalia. That doesn't mean it isn't okay to trim or remove pubic hair if that's what you want to do, it's just to say that doing so actually doesn't the opposite of keeping it "cleaner." Rather, it removes something that helps do that.

Try using something natural like witch hazel to soothe bumps. They are often from ingrown hairs, so I would exfoliate the area well before you shave, and moisturize afterward. I DO love getting waxed though. You stay smooth for weeks and when the hair does come back, it's finer and there isn't that insane itching like there is with shaving.

I shave at the end of a hot shower so the hair is nice and soft with regular hair conditioner and usually a new razor (I use men's only, they're so much better). And then I put coconut oil on afterward and it seems to help. I also noticed that if I wait as long as possible in between shaves that I get way less irritation. I used to get razor burn really badly on my bikini line but I've been doing the above stuff for a while and it's gone down by like 95%. Good luck!