As shaving is that activity everyone literally cannot escape doing, chances are that you have been shaving for so many years now. However, the saying “Practice makes perfect” does not exactly ring true with shaving. You could have been shaving for as long as 20 years and yet, you still don’t do it right. From the constant cuts to the nicks, you don’t have to look too far to notice the signs that you’ve not been doing shaving right. All thanks to the many shaving mistakes that you have been making over the years. From the ones that you most definitely have made to those that you’re likely to make, check out this list of shaving mistakes and how to avoid them. 

   •   Dry Shaving

On days when you have to rush out of the house but you dare not do it without shaving, what do you? You quickly whip out your razor and get shaving over with under seconds. This shouldn’t be so as it would lead to burns and rashes. That aside, you are even likely to have to deal with redness and it sure would hurt a whole lot more.

To avoid: Lubricate the area where you want to shave so as to ensure a smooth and rash free shaving. Shaving gels and creams are perfect lubricants that you can use. They would make it easy for the razor to move across your skin without having to apply excess pressure. Even if you run out of a gel or cream, you shouldn’t still attempt to dry shave. Making use of water is actually better than not using anything at all.

   •   Shaving in the wrong direction

Safe to say just about everybody is guilty of this one. This is barely taught in schools and the many razor ads hardly show it too. It is, however, one of the leading cause of bumps and burns. Shaving in the wrong direction makes you more likely to irritate your skin and cut yourself. It gets even worse if you already have sensitive skin.

To avoid: You have to shave in the direction in which your hair grows. This means if you are shaving your leg, you should be shaving down your legs and not up.

   •   Using soap to shave

On days when you run out of shaving cream or gel, it could be tempting to want to lubricate with your soap. Using soap sets you up for lots of cuts as it is not a very good lubricant to help the razor move across your skin smoothly.

To avoid: Stick to gels and creams alone or water in the worst case scenario.

   •   Not exfoliating before shaving

Even if you’ve been able to escape exfoliating your face regularly, you shouldn’t do so when it comes to shaving. If you already exfoliate your face, then you should extend that act to your shaving routine. Exfoliating removes dead skin cells and not doing it before shaving negatively affects the shaving process as you’re more likely to get razor bumps.

To avoid: Be sure to exfoliate right before you put the razor to work. Do it once or twice a week and make it in-between shaves.

   •   Making use of dull razors

Not replacing your razor as soon as you notice its blades have become dull is a common mistake everyone makes. Why this is a mistake is because bluntness makes blades more habitable for bacteria. It won’t be long before infection sets in when this happens. Also, you’re more likely to get irritated, cuts, and nicks from dull blades.

To avoid this: Change your razor once you notice it is blunt. One sign of a blunt razor is that it constantly tugs at your skin. You could also keep track of the number of times you use it and then, replace it not more than after 10 uses if it’s a disposable razor.

   •   Rushing through the shaving process

Shaving is a very delicate procedure and so, you shouldn’t rush through it. You should put in total concentration while you’re at it. Yes, taking phone calls while shaving isn’t a good idea. You would most likely cut and irritate your skin plus you would even miss out spots that you ought to have shaved.

To avoid this: Take your time and make use of smooth, gentle strokes.

   •   Applying too much pressure

It is fair to assume that shaving hard would result in a cleaner shave but actually, the reverse is the case. When you apply too much pressure while shaving, you make your skin uneven and chances that you would cut yourself are high. 

To avoid: First, make sure that the reason why you apply lots of pressure isn’t that you’re using a dull razor. Also, make use of very slow strokes while shaving and don’t tug at your skin too much.

   •   Not having a post-shave routine

Many people are guilty of this but then not everyone knows that what you do after you’re done shaving is just as important as what you did before and during the process. What shaving does apart from removing hair, of course, is that it exfoliates the skin. You normally wouldn’t exfoliate without moisturizing now, would you? Failing to moisturize after shaving causes that area to be very dry and from there, there’s redness, bumps, and so on.

To avoid: Apply moisturizer all over the shaved area while your skin is still damp as soon as you are done shaving to have a comfortable post-shave skin.

   •   Failing to rinse the razor mid strokes

As you’re shaving, hair gets into the blade and clogs it up. This would reduce the sharpness of the blade and make you more susceptible to all the dangers of dull razors already discussed above.

To avoid: After a few strokes, rinse the razor with water to remove the already shaved hair.

   •   Over-shaving

No matter how quickly your hair grows, chances that you have to shave every other day are pretty slim. That aside, you ought to keep the strokes minimal as over-shaving would leave your skin dry. Also, shaving a spot repeatedly leads to irritation.

To avoid: Shave only when it is necessary and keep the strokes minimal at a spot 

Avoiding shaving mistakes is actually easier than you think. Make sure to keep the tips above in mind during your next shave and do away with all the effects of a mistake-filled shaving.