How to Get the Smoothest Shave

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armpits, bacteria, bath, bikini, blades, blunt, bumps, cool, decleor, direction, dull, exfoliate, exfoliating, hair, hair growth, infection, ingrown hairs, legs, moisture, moisturized, moisturizing, prep, prepare, razor, razor burn, shave, Shaving, shower, skin, smooth, smoother, smoothing, steamy

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Whether it’s your legs, your armpits or any other part of your body, shaving is still the most popular hair removal method the world over. It’s cheap, convenient and you can do it wherever you want, whenever you want, without the need to visit a specialist. Having said that, shaving still has it’s pitfalls, so we thought we’d give you some tips to help you to get your smoothest shave yet.

Steam Your Skin

Skin which is warm is much easier to shave, yet people tend to do their hair removal before they get into the bath or shower, while their skin is still cool. Have your shower first and make sure you get it nice and steamy to open the pores and give you a closer shave.

Get Rid of Dead Skin

The next step should be exfoliation, for a number of reasons. Firstly, exfoliating will get rid of dead skin which will allow your razor to get closer to the roots of the hairs, giving you a smoother finish. Exfoliating will also help to lift any hairs and release any which may be starting to grow inward, reducing your chances of developing ingrown hairs when they start to grow back. This will also make your legs look less ashy in the long run!

Stay Fresh

You should be using a fresh razor (or razor head) every single time you shave. Every time you use a razor, the blades will dull as you move them over the skin, and by the time they’ve defuzzed all the areas you use them on, they’re really too blunt to be useful again. Not to mention the fact that razor blades will harbour bacteria which could cause nasty infections if you reuse them. If you aren’t keen on the idea of using single-use pastic razors, invest in a traditional safety razor which has a metal handle and casing but blades which you replace without the need for plastics.

Go WITH the Grain

Every razor advert on telly shows you images of women starting at their ankle and shaving up, but every barber worth their salt will tell you that shaving WITH the direction of hair growth is not only the best way to get a smooth finish, but it will also help you to avoid both nicks in your skin and ingrown hairs. It often feels like learning to shave is a right of passage for boys, but girls aren’t given the same guidance and we’ve all ended up doing it wrong!

Replenish Moisture

When you exfoliate your legs, then shave them, there’s a good chance that they’re left pretty dry afterwards, even if they don’t look like they are. Slathering your legs with a rich moisturiser like Decleor Nourishing Body Balm will ensure your skin feels nourished and hydrated.

Stocking Fillers for the Men in Your Life

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anti ageing, beard, Clove Oil, decleor, Decleor Triple Action Shave Perfector, decongest, dermalogica, Dermalogica Daily Clean Scrub, Dermalogica Daily Defense Block, Dermalogica Post Shave Balm, Dermalogica Pre-Shave Guard, Dermalogica Shave System Kit, Dermalogica Soothing Shave Cream, Elemis, Elemis Deep Cleanse Facial Wash, Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream for Men, Elemis Smooth Result Shave and Beard Oil, gym, ingrown hairs, man, masculine, men, oak bark, peppermint, razor, razor burn, regrowth, sample, shave, Shaving, skin, smooth, spearmint, travel, wrinkles

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These days, beauty for men is big business. No longer seen as something that only women indulge in, more and more men are taking care of their skin and investing in decent products to use instead of just nicking whatever is in the bathroom cabinet! Dermalogica, Decleor and Elemis all offer some fabulous products for men, so we thought we’d suggest a few which would make great sticking fillers for the coming festive period.

Elemis Smooth Result Shave and Beard Oil

It’s hard not to notice how trendy beards have become in recent years so it makes sense to invest in products which can be used both for keeping beards in good condition AND for shaving. This oil from Elemis can be used to prep the skin before shaving and also for keeping beards smooth, soft and smelling great. It has a masculine, herbal smell and leaves the skin moisturised and supple.

Dermalogica Shave System Kit

This kit from Dermalogica helps you to cover all of the bases, by including miniatures of Dermalogica Daily Clean Scrub, Dermalogica Pre Shave Guard, Dermalogica Soothing Shave Cream, Dermalogica Post Shave Balm and a sample of Dermalogica Daily Defense Block. Perfect for someone who travels a lot, or just for getting an idea of which of the products they like before buying the full-size version.

Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream for Men

The women’s version of this cream is Elemis’ most popular product, so it stands to reason that the man in your life will love it too. It’s clinically proven, formulated especially for men to hydrate, firm and help improve the appearance of wrinkles. Skin is left looking smooth and feeling replenished, and smelling great too!

Decleor Triple Action Shave Perfector

Shaving is probably the single biggest stress on a man’s skin, causing rashes, sensitivity, dryness and even ingrown hairs. This oil from Decleor helps to prepare and soften the skin before and after shaving, improving razor glide and reducing the risk of ingrown hairs. Added clove oil can help to reduce regrowth, reducing the amount of shaving that you need to do in the future.

Elemis Deep Cleanse Facial Wash

Keeping your face clean is the key to a good complexion, which is why Elemis created this deep clean facial wash, formulated for use on men’s skin. It contains oak bark, spearmint and peppermint in a unique milk protein base, which helps to remove impurities, decongest the skin and prevent ingrown hairs.

Perfect Your Beard with Pure Beauty

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barber, beard, beard line, clean, clippers, coarse, comb, conditioner, Elemis, facial hair, frizz, grooming, hair, haircare, matt, men, moustache, oil, razor, scrub, shampoo, shaping, shave, smooth, tangle, texture, trim, trimming

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Whether your facial hair is just a few millimeters long or a full-grown bush, there’s no ignoring the fact that beards have well and truly made a comeback for men. Just a few years back, beards were the fodder of old, pipe-smoking dudes, but now just about anyone who CAN grow a beard has one. However, having a nice beard is so much more than just letting the hair grow, so we thought we’d take a look at some of the basic steps for maintaining a decent face-warmer.

Keep it Clean

Just like the hair on your hair, your beard will produce oils which need to be washed away on a regular basis, however unlike your head, your beard hair could also harbour traces of food! Keeping your beard clean is really important because otherwise it will start to smell and become unhygienic. You can use a facial scrub to try to care for the skin beneath but using a mild shampoo will also do the trick.

Keep it Trimmed

Unless you’re incredibly lucky, it’s really unlikely that your beard will all grow at exactly the same rate, which means that it could end up uneven and looking ratty. A tidy beard will need to be trimmed and shaped, using either a clipper with a guard or a pair of scissors, depending how dexterous you are. As soon as you start shaping your beard, you’ll notice how much better it looks and wonder how you ever survived without it!

Keep it Soft

Facial hair can have a tendency to he coarser and more bushy than head-hair, which means that it needs a product to soften and tame it. Elemis Smooth Result Shave and Beard Oil will not only help to smooth out wild beard hair, it will also make your beard smell more fragrant and can also be used as a shave oil if the beard gets too much and you decide you want to go bare-faced again.

Keep it Combed

This one may sound bonkers but as soon as your hair gets beyond a certain length you will need to start combing it, unless you want a dreadlock hanging from your face! Because of its texture, facial hair tangles really easily and if you don’t deal with these tangles on a daily basis, you could easily end up with a matted mess in a really short amount of time. Use a wide-toothed comb after you’ve treated with beard oil for a matt-free beard.

Keep it Neat

Keeping your beard trimmed and tidy is all well and good, but if you have stray hairs above your beard line, the whole effect will be ruined. Use a magnifying mirror and get up close and personal with your beard line. Try not to pluck any hairs which are too close to your natural beard line as you could end up ruining the shape, but anything which is growing more than a couple of millimeters above needs to be annihilated!

Make Your Shave Last Longer

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armpits, bikini line, blade, body scrub, Decleor Post-Wax Double Action Gel, friction, glide, hair, ingrown hairs, knees, legs, razor, reduce, regrowth, scrub, shave, Shaving, waxing

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Now that we’re well and truly enjoying the warmer weather here in the UK, barely a day goes by that we don’t have to shave our armpits, legs or anywhere else for that matter! Wearing smaller clothes in the heat means hair removal is more important than ever, so we thought we’d give you five tops tips for making your shave last longer so you don’t have to deal with hair removal every day.

Shower or Bathe FIRST

Most of us go for the ‘shave first, shower second’ ritual, which makes sense in terms of washing away stubble and shaving foam. However, showering or bathing first will soften the hair and remove oil from the skin, which will give you an overall closer shave and will make the hair easier to cut through.

Scrub-a-Dub-Dub

Using a body scrub before shaving will help you in a number of ways; as well as getting rid of any dirt and oil, you’ll lift the hairs and get rid of dead skin cells, making it easier to shave and allowing you to get closer to the root of the hair. It will also help to prevent ingrown hairs which can be painful and unsightly.

Use Decent Protection

Using a decent foam or shave oil will help in a number of ways. Failing to use a decent layer between skin and razor will help the blade to glide across your skin with less friction with means the blade will catch and cut more hairs, rather than just flattening them down and gliding over the top. It will also protect you from nicks and cuts which will leave you in a bloody mess!

A Light Touch

When shaving, it’s tempting to press the razor against the skin, but in fact this will make it harder for the blade to do it’s job. When shaving, especially over tricky areas like knees and bikini lines, you should let the weight of the razor be the only pressure that’s applied to the skin, and this will allow you to catch more hairs along the way, making it necessary to shave less often.

Finish The Job…

Technically speaking, Decleor Post-Wax Double Action Gel is for use after waxing, but we find that it’s great for using after shaving too, purely because it reduces the amount of hair growth once you’ve removed unwanted hair. It will also soothe and reduce redness and help to reduce the chance of ingrown hairs, too.