One bath-time ritual most people have is shaving. While for the most part, this is a fairly self-explanatory process, I will touch on some of the main steps, and perhaps suggest a few tips you hadn't thought of.
Shaving is a form of exfoliation; in addition to cutting off the hairs, the razor will remove dead skin cells. If, however, you feel you simply must exfoliate as well, do it before you shave, to avoid unnecessary irritation.
It is better for your skin if you shave at night instead of in the morning. Your skin tends to be 'puffy' for an hour or so after you wake up, due to fluid buildup while you sleep. Also, this will generally give your skin a chance to recuperate from shaving overnight, as you can wait to put on potentially irritating lotions and deodorant until morning.
When you are ready to shave, you should let the area to be shaved soak in warm water for at least five minutes before shaving. This softens the hairs, so that they can be cut easier, thus giving a closer shave and reducing wear on your razor; it also relaxes the skin and opens the hair follicles.
Always use shaving cream or gel, as it further softens the hairs, reduces friction, and softens the skin; this results in a closer, smoother shave, less irritation/razor burn, and reduces the risk of cuts. A wonderful alternative is shaving mug-soaps, generally thought of as 'for men only'. If they work well for men's sensitive faces, why wouldn't they work equally well on any other shaved part of a body? Either way, this should also be allowed to soak into the skin and hair for at least two or three minutes.
Always try to pull the skin taut with one hand, and shave with the other. This further reduces the risk of cuts, and makes the shaving easier. If you have to apply pressure with the razor, you need to replace the blades.
Use slow, steady stokes, and try not to go over an area more than once unless absolutely necessary; you can remove the odd stray hair with a mini-trimmer or tweezers later. Rinse the blade in between every stroke, if you are using a bladed razor; this keeps the razor clean, allowing it to shave better and does not dull the blade as quickly. You can either shave in the direction of, or against, the grain. Going with the direction of hair growth is better if irritation is an issue; going against it gives a closer shave.
Perhaps and even better option, however, is to use an electric razor. If of decent quality and maintained well, they give every bit as close a shave, and without the risk of cuts, and with less irritation.
After shaving, you should avoid any potentially irritating substances for at least an hour - as I said above, overnight is better; this includes heavy lotions, and anything with alcohol or menthol in it, as these ingredients can be highly irritating. It is however a good idea to moisturize after shaving, using a light oil like jojoba, apricot kernel, or almond oil, or a blend of these. You can add a few drops of your favorite essential oils to this for a wonderful scented moisturizer.
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