Ok so... I like to get my pins out every now and again, and so having tried hair removal creams (Poo), Waxing and sugaring (Ow), and epilation (*#£@! Ow!), I have decided at my age that shaving is the hair removal choice for me. I do sometimes suffer from ingrown hairs, nics and cuts (I hate it when you get your ankles!) but using this method, I have found it keeps these kind of mishaps to a minimum, evens my skintone, improves the look of my lumps and bumps and makes my legs feel and look their best.
The reason we tend to get ingrown hairs tends to be because our skin is mainly dry, and needs exfoliating so I have a really simple scrub recipe which will be used as the shaving medium, but can be used on its own, just as a scrub anywhere on the body, even the face if you have dry skin. I discovered that my legs seem to have the driest skin on my body but whether you have dry skin or not, this method works for everyone. I do this before a night out on my arms and legs and before I fake tan.
Aqueous Cream
Aqueous cream is typically used as an external cleansing and moisturing agent and is particularly good for rashes and eczema, even men can shave their faces with it on its own if they suffer from it. It has moisturising and cleansing properties and its brilliant for conditioning dry skin. It was first recommended to me by my doctor as an alternative to calamine lotion when my son had chicken pox, to ease the itch, and to prevent scarring. It did not cause his spots to crack or scar and stopped him itching too, so I decided to reasearch it a little. Well, anyway - thats how I came up with this use for it.
The recipe
For the scrub all you will need is:-
1tbsp of Aqueous Cream
1tbsp of caster sugar (you can used normal granulated, but the finer stuff buffs the skin much better).
Plus, for the shave..
1 razor of your choice (I use a gilette venus)
A bowl or sink full of warm water (to rinse your razor)
Also make sure you do this in the bathroom near the sink, don't do it in a running shower or while in the bath, you need dry skin to make this work best.
Get ready to jump in the shower (or bath) afterwards and feel how lovely and smooth your legs are!
Ok - here's the method....
1) Mix together a small amount of the scrub and rub it onto the upper part of your leg, or wherever you usually start. If its too thick and is dragging, wet your skin a tiny bit and it should give it a bit more slip, but you want it to feel quite rough and get the circulation going.
2) Rub it in FIRM circular motions with the palm of your hands, you want to really slough off those dead skin cells. If your skin is really dry, it might start to absorb a bit of the aqueous cream, don't worry - just add a little water and rub it, it will go white and be more visible. Pay particular attention to your knees and ankles, and add MORE SUGAR if necessary, to really smooth the skin and release those ingrown hairs.
3) Continue this motion over the entire leg. Then take your razor, wet in hot water (not scalding) and start to shave your leg as normal, using your bowl of hot water to rinse off the scrub and hair. Rinse it thoroughly each time it starts to block up (the sugar can block the blades but will release easily in water). You can continue to rub the scrub over your legs as you shave, even if you have shaved those bits already, expecially if its taking a few strokes to get the hair off (if its been a while...). It just adds up to a smoother result.
4.) Once you have completed your shave on both legs (well, of course), and you are happy that you have both shaved and exfoliated thoroughly, rinse of the remaining scrub off of your body in the shower or bath.
When you've showered/bathed, you will notice that your skin feels like it doesn't need moisturising, but do your normal routine, or go and do your fake tan. Your skin is perfectly prepped to receive tanning products and should look and feel gorgeous!
Any feedback - as usual, let me know. :)
here is a link for you too, just a tad more info about aqueous cream....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqueous_cream
very effective
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