How To Shave Your Back Hair
While a little body fuzz is a good thing, you may find your hairy back is a hirsute step too far when it comes to cultivating a smooth, manscaped look. So, to bring your sexy back, you’ll need to depilate, and shaving is the easiest way to go.
With the back not the easiest place to reach, a little skill and perseverance is needed. But with our top tips guide on how to shave your back hair, you’ll be putting those furry days behind you and rocking a hair-free vibe in no time.
Get Your Kit Together
Prep is key to a successful back shaving session so before you start, get all your essential gear together. First up – a quality safety razor is a must so avoid those cheap disposables. Make sure the blades are clean and opt for a razor with a pivoting head, so you can smooth shave across all your back’s contours. Shaving gel, a trimmer or scissors, moisturizer and fresh clean towels are your other essentials.
Ask For Help!
Unless you are super-bendy, you’re going to find it difficult to reach all of your back, so if you can recruit a shaving helper! Having a partner to help you out in those tricky places is going to give you a much better result as well as being safer when it comes to navigating the all those lumps, bumps, nooks and crannies in your back. If a shaving assistant is a no-go, consider using a razor extender – a cool bit of grooming kit that resembles a selfie-stick and significantly increases your reach. And always use a mirror so you can keep track of your back-shaving progress and any unsightly missed bits.
Trim
Before you start shaving, it’s always a good idea to trim your back hair to get rid of as much hair length as possible. Not only will it prevent your razor getting clogged, but it will also ensure your shave is as close and as smooth as possible. An electric trimmer or hair clippers are the best way to go as it’s quicker and you’ll find it easier to do yourself. Set them on the shortest guard to get the trim nice and short. Then buff your back with a dry towel to get rid of any hair clippings.
Prep Your Skin
Now get into a warm shower and thoroughly clean and soak the skin. The heat from the water will help to soften your back stubble and make it easier for the razor to glide over your skin. Another good tip is to also exfoliate your back with a body scrub – not only will this scuff off any trimmed hair bits but also loose, dead skin cells which can cause ingrowing hairs to form after you shave. Once showered, rinse and dry yourself thoroughly – you are now prepped and ready to start shaving.
Try A Pre-Shave Oil
A Pre-Shave oil can help to soothe and loosen up the skin and hair, ready for the razor so before you put on your shave gel, give an oil a go. Applied lightly all over, the oil will help the razor glide over your back to give a nick-free close shave as well soften the hair and act as a barrier to protect your skin from any razor burn.
Lather Up
A good shaving foam lather will hydrate your back hairs and protect your skin while giving the razor a surface to glide over. It also gives you a clear indication as to where you still need to reach. Never use a bar of soap or body wash, only a good quality shaving gel will do if you want a smooth, hair and nick-free back.
Always dampen your skin first then apply a liberal amount of gel, working it up into a good cushion of foam. If you have a shaving brush, you can use it to apply the gel and foam it up, working in small circles to get a good coverage. And don’t forget to re-apply more shaving gel as you need it to keep that razor gliding.
Get A Good Shaving Technique
Technique is everything when it comes to shaving your back. Take your time and use light, gentle strokes. Shaving against the direction of the hair growth is a quicker method, but you run the risk of irritating the skin and encouraging in-growing hairs – not a good look on an otherwise buff back. If you can, shave with the grain of the hair, it may take a little longer, but you do get a close, clean shave. And focus on one small patch at a time, to ensure you get a close shave, then move onto another.
For hard to reach places, gently hold the skin taut with one hand as you shave with the other. Make sure you rinse the razor’s blades under a cool, running faucet after every couple of shaving strokes to keep them unclogged and try not to wipe the blades dry on a towel as this can deaden the edge.
Rinse And Dry
Once you are satisfied you have caught all your back hair and feel fresh and fuzz-free, get back into the warm shower and have a good, long body rinse. Gently use a sponge or body mitt to scrub your back to get rid of any last shaved hair and do a final light exfoliation, without irritating your close-shaved skin. After your shower, pat your skin dry with a fresh, clean towel before running your fingers over your back to check for any rogue bristle patched you may have missed and need to fix.
Moisturize To Keep That Buff Back Looking Good!
You are now almost there with your fuzz-free back…just one final task to complete, and it’s an important one. Shaving can strip out the oils in your skin as well as cause low-level irritation so before you pop on your shirt do one last thing – moisturize.
A post-shave moisturizer will soothe and hydrate your newly-smoothed skin and help to prevent ingrown hairs or rushes. Pick a moisturizer specially formulated for post-shave skin for the best results as they will also cool but not clog the skin. Some post-shave balms also contain a mild antiseptic to nip any pimple breakouts in the bud. And if you now intend to show off your super-smooth and hair-free back, then make sure you slather on a final layer of sunscreen before heading down to the beach.
Sources:
- How to shave your own back – WikiHow
- Ingrown Hair – WebMD
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