A
female
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:Hello ALL!!I need some help, this is aimed at women only!! A little advice would not go a miss. It's about the dreaded pubic hair...im a teenage girl and i choose to shave my pubic hair. However, i have never once been able to shave without the unsightly bumps, redness and ingrown hairs, which often turn into spots or bleed :/ What do i do? does anyone else get any sort of sign of this after they shave? I use shaving foam, i stretch the skin and i shave downwards, fair enough i may sometimes go over the skin a few times which may be causing it, but it just seems like no matter what razor i use, no matter if i use shaving foam, soap, dry shave, conditioner....every single time i always end up really really hurting the same night. How do i overcome this? I hate the thought of this happening when i'm trying to enjoy activities with my boyfriend.Does anyone else have a similar problem? Can anybody help me??? please!!!
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Fancy yourself as an agony aunt? Add your answer to this question! A
female
reader, Anonymous 123  +, writes (26 June 2011):
 Its going to get better with time. I had the same problem as you and it was pretty awful. There's no easy solution to this.
Trim the hair down as short as possible. Longer hair might clog the blades of the razor and cause more irritation to the skin. Take a shower or a bath, it makes the hair softer and a lot easier to shave. Lots of shaving gel, a new razor every time...that's pretty much all you can do.
A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (26 June 2011): I am a man. Please excuse this intrusion but shaving is something I know something about and I'd like to help.
The first problem is that you're stretching the skin. When you stretch the skin the hair follicle has a tendency to rise up straight out vertically, exposing more of the shaft than you would normally have access to. After the razor cuts the hair and you release your stretch, the cut hair recedes back, *sometimes* (due to the stretch) into the relaxed skin below the surface. When the (curly) hair grows it will have a tendency to curl into the wall of the skin as opposed to outwards (an ingrown hair) or irritate the skin on it's way out (bumps at the roots). You don't need to stretch the skin, you only need to make sure it's flat so you don't cut yourself with the precise angle of the blade. Keeping it flat was vital with traditional razors but it's trivial with the new fancy razors with the pivoting heads that always keep the blade at the perfect angle over curves. It just needs to be flat. RECOMMENDATION: Stretch the skin as little as possible.
The second problem is that your passes may be too ambitious. I shave my face every day and I can allow myself 1 or 2 passes. If you are shaving your public hair every once and a while, you need to allow for more time than those shaving commercials would suggest. Here's what's happening with your longer hairs. First, the long hairs crisscross and are oriented in different directions. Against blade, the hairs at the correct angle will get cut smoothly whereas the other hairs will get snagged slightly pulling on root before they get cut. This is worse with dull blades that are less forgiving. Second, the long hair can get jammed in the multiblade cartridges, warping the thin blades (until they are rinsed and dislodged) causing the razor to engage the hair at the wrong angle. RECOMMENDATION: With longer hair, don't start against the skin. Instead lightly pass your razor along the top of the bush to *reduce* - not eliminate - the amount of hair. Rinse, relather and repeat. You should be gentle in your passes until your bush is a little patchy and not as dense. You can then set your razor against the skin at the base of the hair and begin making passes along the skin. Take your time and rinse your blade often.
The third problem may be that your skin needs some TLC before your start. Yes, there are lots of products out there but they are no substitute for proper wet shaving technique. I would avoid using products you're not familiar with. Damaging your skin each time and then putting a healing lotion over it is not the way to go in my humble opinion. RECOMMENDATION: You need to keep the hair wet. Soak the area with a warm wet towelette for a few minutes to soften up the skin.
You are learning how to wet shave, a skill that you will master with time. Take your time at the beginning, respect your hair and skin and you should learn a lot about what works and what doesn't. I hope this helps!
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A
female
reader, ValeJ12  +, writes (26 June 2011):
 Um.. Waxing.? It's a little painfull for a little while but smooth and doesn't create the little bumps.. Like in armpits too. Idk about do-it-yourself ones though. The though of that scares me.
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A
female
reader, MissTellAll +, writes (26 June 2011):
 Try and find a spray or lotion that is designed for reducing irritation in that area. I use Noxzema bikini spray and it seems to work pretty well considering I used to have the same problem you described and now I don't, though admittedly my skin may have just toughened up, but there's the suggestion.
Ask a professional, any suggestions made here may be good but I think you always want to get a professional opinion.
Good luck.
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A
female
reader, Juliet  +, writes (26 June 2011):
Hi,Sorry to hear what you're going through - I remember when I was younger I went through the exact same thing.It does sound like you are doing the best that you can in terms of what products you use and how you hold the skin etc, but unfortunately some of us unlucky girls still get the bad results of bumps, some bleeding, redness etc.Abella's advice was good, but I found using the creams for babies skin to be unsightly! lol.My suggestions would be:a) Try just trimming the hair really tightly instead of shaving it completely - that way your 'neat' for your boyfriend, and not covered with bumps/redness/ingrown hairs.b) Try getting it waxed. Hurts like hell the first time so wait until well after or well before your period and have some pain killers first (advised by beauticans). If you think its too expensive, try look for special offers that are on in beauty salons, and remember that it will not grow back for several weeks! (YAY)c) You probably know this, but try to always use a fresh razor and have a bath beforehand (soak in it) so the area is 'ready'. Use the additional products - conditioner - and leave it on for a few minutes and massage it in really well (like you would with your hair on your head). Also, use the products Abella suggests because some may work for you. I really hope this advice helps. Best of luck with it!:)
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (26 June 2011): Maybe you should try using something like Nair it really works for me. you could also try using some razor bump cream.
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A
female
reader, Abella +, writes (26 June 2011):
 soap is the cruelest thing you can put on sensitive skin. Sounds like you have super sensitive skin down there. Even the skin on my legs is very sensitive. When i get my legs waxed the lady has to put loads of a very gentle moisturiser on my legs or I get reddened bumps. She knows now.
I do not wax in the private area as my guy thinks it looks un-natural to have no hair there. Besides it is far more sensitive
Shaving is more likely to cause problems than waxing. And it is especially bad if the bumps get infected.
Speak to a specialist doctor or chemist about a safe NOT soap based lotion that you can wash with, and ask that they take into account your very sensitive skin.
Ordinary soap ingredients, if lined up in front of you would soon put you off ever using soap, ordinary soap, on sensitive skin.
If it gets super itchy and horrible you may have to bathe in (disgusting smelling) but also very very effective soothing stuff called PineTarsil.
The creams used on Babies skin for diaper rash are soothing after a bath, and also very effective. I Never found Camomile very effective.
Also make sure you gently dry every part of the area by patting it gently after a bath or shower. Then apply a good layer of a gentle moisturiser over all of it.
I know it can really hurt, and it can look horrible if any bump is infected.
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A
female
reader, DanceInTheDark  +, writes (26 June 2011):
 Have you tried using something for sensitive skin?
Also after you shave, get like a wash cloth and gently exfoliated the area, and put some oil, or cream for sensitive skin.
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (26 June 2011): please do not worry! this happens to most woman!
you are not alone, try shaving oppisite how the hair grows and make sure you use plenty of soap.
and try using a 5 blades razor cos you dont need to go over as much :)
hope this helps
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (26 June 2011): You must be having a sensitive skin. Your skin will get used to it as you grow.Try using soap more. :)
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