If you’ve never shaved your armpits before, there are a few things you need to keep in mind and a few steps you don’t want to skip. My experience has taught me a few things when shaving under my arms that don’t come up when shaving my face or head.
Here’s how to shave your armpits for the first time and beyond.
Trim your armpit hair
There are a few ways you can do this. I’d use hair clippers in the first instance with the lowest setting to trim the hair short. There are plenty of men’s multi shaving and grooming products that you might invest in that combine a shaver, trimmer, etc that will come in handy for this project.
Short of that, you can use a built-in trimmer from an electric shaver you might have handy. Or you could try to trim your hair with scissors if needed.
While you could benefit from some help in all three cases, using scissors is the one I’ve had the most difficulty doing myself. Using hair clippers is easy for me to do on my own so that’s what I tend to use.
Shaving long armpit hair with a razor without first trimming it will probably work but you’ll clog up your razor quickly and you will probably need to shave the same areas multiple times. This will increase the chances of cuts and skin irritation.
Once you’ve done this trimming stage, you might be happy with the length of your armpit hair and leave it at that and skip the shaving part. If not, go to the next step.
Shower and wash your armpits
In fact, I’d actually do the armpit shaving in the shower too. If you don’t feel comfortable with that to start with, have a warm shower first and wash your underarms with soap. The warm water will soften the remaining hair and the soap will clean your armpits and wash away remaining hair that was cut earlier in step 1.
It’s generally accepted that warm or hot water softens hair and skin which is conducive to shaving.
Use a new razor
Use a brand new razor to shave your armpits. You want a fresh, sharp razor to do the job. I generally use the same brand of twin razor that I use to shave my face and head. I wouldn’t go overboard with a 5-blade razor or anything like that unless that’s what you already have in your possession.
My twin razor has a lubricating strip but I’m unsure as to whether or not it actually helps for this type of shaving. Most common razors tend to have them to soothe the skin afterwards and you may notice the benefit.
Use a decent shaving cream
Or gel or shaving soap. Your choice. I’ve only used a shaving cream myself and it worked fine. The important part is to wet your underarms (you’ve already showered at this point) and then apply the shaving cream on one armpit while you raise that arm in the air to facilitate it.
Shave your armpits
Keep holding your arm straight up in the air. Alternatively lift your arm up and rest your hand on top of your head if it gets tiring.
Start by shaving downwards in the direction of hair growth. I personally shave in all directions but you’ll need to decide for yourself if you want to do that. The shape of your armpit will affect your decision too.
Funny story: As I’ve gotten older and began a workout routine involving doing pullups, I found that I added muscle in the armpit area and surrounding muscles and it actually became harder to shave my armpits because the shape changed! I developed my pectoralis major, pectoralis minor and the subclavius muscle around the armpits which made the armpit area deeper and harder to shave. I had to start shaving in all directions rather than just downwards to achieve a decent shave.
So the shape and design of your armpit might play a factor in your success here. Plus you’ll need to watch out for skin tags, moles, etc.
I usually wipe away the remaining shaving cream and inspect my work. If there are remaining hairs I’ll add a bit more shaving cream and finish shaving.
Then repeat the process with your other armpit.
Post shaving routine
I’ve learned from experience not to apply deodorant under my arms directly after shaving them. It stings, especially if you cut yourself while shaving.
In that regard, you might consider shaving your armpits in the evening so you don’t have to bother using deodorant until the next day. I’ve never used aftershave under my arms so I can’t say I recommend that.
You could however use a moisturizer post shave to soothe the skin and then use the deodorant the next day.
Conclusion
- Understand how to shave your armpits for the first time by ensuring you trim your hair first and have a new, fresh razor and decent shaving cream ready in advance.
- Have a shower after trimming your armpit hair and wash with soap. If you feel comfortable you can shave your armpits in the shower which makes rinsing easier when you’re done.
- Alternatively you can shave in front of the mirror if you feel more comfortable doing this.
- I shave in all directions due to necessity but start by shaving downwards and check your work. It may do the trick on its own.
- Don’t apply deodorant directly after shaving your armpits as you’ll probably notice the sting. I stay away from aftershave too.
- Considering shaving your arms?