How To Use A Safety Razor On Legs

To the uninitiated, shaving with a safety razor is intimidating. But with the proper technique and a little practice, you'll see that shaving with a safety razor is nothing to fear.

Shaving with a safety razor is a luxury once you know how — *This post contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure policy here.* Listen to the podcast below.

What's the Big Deal with Safety Razors?

Let's be honest. Pairing the words "safety" and "razor" is a curious marketing tactic. True, the single blade enclosed in a T-shaped metal case is much safer than the switchblade-style straight razors of the barbershop variety that proceeded them. But what may feel primitive by today's standards is actually a timeless design.

Moving away from the familiar, easy, convenient disposable razors we are used to can be a little scary. For one, the enclosed blade and swivel heads of a cartridge razor do allow us to be a little more careless with our shaving technique.

But with a little education and practice, shaving with a safety razor is not as intimidating or difficult as it seems. There's a learning curve, yes. But the personal and environmental benefits of adopting this classic razor as your shaving instrument of choice makes the initial investment and learning curve so worth it.

For a thorough explanation of the health, wealth, and environmental benefits of shaving with a safety razor, check out this post.

Why Use a Safety Razor

In brief, here are the advantages of shaving with a safety razor instead of a disposable razor:

You'll get a better shave, with less irritation and fewer razor bumps and ingrown hairs.
You'll save money in the long term. After the initial investment in the razor itself, all you need to buy is replacement blades, with a pack of 100 being about equal to the cost of one disposable razor.
Safety razors are more environmentally friendly because they are made to last a lifetime. And every part, even the replacement blades, is recyclable.

Also, you're going to feel pretty bad-A once you get the hang of it. And with such beautiful tools to work with, your shaving routine is going to start to feel like a self-care luxury rather than a chore.

How to Pick A Safety Razor (for Women and Men)

Any safety razor can do for any person, but a couple of variations exist to make shaving certain areas a little easier.

Most shavers will use a closed comb safety razor

Closed Comb or Open Comb

Safety razors come in one of two options: closed comb or open comb.

In a closed comb razor, there is a solid bar that sits underneath the blade. This bar can be one straight line, or it can have little grooves in it. It helps provide a safe shave by tightening the skin before the blade cuts the hair, which reduces the risk of nicks or cuts.

Most shavers are going to use a closed-comb razor. And it's the best razor to pick for frequent or even daily use.

However, some (mostly men) are going to prefer the more aggressive open comb razor for the closer shave it provides. This style of safety razor, instead of having a straight bar underneath the razor blade, has a row of teeth that comb the hair in place before shaving; hence the name open comb.

Mostly, open comb razors are for the more experienced shaver because more of the razor blade is exposed. And, more often that not, it's going to be preferred by those with course hair to shave, such as a beard.

Long or Short Handle

Handle length on a safety razor is also a matter of preference. But, generally speaking, women are going to be more comfortable using a razor with a longer handle. It helps when you're stretching to reach certain parts of your legs or whatnot.

Men who are shaving their faces, on the other hand, may prefer the greater control they feel with a short-handled safety razor.

Some Brands to Consider

There are tons of safety razor brands out there. So you can be sure that there is a style, price, and aesthetic that will suit your preferences. Here are a few of the most popular:

Albatross
Edwin Jagger
Merkur
Oui the People
Rockwell Razors
Well Kept

As for replacement blades, I'd recommend getting a sampler pack, like this one, and seeing what works best for you.

Getting Started: How to Insert the Blade

Switching the blade on your safety razor is easy if you know how

One of the key benefits of the safety razor is that the replacement blades are relatively cheap, so you can switch them out frequently to enjoy a closer, cleaner shave.

The way you insert the blade is going to vary slightly between different models, but the basic process is to open or detach the razor head by turning a knob at the bottom.

If your razor head is one that comes apart into pieces, be sure to pay attention to how they fit together so that you reassemble it properly. Butterfly-style razors are nice because they simply open and close without any of the pieces detaching.

Carefully remove the old blade by either turning it upside down on a towel or gently lifting it from the sides with your thumb and forefinger. Always grasp the shorter sides of the blade. The long sides are the ones that are super sharp.

Deposit your used blade into a jar with a lid or blade bank to be recycled later.

Then, carefully take out a replacement blade, remembering to grasp it either on the short ends or from the top and bottom. Never touch the long, sharp edges.

Fit the new blade onto the prongs of the razor head that hold it in place, and close the head back up.

You're all done!

How often you change your razor blade is going to depend on your shaving habits and preferences. You can change it each time you shave, but a standard rule of thumb is to switch it out after 3–5 shaves. Still, some daily shavers will only switch out their blades every week or two, and that's find as well.

The Dos and Don'ts of Shaving with a Safety Razor

Shaving with a safety razor is all about technique. And while there's a bit of a learning curve, once you've got the technique down, you'll feel as confident shaving with a safety razor as you do your current razor.

Remember back to when you first started shaving. It probably felt like you were all thumbs then, too.

Most safety razors have an adjustable setting, so you can control how much blade exposure there is (i.e., how close the shave will be). When you are first getting started, set the blade on the lowest setting (usually level 1), and move up to a closer shave once you gain a little confidence.

Prepping your skin is essential to getting a good shave.

Do Prepare Your Skin

Preparing your skin for a shave may sound time consuming, but really all it means is that you want to soften and exfoliate the skin a little before jumping in with the razor.

In short, you'll want to wet shave.

For most body parts this means after cleansing in the shower. For men, this can simply mean wrapping a warm, moist towel around your face for a few minutes or taking a shower before shaving to soften the skin and hair.

One of the main causes behind ingrown hairs and razor bumps is a razor—any razor—pushing dead skin cells into a pore and blocking the hair follicle. So preparing the area to shave by opening up the pores and softening the hair is good practice regardless of which razor you use.

Do Lather

You can use a shaving cream, butter, gel, or just soap and water to create a shaving lather, but you do need some sort of lubricant to help the razor glide effortlessly across your skin. And if you make a second pass over an area, be sure to re-lather it.

Soap that can be whipped into a smooth cream with a shaving brush is a popular lathering agent among safety razor enthusiasts, but you don't have to go this route. In the beginning it may be helpful to use something clear (like soap and water, or oil) so you can see which direction the hairs are growing.

Don't Press and Drag

With a safety razor, as opposed to a conventional razor, you do not want to apply pressure to the blade.

Safety razors are built with a weighted handle by design. And the pull of gravity from the weight of that handle is all the pressure you need to get a good shave. Your job is not to press, just to gently guide the blade over your skin.

Do Shave at the Right Angle

Because safety razors don't have a pivoting head like many disposable razors do, it's important to hold your razor at the correct angle.

You're going to want the razor to be at a 30 to 45 degree angle to your skin. Depending on which body part you are shaving, you may want to err more to a wider (45 degree) angle or a narrower (30 degree angle). But as long as you keep the razor within this range, you'll be OK.

HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT ANGLE

Find a 45 degree angle
Place the razor perpendicular to your skin (that's straight up and down), and then cut the angle in half for 45 degrees.
Find a 30 degree angle
Start with the razor perpendicular to your skin, then cut the angle by a third, and then by a third again. Now you're at a 30 degree angle.

Do Go with the Grain (Most of the Time)

When shaving with a safety razor, you almost always want to shave in the direction that your hair grows. This is known as "with the grain."

In certain cases you may need to go against the grain, especially for men shaving a beard or women who shave their underarms. But for the best results in these areas, go with the grain for the first pass, re-lather, and then go against the grain in your second pass.

Do Go in Small Strokes

You know how commercials will show someone running the razor in a smooth line of shaving cream all the way up her leg? Yeah, don't do that with a safety razor!

Short, deliberate strokes is what you want. It helps you keep the right angle at all times and go with the grain, shaving in the direction that the hair grows.

Don't Skip the Moisturizer

Applying a moisturizer to your legs after a shave isn't a recommendation that's specific to safety razors, necessarily. It's just good practice.

And if you're going to take the time and effort to develop a new shaving habit, you might as well go the extra mile for yourself by not skipping the moisturizer. Your skin works hard for you, and it's a nice way to say thanks.

Do Be Mindful

Learning to shave with a safety razor is going to take some practice. And at first you're going to have to be slow and deliberate and concentrated with your effort. However, like learning to ride a bike or drive a car, what is difficult at first will soon feel second nature.

Even so, it's helpful to think of shaving as a little "me time." It's one of the most intimate and sensitive self-grooming practices we humans have created for ourselves, and the process deserves our attention and respect.

So let shaving be your time. And take your time.

Ladies, take extra care with the angles around your ankles and knees. Gents, don't cheat yourself out of the luxury of a pre-shave hot towel. And everyone, please oh please be mindful and take your time when shaving your sensitive areas. Either give yourself adequate time to shave or skip it.

Allowing shaving to become a built in moment of self-care really changed my attitude toward it. I used to think of it as a chore, but now I see it as a luxury. And it's much easier to keep this in mind when I'm using a high-quality tool for the job.

Shaving with a Safety Razor from Head to Toe

So to review, the general technique for shaving with a safety razor is simple:

Properly prepare your skin (use moisture and heat to soften the hair and open the pores).
Shave at a 30–45 degree angle.
Go with the grain (i.e., in the direction that the hair grows).
Make short, deliberate strokes.

But still, shaving different body parts can have their nuances, so here's a quick tutorial on shaving with a safety razor—from head to toe and everything in between.

With the proper technique, shaving with a safety razor will give you better results than a disposable

Head

The head is actually the most intimidating body part to shave with a safety razor. But it can be done.

To shave your head with a safety razor, prepare the area by trimming the hair as short as possible first, then taking a hot shower or wrapping a hot towel around your head for at least 30 seconds. This softens the skin and the hair follicles. It's also recommended that you apply an oil before you lather for extra protection. Coconut oil would be great for this.

For your head, you'll want to shave with the grain at a 30–45 degree angle. This can be tricky because the hair on your head tends to grow in all different directions. But just go slow or have someone help you. Using your other hand to pull the skin taut can be helpful.

Remember to use light pressure and be mindful of the contour, because heads tend to be a bit bumpy underneath all that hair.

Finish with a moisturizer.

Face

When shaving your face, softening the hair is the key to preventing razor burn and irritation. So do not skip the preparation step.

Shave closer to a 30 degree angle where possible, and make short strokes with the grain (in a downward motion). It's fine to go over the area more than once, especially if you are removing your beard, but be sure to lather it again first. Keep the pressure on the razor light.

Neck

Necks can be tricky because the hair grows in many different directions on the neck, especially around the Adam's apple. Generally speaking you'll want to try shaving with the grain, but if you need to go in two or more directions, that's ok.

Keep a 30-45 degree angle and light pressure.

Underarms

The skin under your underarms is actually quite tough, so it's fairly easy to shave with a safety razor.

Once the area has been prepped, lather and shave at a 30–45 degree angle in a downward motion. Then, if you want a really clean shave, rinse, re-lather, and shave upward.

Bikini Zone

When shaving the bikini zone, you'll want to pull your skin taut and shave with the grain—that is, in the direction that the hair grows. Keeping your skin tight will allow the blade to flow smoothly. If it's helpful, position yourself in a squat. This will tighten the entire area (and, mercifully, conceal anything you want to avoid nipping).

You'll want to go at a 30-45 degree angle, but try to get closer to 30 degrees where possible.

Legs

Shaving legs with a safety razor is going to require the same 30–45 degree angle, but in this case you're going to want to lean more toward the wider angle at 45 degrees.

The main trick with shaving your legs is to remember to shave in short, gentle strokes. Mind the angle, and be deliberate.

Also, and this is new for most of us, try shaving with the grain rather than against it. You'll avoid a lot of irritation this way, but will still end up with silky smooth legs. It takes a little practice to shave from knee to ankle instead of the other way around. But like with anything else, once you establish the habit it becomes second nature.

Caring for Your Safety Razor

With proper care, your investment will last a lifetime.

Purchasing a good safety razor is an investment for life. In fact, you can even search out and find safety razors in excellent condition at antique shops and through secondhand retailers like eBay. This is a great option if the startup costs are a barrier for you.

And with proper care and maintenance, you can keep your safety razor looking and performing like new. Here's how.

Maintenance After Each Shave:

Rinse. Loosen the cap, run it under tap water, and shake it off.
Rubbing alcohol. Oxidation and corrosion from trapped moisture is the biggest threat to the longevity of your safety razor. Prevent this by swirling your razor in a jar of rubbing alcohol while the cap is still loose. Shake off the extra, allow it to dry, and then tighten the blade again. (You'd think this is for sanitation purposes, and that's not a bad side benefit, but the real reason is that alcohol dries quicker than water so it keeps moisture off the blade).
Realign. Strop the blade to straighten and polish it by giving it 5 strokes in the opposite direction that you shave against a clean towel, a piece of old denim, or even lightly against your forearm.

For extra credit, you can also rub a little mineral or cooking oil over the blade with a cotton ball or reusable pad. But I haven't gone to such great lengths yet.

Periodic Maintenance

It's a good practice to give your razor a little TLC when you switch out the blade. To do this, give your razor shell a good wipe down with water and a clean towel after taking out the old blade and before putting in a new one.

My Experience Switching to a Safety Razor

I just made the switch to shaving with a safety razor. And now I'm a true convert.

I've been shaving with a Gillette Mach 3 for as long as I can remember. Yes, it's a men's razor, but it's really worked for me. However, I've never enjoyed shelling out money for replacement blades (who does?), so I tend to balk at changing out the head, even though I really enjoy the experience of shaving with a fresh razor blade.

But when I got down to the last replacement blade, I decided I was done buying them and instead pulled out a long-neglected safety razor that's been sitting in our bathroom cabinets since I bought my husband a shaving kit several years ago. He loved the shaving soap and brush, and still uses them to this day, but he wasn't so sure about the safety razor.

I hadn't given that razor much thought until lately, when I started thinking more about greening our bathroom habits. And a Google search or two later, ads and testimonials about the awesomeness of shaving with a safety razor started to pop up everywhere. And like a punch buggy, I also started noticing mention of them in most of the green-living blog, YouTube, and Instagram accounts I follow.

It was time to see what all the fuss was about.

I've been shaving with a safety razor for about a month now. It's summer here, so it's a time of year when I'm shaving more frequently. For me, that means my underarms on a regular basis (every other day), my legs about once or twice a week, and my bikini area occasionally.

I'm not going to lie, that first shave was scary. And it took me a little while to build up the confidence to tackle my bikini area. But I did, and everything went fine.

One major pro was that it worked wonders even on really long hair. You know, those long neglected areas that get a little—ahem—unkempt sometimes.

The razor I'm using was selected for a dude, but it's really been fine for me. It's a short-handled, closed comb Merkur XXX. As a woman, I can see the benefit of having a model with a longer handle, but this is the razor I already had, and it's still doing the job for me.

So far I've only gotten one nick, but it was so slight that I didn't even realize it until I got out of the shower. When that happened, I had gotten in a hurry and momentarily forgot about going in small strokes and not pressing down.

One of the things that I'm actually enjoying the most about using the safety razor is the forced mindfulness it brings to the act of shaving. After the initial shave it didn't take so much concentration that I couldn't listen to a podcast while I showered (one of my favorite ways to enhance the me-time factor of my showers), but it did slow me down enough to appreciate the nuances of my body, the time I had to care for it and groom it, and the enhanced sense of experience that shaving with a proper, quality tool can bring.

What's Keeping You from Trying a Safety Razor?

Have you ever thought about trying a safety razor but then decided not to? I did for years because I was intimidated by them and was just plain lazy about learning how to use one. But now that I know how easy it is and how beneficial it is for me, I wish I had tried one sooner.

If you're still on the fence about safety razors, I say go for it! I'm a true convert, and I think you will be too.

But if three's still something holding you back, tell me in the comments below. Maybe we can crowdsource a solution together!