i just shaved my body hair for the first time. i was a little worried about cutting myself but it went well!
i trimmed it beforehand to make the first shave easier. then i showered and started shaving my right leg. extremely slowly and carefully of course, as i always do everything. i was afraid of peeling off my skin like vegetables with a peeler because that’s what it looked and initially felt like, but over time i got more used to how it works and feels and that the blades really just glide smoothly over the skin instead of peeling it off. it still took me the full duration of two two-hour zelda concerts until i stepped out of the shower but at least that made my head hair get some thorough and badly needed conditioning. the only issue was that i couldn’t see everything properly because it was slightly dim (i don’t have a lamp over the shower) and because i wasn’t wearing my glasses. maybe i should not wash my hair simultaneously next time and keep my glasses on. it was also a little inconvenient that a lot of the cut-off hair was sticking to the skin which made it difficult to tell if there was still hair left to shave, so i often had to rinse the cut-off hair and conditioner (that i used instead of shaving cream because i’ve read on a certain website that that works too and is cheaper, and that’s at least one less new thing i have to find and pick at a store) and then go over the area a second time. the knees were easier than i thought, keeping the legs straight creates a fairly uniform knee surface, but at the expense of them being too far away and therefore blurry to see much. the arms were a lot easier than the legs because they were easier to reach and always close enough to not look blurry, but using my non-dominant hand for the right arm was like starting over again but with a faster learning curve. the armpits were partly difficult to reach and look at, so i ended up only really shaving the outer areas and leaving an inner line at trim-length. maybe that would be easier in front of a mirror, but also as i’m writing this i’m remembering the way i trimmed my armpits: by pointing the elbow up and using the same arm’s hand to stretch the side of the armpit that’s closer to me further towards me. that creates a fairly even and firm surface instead of an armpit canyon. i guess i’ll try that next time. the chest and bellybutton areas were very simple but descending into the depths of pubic hair was different. it felt neither like peeling vegetables nor like smoothly gliding across skin, more like raking fallen branches in autumn. there was a lot of resistance, which made me worry about cutting myself again. the only way i could get the hair cut at all was to start with only the topmost millimeter, go across it multiple times and slowly continue millimeter after millimeter. i guess it’ll be easier next time when it’s still very short instead of like a centimeter of trim-length. and of course i stopped once i got close to the genitals, there’s no way i’m touching them with naked blades. that area will have to stay at trim-length with my trusty and safe trimmer.
i ended up only cutting myself twice. once on the side of the left knee when i started getting impatient and too certain of not cutting myself because it had been working so well. but i didn’t feel anything, i just noticed a tiny blurry red dot that disappeared when i went over it with my finger and then slowly reappeared. the second time was on my right armpit that i shaved with my non-dominant hand. i felt something this time but not much, and it was again nothing more than a tiny red dot, just this time not blurry. definitely no painful deep cuts from razor-sharp razor blades as i was worried about.
and wow i really love the result!!! :wigglytuff_wide_open_smile: it feels so smooth and soft, and it looks so smooth and not hairy anymore! another successful step at feeling more comfortable with my body :blobcat_uwu_blush:
it’s not entirely perfect of course, there are a few hairs left here and there like at the back of my legs that were hard to reach and see and too blurry, and i forgot that i have some hair on my big toes that i also didn’t see at all in the shower, but it’s more than good enough for my first attempt and it surpassed my expectations by a lot. the only thing i don’t like is that i can already partly feel rough stubble if i move my hands across the skin against the grain of the hair, mostly on my legs, and that will of course become worse day by day. i want soft smoothness and smooth softness only. i’ve been considering getting an epilator which seems like a convenient one-time purchase for cutting-risk-free and fazor-burn-free complete at-home hair removal to get smooth stubble-less skin for weeks per usage, but it’s still a relatively expensive purchase to get one that hopefully works well and for a long time, especially considering that i’m also trying a lot of other new things, and i’m of course worried about it being too painful for me. i’ve read a lot about how to properly use them, like using them during a warm shower on longer stubble and stretching the skin, which supposedly makes it work the best and minimises pain, and that pain will decrease over time. pain from just pulling out hair is probably better than actual blade injuries. it seems worth it, but i can’t judge if the pain is too much for me until i’ve tried it. but i guess for now i’ll see how quickly the hair regrows, how often i can get myself to shave and how many zelda concerts my next shaving sessions will take. and i have to focus on my head hair first that i’ve apparently been mistreating all my life. the adventure continues!