How to Use Shave Oil: Before, During and After

The best hunts happen after midnight, and so do my best shaves. I learned to shave by lantern light in a cold stream, where one careless stroke meant a nick that stung all the way home. So I treat a razor the way I treat a bow: steady hands, a clear target and the right oil on the string.

Here's the short answer on how to use shave oil. Wet your skin with warm water for a couple of minutes, smooth a few drops over the area you're shaving, let it sit for about 30 seconds, then shave with light pressure in the direction your hair grows. Rinse the razor often. When you're done, rinse with cool water and press a couple more drops into damp skin. That works for legs, underarms and the bikini line, with small changes for each, which I'll walk you through below.

Before: set up the shave

Most bad shaves are lost before the razor ever touches skin. Three things matter.

• Warm water first. Give the area 2 to 3 minutes in the shower. Hair softens when it's wet, and soft hair cuts with less tugging. Shave near the end of your shower, not the start.
• Exfoliate on a different day. A scrub clears away dry flakes that can clog a blade, but scrubbing and shaving the same patch back to back is a lot for one evening. I scrub a day or two before. Here's more on what a body scrub actually does.
• A sharp blade. A dull razor drags, and dragging is what irritates. If it pulls or you have to press, swap it.

How to use shave oil, step by step

1. Wet the skin. Damp isn't enough. You want the skin wet so the oil spreads into a thin, even layer instead of sitting in streaks.
2. Warm the drops. Put the drops in your palm, rub your hands together for a second and smooth it over the area. Don't pour straight from the bottle onto your leg; that's how half of it ends up on the floor.
3. Wait 30 seconds. Use the time to rinse your razor in hot water.
4. Shave with the grain first. Short, light strokes in the direction your hair grows. Let the blade's weight do the work.
5. Rinse the blade every stroke or two. More on this below. It's the step people skip.
6. Touch up only if you need it. If you want a closer finish, re-wet, add a drop and go across the grain, not straight against it. One extra pass, not five.
7. Rinse and finish. Cool water, pat dry so the skin stays a little damp, then press in 2 to 3 drops.

How many drops for legs, underarms and bikini line

Aim for the target and use only what that area needs. These are starting points. Add one drop if the razor starts to skip or drag.

Shave oil for legs

Legs are where oil shines. It's a big, mostly flat area, and a thin layer lets you see exactly which hairs you've caught. Work in sections, ankle to knee, and re-wet any patch that's dried out before you go back to it. If you're deciding how often to do all this, I covered that in how often you should shave your legs.

Underarms

Underarm skin is thin and full of curves, so go slow and use short strokes. Wait a few hours before deodorant if your skin tends to sting after shaving. Shaving at night, when deodorant can wait until morning, makes this easy.

Bikini line

This is precision work. Trim anything longer than about a quarter inch with scissors or a trimmer first, so the razor isn't fighting long hair. Use a fresh blade, shave with the grain and keep oil on the outer skin where hair grows, never inside. Most shave oils, mine included, contain fragrance, so patch test on your inner arm a day before the first time.

Oil alone or under a shave gel?

Both are legitimate. Here's how I decide.

Use oil alone when you shave often and the hair is short. The layer is clear, so you can see your strokes, which matters most on the bikini line and around the knees and ankles. It also rinses off with less mess than foam.

Put oil under a gel or cream when it's been a couple of weeks, the hair is coarse, or your skin feels tight and dry. Smooth on 2 to 3 drops first, then a thin layer of gel over it. You get the oil's slip plus the gel's cushion. The trade-off is you can't see the hairs as well, so go slower.

What I don't recommend is a dry shave with oil. Oil on dry skin is just greasy skin. Water is what the hair needs to soften.

Keep your razor from clogging

Oil and short hair can pack together between the blades, especially on 4- and 5-blade cartridges. A clogged blade skips, and a skipping blade is how you end up pressing harder.

• Rinse under hot running water after every one or two strokes. Hot water loosens oil better than lukewarm.
• Swish the head sideways under the stream. Don't bang it on the tub edge; that can bend the blades.
• If hair is long, trim first. Long hair is the main cause of clogging.
• When you're done, give it a final hot rinse, shake it out and store it upright outside the shower so it dries.

Don't turn your shower into an ice rink

Here's the safety part nobody puts in the steps. Oil that drips off your legs lands on the tub floor, and an oiled tub is slippery. A few habits keep you upright:

• Use a non-slip mat, or sit on the edge of the tub to do your legs.
• Apply the drops over your leg, not over open floor, and hold your hand cupped under your palm while you spread it.
• Before you step out, rinse the floor with hot water and a little body wash, and check where your feet land.
• Wipe the bottle before you set it down so it doesn't slide off the ledge.

After: finish soft

Rinse with cool water, then pat, don't rub, with a towel. While skin is still slightly damp, press 2 to 3 drops into each leg. Pressing beats rubbing on freshly shaved skin. If you'd rather finish with something creamier, a whipped moisturizer works too. I break down the difference in body oil vs lotion.

Razor bumps and irritation

Most irritation comes from technique: pressing hard, going over the same patch again and again, shaving against the grain or using a dull blade. Fix those first. Shave with the grain, swap blades often, give skin a day off between shaves when you can, and keep it moisturized. Gentle exfoliation on non-shave days helps too. See a dermatologist if bumps are painful, look infected, leave dark marks or keep coming back no matter how you shave. Oil helps the razor glide; it doesn't treat a skin condition.

My picks

• The Huntress Shave Oil Serum ($27, 2 oz). My own Amber Moonlight scent: gleaming amber, pink prosecco, moonlight peonies and amaretto crème. Coconut, sweet almond, jojoba and argan oils, made to use before and/or after shaving.
• The Huntress Razor & Radiance Duo ($50). The same oil paired with my Hair Oil Elixir, if you like your whole routine to match.
• The Huntress Magical Sugar Scrub ($25, 4 oz). Sugar in safflower seed oil, for the exfoliation day before you shave.
• The Huntress Body Frosting ($25, 4 oz). A whipped moisturizer with shea and cocoa butter, aloe and chamomile, for after.

FAQ

One last thing

I still shave by lantern light some nights, though these days the stream is a bathtub and the lantern is a candle on the ledge. Same rules, though. Warm water, a few drops, a sharp blade and a steady hand. Track the grain and you won't miss.

Every beauty has a story.

— The Huntress

Keep reading in The Princess's Vanity

• How often should you shave your legs?
• Body oil vs lotion
• Body scrub benefits