How to Shave Without Shaving Cream

Co-authored by Timmy Yanchun

Shaving cream is not always necessary when shaving. There are alternative solutions such as using hair conditioner, body soap, and just water that can get the job of shaving done just as well. The most important part of shaving is always moisturizing your skin afterwards to prevent irritation and dry skin.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using Soap

1
Choose a soap to use. The trick is to choose something that is able to lather and cover your skin completely. It is also best to choose something that is moisturizing to help glide your razor across your skin smoothly to prevent burns and irritation. Use soap products like:
- Hair conditioner: Conditioner smooths and softens hair and is a great moisturizing agent.
- Shampoo: Shampoo lathers quite well and can get rid of pollutants and grease from your skin.
- Body wash: Body wash acts similarly to shampoo and lathers better than conditioner. For best results, choose a body wash that uses body butter to better moisturize your skin.
- Dish washing soap: When you've run out of body and hair soaps, dish washing soap is a good alternative that lathers very well. It is a low skin irritant but can be quite drying.
EXPERT TIP

Timmy Yanchun
Professional Barber
Timmy Yanchun is a Professional Barber and Co-Founder of Svelte Barbershop + Essentials. Svelte Barbershop + Essentials is a men’s grooming company, specializing in men’s hair, beard, skin, and shave products, originally located in the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, California but has now branched out to 3 locations across Los Angeles. Timmy has been cutting hair since age 13 and opened his first of 6 barbershops at age 18. He is also the co-founder of the newly launched brand LTHR, the world's first wireless hot lather machine for barber quality shaves at home. Timmy and Svelte have been featured in GQ, Men's Fitness, and Hypebeast.

Timmy Yanchun
Professional Barber

Our Expert Agrees: If you need to shave but you don't have any shaving cream, wet your skin with hot water, then apply hair conditioner or moisturizer before you shave. However, keep in mind that this is just an emergency fix, and you shouldn't use it all the time.
2
Wet the area of the skin that you are going to shave. It's always important to use water to help lather soap onto your body. Shaving without water or any moisturizing agent can cause your razor to glide unevenly and create burns or cuts on your skin.^{[1]
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- If you're not in the shower or bath, you can get a wet wash cloth or cotton pad and dab it where you want to shave.
- For best results, shave 10 to 15 minutes after you've been in the bath or shower. The water and heat helps to soften your skin and open up your hair follicles for a better, closer shave.^{[2]
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- You can also exfoliate your skin before shaving using exfoliating scrubs, a wash cloth or a loofah.
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3
Lather soap onto your skin. Form a nice thick layer of soap to coat the skin. The coat not only helps glide your razor across your skin but can also serve as a tool for letting you know areas where you haven't shaved yet.
- Add a few drops of glycerin to help increase lather and also moisturize your skin. Glycerin is a clear, odorless liquid that can be found at local drug store in the skin care or medicine aisle. It is typically used to treat and prevent dry, itchy and minor skin irritations^{[3]
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4
Start shaving. As you shave, be sure to rinse your razor often to get rid of soap and hairs.^{[4]
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- Always shave with the grain. If you shave against the grain, you risk pulling hairs off your skin harshly and getting your razor's blades stuck on your hairs.
- Shave slowly in sensitive or curved areas such as your neck, under your nose, armpit, genital area, the curve of your ankles and under your knee.
- Razors with multiple blades will shave closer to the skin. Choose the best razor for your skin type.
5
Moisturize your skin. After you shave, rinse off any soap residue, dry your skin and apply a skin moisturizing. This softens your skin to prevent ingrown hairs from forming and treat any itching or inflammation.^{[5]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using Oils

1
Choose whether you want to dampen your skin or not. Since oils are already quite watery and apply well to skin dry, you don't necessarily have to wet your skin. Water might even repel oil from your skin since oils don't mix well with water. Instead, you can wet a wash cloth with hot water and place it over your skin to open up your hair follicles and soften your skin.^{[6]
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- It's best shave 10 to 15 minutes after you've been in the bath or shower. The water and heat helps to soften your skin and open up your hair follicles for a better, closer shave.
- You can also exfoliate your skin before shaving using exfoliating scrubs, a wash cloth or a loofah.
2
Trim long hairs. Shaving can be made easier if you trim your hair before shaving. It won't clog up your razor when you're shaving and you will use less product in the end.^{[7]
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3
Rub oil onto your skin. Be generous and thorough when rubbing oil into your skin. There are many types of oil that can be used to shave. The oil acts as a lubricant to help glide your razor across your skin while also moisturizing your skin. Some oils you can use are:
- Coconut oil: It can come as liquid or as a solid. Simply rub the coconut oil between your fingers or hands to melt the solid coconut oil and apply it to your skin. Coconut oil is very moisturizing, safe to use and keep on your skin, and has anti-fungal and antibacterial properties to help protect sensitive skin.^{[8]
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- Olive oil: Olive oil is known for its many health benefits. For skin in particular, it's studied to play a protective role against skin cancer development.
- Baby oil: Baby oil has no odor and often contains aloe vera extract which helps with inflammation and soothing skin irritations.^{[9]
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4
Start shaving. As you shave, be sure to rinse your razor often to get rid of excess oil and hairs.
- Always shave with the grain. If you shave against the grain, you risk pulling hairs off your skin harshly and getting your razor's blades stuck on your hairs.^{[10]
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- Shave slowly in sensitive or curved areas such as your neck, under your nose, armpit, genital area, the curve of your ankles and under your knee.
- Razors with multiple blades will shave closer to the skin. Choose the best razor for your skin type.
5
Wipe away excess oil on your skin. If you have particularly sensitive skin or you're shaving in a sensitive area such as your genital region, it's best to remove oil residue from your skin. However, you can always leave the excess on to work as moisturizer, rubbing it into you skin once again.

Community Q&A

Question

If I shave my leg's with soap, how long will it take to grow back?

Paper Person

Community Answer

It makes no difference. If you shave your legs with soap, it will take the same time that it takes to grow back when shaved with shaving cream.
Question

Can I use my aftershave balm as shaving lotion?

Community Answer

You could, but it would not work as well as the other suggestions.
Question

Can I use shampoo for shaving my beard?

Community Answer

I think you can. I used it for shaving my pubic hair and it felt great afterward.

Warnings

Never shave your eyebrows or near your eyes. Appearance-wise, you don't want stubble growing back around your eyebrows. It's also dangerous to have a razor so close to your eye. Wax or pluck your eyebrows instead.

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Don't dry shave. Dry shaving without water can give you razor burns.

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