Shaving cream for delicate, sensitive, lady parts?

October 7, 2014 1:39 PM

I am a very sensitive, delicate flower of a woman with very sensitive and delicate lady bits to match. I prefer to keep these lady bits smooth, but said bits are easily irritated and thrown off-balance by just about anything - including shaving cream.

I have tried Kiss My Face unscented but for some reason it burns when it gets a little too friendly with my parts, and the standard drugstore brands aren't working for me either. (I try to keep everything on the outside but it still tends to travel inside.)

Does anyone have recommendations for creams, gels, or something else that is unscented and will not irritate or cause yeast infections? I've thought about waxing but I don't think I would like to wait for the hair to grow back. Feel free to throw arguments at me if you're a fan, though.

posted by Dilemma to Health & Fitness (38 answers total)

I'm no good at shaving, but the thing that immediately leaps to mind is using olive oil which is generally good for skin, and googling suggests that it may be viable.
posted by foxfirefey at 1:43 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

Baby shampoo? Several sensitive friends report good results.
posted by Buttons Bellbottom at 1:43 PM on October 7, 2014

Best answer: Bar shaving soap, unscented, with some kind of clay to make it slippy. That's it, that's the whole thing. Also gently exfoliate with something gritty beforehand, but not gritty and oily, so no sugar scrubs. Any kind of cream or gel or foam or whatever you buy in the drugstore is going to have rubbing alcohol in it, which is what causes the burning feeling.
posted by poffin boffin at 1:46 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

I've thought about waxing but I don't think I would like to wait for the hair to grow back. Feel free to throw arguments at me if you're a fan, though.

I do prefer waxing but you could also try something like Nair (the exfolliating one or whatever is best for personal bits I think). The skin in my lady areas gets really sensitive (and ITCHY ITCHY ITCHY) from shaving and the first time I considered Nair I was like "oh God Nair what is this the seventies it's going to be gross and smell awful" but it really wasn't bad (partially, it was more like a really thick cream than a lotion so it stayed in place while I was waiting) and it worked really well! You can use a razor to touch up anywhere that you need to.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 1:49 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I'd try an unscented shaving oil or maybe just almond oil or similar. Be careful of the floor of your shower (oil can make it dangerously slippery), but oil is far less likely to irritate or contribute to yeast overgrowth, etc. Almost all soaps are quite alkaline, and your skin wants to be slightly acidic. The radical change in pH is enough to cause problems for some people, especially on delicate skin.
posted by quince at 1:50 PM on October 7, 2014 [2 favorites]

Are you sure you need shaving cream for your labia or the area near your vaginal opening? Can you use a shaving cream just on the purely external areas of the vulva, and then use whatever cleanser you normally use for the labia or other areas where there's a risk of anything getting inside you? Or when you say "irritation," do you mean that you get razor burn or a rash on your vulva in addition to the yeast infections you referenced?
posted by decathecting at 1:51 PM on October 7, 2014

Best answer: I switched from shaving to waxing about two years ago and really can't recommend it enough. I tried to shave again recently to save money and was then patting my sad, itchy, irritated bits with cornstarch and powder for the next week. It was like, oh yeah, that's why I wax. I will never do that again.

My major reservation was also waiting for the hair to grow back. I will say, it's really not bad. It's kind of nice how it grows out, especially after the first three months or so. The hairs grow in without a blunt end and it's much less coarse and pointy than shaved growth. It grows in pretty evenly and continues to look and feel good for a month or even a month and half. I have also much less hair down there now after doing it for two years, which is pretty awesome.

I suggest finding someone adept with hard wax. I've had both hard wax and strips and the strips were not nearly as good. More painful and less effective.

Take a tylonel about a half hour before. It hurts less the more you do it. It's less painful than razor burn and all that irritation, in my opinion.
posted by sockermom at 1:54 PM on October 7, 2014 [3 favorites]

Try the stuff in the orange tube from Trader Joes. I only use it on legs/pits but I have super sensitive skin and it has never bugged me
posted by genmonster at 1:55 PM on October 7, 2014 [4 favorites]

I don't know if this is an option for you, but I've almost totally given up shaving in favor of a hair clipper. Leaves fuzz, yes, but it totally eliminates ingrowns and there's no need for shaving cream at all.
posted by showbiz_liz at 1:57 PM on October 7, 2014 [6 favorites]

I have sensitive skin as well, and what has worked for me is

- changing razors diligently every week -
-liberally applying the shaving cream and rinsing the razor after each stroke -

Some excellent shaving creams are Cremo Cream (mens and womens are identical IMHO ) and Proraso (which is lightly scented with some natural oils). The EOS shave cream is not bad either but is not as emollient and I hate the pump. You can also use a cheap conditioner.

Also make sure you are moisturizing after shaving.
posted by sarahnicolesays at 2:06 PM on October 7, 2014

Best answer: I've used coconut oil as a shaving lotion. It won't cause any problems if it "travels."
posted by belladonna at 2:07 PM on October 7, 2014 [3 favorites]

Half the time I use any creamy, hydrating shower gel for shaving my legs (I don't do brazilians). Currently I even have one formulated for shaving, but I don't know if you have it in the USA.
posted by sukeban at 2:16 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I used an unscented, organic conditioner on my sensitive bits, which works really well for me. Usually means I'm not dried out afterwards as well.
posted by stillnocturnal at 2:17 PM on October 7, 2014

I have used Dove bar soap (the one for sensitive skin) and a Mach 3 razor for all shaving for years. I'm smooth as a baby's arse and no nasty red bumps either.
posted by futureisunwritten at 2:24 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

While there has often been some segment of the main wetshaving subreddit, /r/wicked_edge, which was devoted to shaving legs, armpits, and the ladygarden, most of that traffic has diverted itself into the newer, dedicated subreddit /r/ladyshavers. Reddit accounts are free and as anonymous as you need them to be, so don't be shy.

I am a dude, and I do not have any occasions lately to shave women, so I will demur from offering my own advice on what to use in lieu of shaving cream, except to mention that conditioner seems like a popular choice among leg-shavers.

I can say that the secret to avoiding skin irritation is prep: moisturizing, softening the hair, lubricating the razor, post-shave moisturizing. Shaving is just the part that removes the hair-- the rest of this is skincare.
posted by Sunburnt at 2:24 PM on October 7, 2014

L'Occitane almond shower oil. It's AMAZING. Also, make sure you are thoroughly moisturizing afterward.
posted by joan_holloway at 2:27 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

Trader Joe's Honey Mango Moisturizing Cream Shave. Not unscented but extremely gentle and non-irritating. It's not so much a foamy cream as a really slick lotion - if you don;t have a TJs nearby, it's also available on Amazon. The stuff has reached cult status in my shower.
posted by le_salvo at 2:36 PM on October 7, 2014 [2 favorites]

I have the same problem and nothing I've ever tried has helped. I always get irritated, and by the time the rash has died down the hair is back, and this goes double for waxing. I finally decided to try IPL "lazering" and I wish I had done it ages ago. It can be expensive but I held out for a groupon to a good salon for a course of six sessions and it was so worth it. I expected some sensitivity but apart from the initial sting (and the humiliation of getting my lady garden out for a stranger) I had no redness, no rash, no in grown hairs, just smooth skin. It takes a couple of treatments to see the results, and a maintenance treatment now and then, but I'd never go back to any other method. If this is an option for you I'd totally recommend it.
posted by outoftime at 2:38 PM on October 7, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I say give waxing a try -- for at least 6 months. The first time hurts like hell, but if you go every 4-6 weeks (depending on how fast your hair grows) it is much less painful for follow-up visits; so going once is not a good indicator of future visits. In my experience, it stays smooth for at least a week and a half, then starts coming in lightly after that -- but there isn't the dreaded itching phase really (maybe half a day) and when it's long enough to go for a follow-up visit (4ish weeks, but I stretch it to 6 because money) only a fraction of the hair has grown back (and it's thinner/softer/lighter).

Find a place like UniKWax that uses hard wax and keeps everything clean (if you have a UniK in your area I highly recommend).
posted by melissasaurus at 2:43 PM on October 7, 2014 [2 favorites]

Seconding Nair. I can't tolerate waxing or shaving at all. No matter how good the waxer is or what kind of wax or razor or whatever. Nair is easy and quick and no ingrown hairs.
posted by fshgrl at 2:59 PM on October 7, 2014

Oh no! Just use Schick Hydro Silk. No shaving cream necessary.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 3:05 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I use Cetaphil. The face cleanser type.
posted by peep at 3:08 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

I use Cetaphil also, but the bar soap type.
posted by tomboko at 3:23 PM on October 7, 2014

Burt's Bees baby wash. It's good as a facial cleanser too.
posted by celtalitha at 4:18 PM on October 7, 2014

outoftime mentioned laser hair removal, and I'm chiming in to second that as a long-term solution. If you're in the Los Angeles area, you should have tons of cheap Groupon offers for laser hair removal packages. It usually costs around $99/small area, $199/medium area, $299/large area in my area. Full body packages are available for $999. The place I go is now offering a flat $99/mo full-body Laser-Whatever-The-Hell-You-Want-Whenever-You-Feel-Like-It package you can just use at your leisure until you're as hair-free as you want to be.

Some places are also now offering lifetime guarantees (not at the above prices, to be sure).

I haven't completed my sessions, so I still have to shave some areas, and I cringe every time I drop another bazillion dollars on a 4-pack of Schillette High Performance Xtreme HydroFusion Kickass Ninja Monkey Blast Quattordici replacement cartridges. That said, the expensive ones are much less irritating, and you might find you can entirely forego shaving cream if you swap out the razor.
posted by nobejen at 4:28 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

Seconding melussasuarus's waxing experience. I'd even say the first time didn't hurt quite like hell, but subsequent visits hurt even less so YMMV on that.
posted by Room 641-A at 5:02 PM on October 7, 2014

Seconding using a clipper to get down to stubble, and then a Cleancut Shaver (don't skip using powder with it!) That should get you arguably as smooth as using a razor, without irritating your bits.
posted by desuetude at 6:17 PM on October 7, 2014

I just use it on my legs/underarms, but they run super-sensitive: I don't know whatever magic is in the stuff that Dollar Shave Club makes, but it's super-slippy and while I still occasionally have ingrown problems, I have never once broken out in my trademark "oh hey you forgot to tell them not to use fabric softener again" kind of rash from it. It feels a little cool sometimes, but it never burns. YMMV, but. Their razors also happen to be pretty good, cheap, very convenient. (And I'm not even trying to sneak a referral code in here, I just flat out recommend them.) I think the particular benefit is that you don't need to use much and so it's much less messy than most shaving products I've ever used.

Avoid their wipes, though, they're... pepperminty. And unfortunately, the nature of allergies being what they are, the fact that I'm not allergic to this does not guarantee you won't be.
posted by Sequence at 8:49 PM on October 7, 2014

Shave Secret.
posted by Exchequer at 9:25 PM on October 7, 2014

I used to use a fancy $15 shaving cream, Coochy. The unscented and super sensitive kind and it definitely did not work at all. My legs are extremely sensitive and would hurt, itch, and sting every single time I shaved. It was pretty terrible. I started using Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Castille Soap as an alternative when shaving and it is fabulous and safe for all bits. Moisturize afterwards with coconut oil and your legs will *actually* feel silky smooth.

Also, and this is very important, if you're highly allergic like I was, I found that removing the strip of "conditioning" or whatever it is on your razor will mitigate the uncomfortable feeling drastically. I found that the little blue strip is what was causing so much of the horrendous feeling all over my legs every single time I shaved no matter what brand of razor or shaving gel I used. The blades work just fine without it and I haven't had any issues whatsoever. It's slightly tricky getting those things off, but it is so worth it.
posted by lunastellasol at 9:59 PM on October 7, 2014

Another vote for generously lathering the lady bits with unscented Dove.
posted by moody cow at 10:01 PM on October 7, 2014

Try hair conditioner, it really works, I have very sensitive skin.
posted by irish01 at 4:25 AM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

I tried that Trader Joe shaving cream after it was recommended on here before and it gave me a rash on my legs. So people react to different things and it is hard to give recommendations that work for everybody.
posted by interplanetjanet at 5:28 AM on October 8, 2014

Best answer: I started using Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Castille Soap as an alternative when shaving

While Dr. Bronner's is generally awesome and smells like heaven, I strongly recommend against letting the peppermint version anywhere near sensitive lady areas.
posted by donnagirl at 6:12 AM on October 8, 2014 [5 favorites]

Have you tried just unscented conditioner? Of just use whatever soap you usually use in that area.
posted by Neekee at 8:17 AM on October 8, 2014

I use unscented baby oil. It works as well or better than as anything else I've tried for preventing irritation (i.e. imperfectly, but much better than nothing), and it won't cause yeast infections.
posted by randomnity at 1:18 PM on October 8, 2014

Dr. Bronner's Lavender liquid soap works for me. (LAVENDER!) not the other kinds.
posted by RedEmma at 3:18 PM on October 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

I do not thinks that there is good hair removal cream or gel for your private lable area.There is no doubt that all the chemical or gel would deliver some side effcts since cream is consisted of strong alkaline chemical.The strong alkaline can disslove the hair.If not chemical is included in the ceram,the hair can not be removed.As a restul you should never expect that there is any cream which can remove your private area hair without any other side effects.
If your skin is so sensitive,you can try sugaring instead.To avoid side effects,you can choose to have it done in a professional salon.Sugaring past is made up sugar,lemon juice and water so it may be suitable for sensitive skin.
posted by janetian at 3:53 AM on November 23, 2014