How To Shave Your Pubic Hair For Men

You don’t need to be coy about shaving down there. Most men shave or manscape their pubes and ball hair for a clean look. According to a recent survey, 70% of women prefer a guy with trimmed pubic hair because it maintains hygiene, offers easy access, and just makes the package look better. While men’s grooming has come a long way in recent years, trimming your body hair is still a personal decision. If you’re considering shaving your pubic hair and balls, there are some tips and tricks that will help you avoid any injuries. Whether you’re thinking about manscaping your pubic area or need tips on shaving your balls, it’s important to have the right grooming tools and follow a good step-by-step process to minimize skin irritation, burns, bumps, and ingrown hairs. To help you navigate this sensitive area, we’ve compiled this guide on how to shave pubic hair for men.

Tools You Need To Shave Your Pubes

The best way to shave your pubic hair is by using the right grooming tools. Guys who manscape their pubes need quality shaving tools to groom this sensitive area. The best shave products will help you get a smooth close cut while protecting your skin and avoiding nicks, burns, ingrowns, and bumps. If this is the first time you plan to shave your balls and pubic hair, this is not the time to be frugal. Invest in these top-rated grooming products to ensure you get a clean trim.

Electric Trimmer

If you’re sporting an overgrown pubic bush, you can’t just dive in with a razor and a can of Barbasol. Unless you are manscaping regularly, you’ve got to prune away most of your pubes with an electric trimmer before you can shave the area. There are high-quality trimmers that are made specifically for public hair, but many electric trimmers and hair clippers will have the right guards to help you shave your pubes down to the appropriate length for a razor.

We recommend getting a versatile yet powerful trimmer that you can use to groom your full body. The Philips Norelco Multigroom Series 7000 is one of the best body groomers and pubic hair trimmers on the market right now. If you want a dedicated machine, the most popular trimmer for shaving your pubes and balls is the Manscaped Lawn Mower 3.0.

Pre-Shave Oil

If you want a smooth shave without skin irritation or razor burn, you’ll want a hydrating pre-shave oil. A good pre-shave oil will hydrate your skin and soften pubic hair so the razor will glide effortlessly. Great for your pubes and balls, a top-rated pre-shave oil is worth the money and extra step if you want a close cut while protecting your skin. The Art of Shaving and Viking Revolution are reputable brands with excellent product options.

High-Quality Shaving Cream

Shaving cream is one of the most important grooming products you’ll need. Barbasol or a regular shave cream might be fine for facial hair, but don’t even think about slathering that white foamy stuff over your boys downstairs. You want to see what you’re shaving, so find a high-quality shaving cream or gel that’s clear and doesn’t foam up too much when applied.

The best shaving creams will also thoroughly lubricate your pubic area and balls to minimize friction, allowing the razor to glide smoothly with each pass. We suggest you strongly consider Cremo’s Barber Grade Cooling Shave Cream or Pacific Shaving Company’s Natural Shave Cream.

Top-Rated Razor

A quality razor is essential for getting a close, comfortable shave without irritation or cuts. The best razors will have smooth, sharp blades that minimize friction while allowing you to shave the maximum amount of hair with every pass. A top-rated razor for men is especially important if you have sensitive skin that’s prone to nicks and in-grown hairs. Get yourself a razor with replaceable cartridges so you can switch out the blades when shaving your pubes. The Dorco Pace 6 Pro and Gillette Fusion5 Razor are among the top-rated options in this category.

Moisturizer or Aftershave Balm

After you’ve shaved, you’ll need to apply a moisturizer, hydrating lotion, or aftershave balm to soothe your skin and stop the area from becoming irritated or inflamed. Hopefully, your grooming routine already includes a moisturizer or soothing balm for your face, but this product absolutely needs to be all-natural and alcohol-free.

You want the sensitive skin on your balls and pubic area to be hydrated to prevent irritation and itch. Whether you choose American Shaving’s Aftershave Balm or Rugged & Dapper’s Facial Moisturizer, invest in a nutrient-rich natural formula to combat dryness, inflammation, and itchiness.

Shaving Your Pubic Hair

Choose A Length

It’s up to you how short you want to shave. If you prefer very short pubic hair, you may be able to just use an electric trimmer with no guard or a number 1 guard. If you want a smooth close shave with no hair, run the trimmer with no guard so you can pass over the area with a razor after. You want visibility while you shave, so it’s best to trim away long pubes to a manageable length so you can see where you’re shaving.

Trim The Hair With An Electric Trimmer

Men should always trim before shaving their pubic hair and balls. Trimming the area first can prevent your curly, coarse pubic hair from getting trapped in your razor’s blades, making it hard to shave properly. Manscaping with an electric trimmer can also stop your hairs from getting pulled while reducing the risk of cuts and irritation. Run the trimmer across pubes and trim down as close as you can, making sure you get longer hairs, which will cause painful tugging when you’re shaving them.

Shower To Soften Your Pubic Hair

Once you’ve trimmed your pubes down to a good shaving length, an essential next step is taking a warm shower or bath. You may want to save time by attempting to shave dry, but don’t. You won’t be shaving your pubic hair every day, so take the time to do it right, and your skin will thank you.

Not only will a shower wash away the trimmings, but the warm water will also soften your skin and hair, making it easier to shave the area. Furthermore, the warm water will relax you, open up your pores, and allow your balls to loosen for the shave. Finally, cleansing the area will wash away bacteria and minimize skin irritation.

Use Pre-Shave Oil

The warm shower won’t be quite enough to ensure that your razor will glide effortlessly. Once you’ve dried off, massage the area with pre-shave oil, which will moisturize your skin and provide an additional layer of protection. Be generous and use a good amount of oil for a smooth shave to ensure you prep the skin and soften the hairs sufficiently.

Apply Shaving Cream or Gel

Naturally, you’ll need to apply a quality shaving cream or gel. It’s all about lubrication for shaving your pubic area, so don’t be frugal and apply it generously. Spread it thickly wherever that razor is going to go. A good shave gel will protect the skin and hair, and let your razor glide as it shaves your pubes. This extra level of hydration is particularly important if you have sensitive skin or if you tend to shave with a heavy hand.

Shave Your Pubes

You’ve done all the prep work, and you’re ready to shave, but take your time. You can only do small strokes with a razor, which works to your benefit. Hold your skin taut with one hand and gently shave the area in the direction that your pubes are growing. It’s also recommended that you start at the bottom of the pubic area and avoid the testicles as you work your way up to your stomach.

Shave Your Balls

If you want to be safe and avoid cuts, burns, or irritation, be extra gentle when shaving your balls. Your scrotum and testicles are very sensitive, so take your time and be patient as you shave the hair.

It’s a good idea to stand in front of your bathroom mirror or bend over to look so you can see what you’re doing, especially under the scrotal sac. Pull a small patch of the skin tightly so there are no wrinkles or curves.

Since you’ve applied pre-shave oil and a moisturizing cream or gel, you don’t have to do much more than short, gentle strokes. Most guys only have patches of ball hair, so focus your attention on these areas first.

Rinse Your Blade Regularly and Reapply Shave Gel As Necessary

No doubt you’ve been shaving since puberty, so you know that hairs and gel will clog the razor, and you won’t get the close shave you want. Make sure that with every stroke of the razor, you rinse it under warm running water. Also, you might shave away the gel as you go along, so reapply it as needed to unshaved areas.

Shower With Conditioning Body Wash

When you’ve finished shaving your pubes and balls, you need to wash off any remaining hair and gel. You could clean up with a damp warm facecloth, but it’s more rewarding to take another shower, this time using a conditioning body wash. Use a body wash made from all-natural ingredients will soothe and clean your freshly shaved skin.

Start the shower with warm water and treat the area to hydrate and protect the skin. Finish with cool water to close the pores and minimize in-grown hairs.

Use An All-Natural Lotion to Moisturize

Shaving scrapes away layers of your body’s natural oils. These oils keep your skin moisturized while protecting you from irritation and infection. After drying yourself off from the shower, massage an all-natural lotion or aftershave balm all over your shaved areas.

A good moisturizer will soothe your skin, prevent burning or itching, and help your skin regenerate. You’ll want to apply lotion daily for a few days to keep your pubic area and balls smooth and hydrated.

How To Avoid Razor Burn on Your Balls and Pubic Area

If you follow all of the steps for shaving your balls and pubic hair properly, you will reduce the risk of razor burn. However, when things get pretty sweaty down below, especially in hot weather, skin irritation and dryness can be difficult to stop. Nevertheless, you can do a few things to diminish the likelihood of razor bumps.

First, don’t use the same blade for your balls as you use for your face. The blade needs to be sharp and hygienic, so always change your razor’s blade before shaving your pubic area.

When you’ve finished shaving, toss the blade. Consider buying a set of blades that are only used for shaving your balls.

Some so-called grooming experts advise shaving against the grain. Definitely do not shave against the grain. Even with the right lubricating gel, you could still cause irritation by scraping in the opposite direction. While you may end up with a closer shave, most guys experience ingrown hairs when shaving against the natural grain.

Finally, take it slow and easy. You won’t be shaving your balls and pubes often so don’t rush and it. Being patient as you shave is another way to avoid razor burn and irritation. Moreover, you’ll want to be gentle because your scrotum has the most vulnerable and delicate skin on your whole body.

How To Avoid Ingrown Hairs on Your Balls and Pubic Hair

Ingrown hairs happen when shaved hair grows back and curls beneath the skin, resulting in redness, swelling, and pustules. Although hair can grow inward anywhere on your body, it’s prevalent in the pubic area because public hair is coarse and curly.

Following our best practices for shaving your balls will help prevent ingrown hairs, but you can also reduce them by exfoliating your private parts every day with a simple wash in the shower. This will get rid of dead skin cells that can clog your pubes’ follicles, which is a contributing factor to hairs growing inward.

Once you’ve dried off, apply a non-greasy moisturizer or a non-alcoholic aloe vera gel as a protectant against infection. Tea tree oil is a common antibacterial treatment for ingrown hairs on the face and neck, and it will work just as well on your shaved balls.

How To Stop Your Balls From Itching After Shaving

One of the most common aftereffects of shaving your pubes is itchy balls. Itchiness is often caused by dry skin, and shaving makes dry skin worse since the process removes topical layers of skin that naturally retain moisture. After shaving, you need to restore that lost moisture to your balls.

First, resist the urge to scratch the itch, which will only scrape away more skin and natural humectants. You could try some home remedies like cornstarch, cucumber, or an oatmeal paste. But these are for short-term relief, and if you’re going to shave your balls regularly, then you need to think long-term.

Look for a non-alcoholic aftershave balm with all-natural ingredients and avoid those with added fragrance and chemicals.

The best aftershave balms will have moisturizing oils, such as coconut, avocado, or jojoba. Since you’ll be leaving the balm on your freshly shaved balls, make sure it doesn’t leave a greasy residue. Like all skincare products, we recommend testing the aftershave balm before purchasing it.

As your pubes begin to grow back, you’ll still feel the itch, so include the moisturizing balm in your grooming regimen every day.