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Dermatologist warns of common mistake when shaving ‘down there’ after Dakota Johnson’s X-rated admission
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A dermatologist has warned that people are making a common mistake while grooming their pubic hair following Dakota Johnson's admission.
As previously reported, the 37-year-old actress revealed that she stopped shaving her pubic hair for her role as Anastasia Steele in the first Fifty Shades of Grey movie in 2015.
Johnson appeared fully nude in the movie, and as pubic hair was a key part of her character's plotline, she decided to go for the real deal instead of a pubic wig.
She revealed during an appearance on First We Feast: "I grew my pubic hair. For Fifty Shades, the first one, I was full frontal, and she was supposed to have never had a wax."
When asked if she'd considered wearing a pubic wig - known as a merkin - Johnson quickly responded: "No."
While Johnson might have enjoyed the full bush experience for a short time, plenty of others choose to shave or wax their pubic hair - and whatever grooming (or lack of) you choose, it's completely down to personal choice.
However, a dermatologist has warned those that choose to remove their pubic hair against making a key error that happens all too often.
Dr. Yuval Bibi, board-certified dermatologist, took to YouTube to share some tips and warnings to make the shaving process go flawlessly, and avoid bumps, ingrown hairs, and dark spots from forming.
He explained that the skin in the bikini area is not the same as on your legs, so the two require different approaches while shaving.
The skin in the bikini area is thinner and more sensitive, while the follicles are denser and the hair is courser. The area itself can also be difficult to navigate with a razor, meaning there's a risk of cutting yourself too.
He explained: "The bikini area demands a completely different level of respect and a completely different approach, and almost nobody is giving it that. This is why you keep getting bumps in your bikini area."
However, the main mistakes people are making come down to two common habits - and you may well have fallen foul of them yourself in the past.
Dr. Bibi revealed: "Number one - shaving dry, or with soap. In the bikini area this is not just bad habit, it is an act of damage.
"The skin here has no tolerance for a blade without proper lubrication. Soap is a detergent. It strips the skin barrier the moment the razor breaks through it.
"You're removing the skin's protection while dragging the razor across it simultaneously. The microtrauma this creates in the bikini area is severe, and because the follicles here are so dense, the inflammatory response is immediate, and can be severe.
"Dry shaving the bikini area is controlled injury. Every stroke, no exceptions."
Anyone that has ever tried to save time by dry shaving knows that to be true - so it's no wonder the results can be pretty painful and scary after doing so.
As for the second no-no, Dr. Bibi revealed: "Number two - shaving with a dull blade.
"A dull blade over the bikini area is one of the most destructive things a woman can do while shaving and yet most women are not aware of it, many of them do it.
"A dull blade does not cut hair. It grabs the coarse hair in the bikini area and drags the follicle before it cuts. On skin this sensitive and this thin, that pulling creates deep microinflammation at the follicle level.
"That sort of inflammation is at the beginning of every bump, every ingrown hair, every dark spot you've had in the area.
"Women hold onto razors longer than they should, and the bikini area pays the price. A cheap, sharp blade causes less damage to the area than an expensive dull one. Every single time, no exceptions."
As for best practise when it comes to shaving properly, Dr. Bibi advises waiting until the end of your shower to shave, so that the warm water can soften the hair, reducing the force the blade needs to cut it.
If your pubic hair has been left to grow wild and free for a while (hey, no judgment here), he advises trimming it first before attempting to go in with a razor, adding: "Long, coarse hair increases blade resistance dramatically, which means more drag, more damage."
He also advises using a delicate shaving gel or cream, rather than soap or body wash, or "whatever is within reach in the shower".
Shaving gels are specifically designed to allow the blade to glide over the skin as well as providing a cushion between the blade and the sensitive skin below, which soaps do not do.
He also advises to only do "one pass" over the area with the razor, and to go "with the grain" of the hair rather than against it.
Afterwards, you should avoid any scented products in the area, as well as anything containing alcohol, and avoid any tight clothing that could rub and irritate the freshly-shaven skin.