How to Shave Without Getting Hair Everywhere

Co-authored by Juan Sabino and Christopher M. Osborne, PhD

Last Updated: January 5, 2021 References

No matter what part of your body you’re shaving, cleaning up all the little hairs can be a real hassle. Fortunately, you can say goodbye to all that hair everywhere! All you have to do is a little prep work beforehand to make the cleanup process afterward go much more smoothly.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Shaving Your Face at the Sink

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1
Wrap a “towel bib” around your neck that also covers the sink area. Grab 2 corners of a bath towel and tie them behind your neck. Drape the towel over your front and down to cover both the sink basin and surrounding countertop.^{[1]
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- If you don’t want to tie a towel around your neck, just lay it down over the sink basin and counter area.
- Dedicate a specific towel for this job, since it’s tough to get every last tiny hair out of the fibers!
2
Cut your hair to about ¹⁄₈ in (3.2 mm) with your trimmer. Put the appropriate length guard on the trimmer, then make smooth, steady strokes against the grain—that is, opposite to the direction of hair growth. Use your free hand to pull your skin taut if you have loose skin in the area you’re trimming.^{[2]
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Expert Source

Juan Sabino
Professional Barber

Expert Interview. 28 January 2020.}
- Don’t try to trim the hair right down to the skin with the trimmer—you’ll just cause skin irritation and potentially nick your skin.
- It’s easier to clean up dry hair than wet hair, so, from a cleanup perspective, it makes sense to use a dry trimmer first before shaving with water.
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3
Fold up the towel to shake out later, then vacuum up any remaining hairs. Untie the towel from behind your neck and fold it in from the corners to keep all the fallen hairs where they belong. Set the towel aside for now so you can shake it out later. Grab a hand vacuum or put the small attachment on your vacuum cleaner, then use it to suck up any hairs in the sink area that managed to avoid your towel bib.^{[3]
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- You can use a brush and dustpan if you like, but it’s easier to get rid of the hair with a vacuum.
- When you’re all done shaving, take the towel outside, unfold it, and shake out the hair. If it’s windy outside, make sure the wind is at your back!
4
Put down damp paper towels to cover the sink area for shaving. Rip off enough paper towels to cover the sink basin and surrounding countertop. Dampen the paper towels lightly, then use the moisture to stick the towels to the countertop and down into the basin. Overlap the sheets slightly so you get full coverage.
- Alternatively, use a designated “shaving towel” instead of paper towels. When damp, both paper and cloth towels stay in place and hold onto fallen hairs better.
- Some people use this “damp towel” method for trimming as well as shaving, instead of using a dry towel for trimming and a damp towel for shaving. It’s really a matter of personal preference, although many people find cleaning up dry trimmings easier.^{[4]
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5
Fill 2 bowls with warm water instead of filling the sink basin. Designate a “clean bowl” for wetting your face before and after shaving, and a “hair bowl” for cleaning off the razor between shaving strokes. By using water bowls instead of filling the skin basin, you’re reducing the likelihood of wet, sticky hairs and clogged drains.^{[5]
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- You really don’t need that much water to shave properly. If you’re shaving your face, you can probably get by with a couple of cereal bowls or wide-mouth coffee mugs.
6
Shave without turning on the faucet or using the drain. Dampen the area you’re shaving with the “clean bowl,” then apply shaving cream. Shave with smooth, steady, even strokes, going with the grain—that is, in the direction of hair growth. Clean the razor frequently by dipping and swirling it in the water in the “hair bowl.” When you’re done, rinse the shaved area with water from the “clean bowl,” pat the area dry with a clean towel, and apply your preferred aftershave product.^{[6]
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- If you want a closer shave, lather the area again, then shave against the grain. Make sure your razor is still sharp and unblemished to reduce the risk of causing nicks or skin irritation when shaving against the grain.^{[7]
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  Expert Source
  
  Juan Sabino
  Professional Barber
  
  Expert Interview. 28 January 2020.}
7
Bunch up the paper towels, wipe stray hairs with them, and toss them. Working from the edges in, ball up the paper towels to trap the hairs stuck to them. Use the damp wad of paper towels to wipe up any hairs that have somehow avoided capture so far—they should stick to the damp paper towels fairly easily. Put the wad of paper towels in the trash.
- If you’re using a “shaving towel,” fold it up and set it aside for now. Later on, take it outside, unfold it, let it air dry, and shake out as many remaining hairs as you can.
- If you are doing the “damp towel” method for trimming as well as shaving, follow this same procedure when you’re finished trimming.^{[8]
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8
Flush and rinse away all the remaining fallen hair. Assuming you’re in the bathroom, pour the hair-filled water in your “hair bowl” into the toilet and flush it away. Turn on the faucet to rise out both shaving bowls, and also use the water to rinse any remaining stray hairs down the drain.^{[9]
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- Alternatively, dump the contents of the “hair bowl” outside. The less hair you rinse down your sink drain, the less likely you are to worsen any existing clogs that you might not even know about.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Shaving Body Hair in the Shower

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1
Lay down a dry towel or sheet to catch your trimmed hairs. Use a large towel or a bed sheet and spread it out over the floor of the tub or shower. Cover the drain as well to reduce the amount of hair that ends up in there. It’s best to designate a specific “trimming towel” for this job, since it’s really tough to shake out and wash out all the trimmed hairs!^{[10]
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- Alternatively, spread out paper towels, newspaper, or a similar disposable option that you can simply ball up and throw out when you’re done.
- If your body hair is short enough that you don’t need to trim it before shaving it, skip ahead in this section to the steps that deal exclusively with shaving body hair.
2
Trim longer body hair down to about ¹⁄₈ in (0.32 cm). Set the guard on your trimmer to this length, then run the trimmer against the grain (opposite the direction of growth) through your body hair. Pull any loose skin taut with your free hand to avoid getting nicked by the trimmer blades.^{[11]
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Expert Source

Juan Sabino
Professional Barber

Expert Interview. 28 January 2020.}
- Trying to shave body hair that’s longer than around ¹⁄₈ in (0.32 cm) may cause skin irritation, while trimming the hair much shorter than this may cause irritation before you even get to shaving.
3
Ball up the towel so you can shake out the hairs later. Fold up the 4 corners of the towel or sheet, then ball it up and set it outside the tub or shower. When you’re all done shaving and showering, take the towel or sheet outside and shake out as much of the hair as you can.^{[12]
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- If you used newspaper or paper towels instead, ball them up and set them aside to throw out later.
4
Shave the trimmed hair with a good razor and solid technique. Use water from the tub faucet to wet the shaving area, or just begin showering. When you’re ready to shave, apply shaving cream and run the razor across your skin with smooth, even strokes that go with the grain (in the direction of hair growth). Clean the razor after every 1 or 2 strokes with water from the tub faucet or shower head, or fill a cup or bowl with water and use it for rinsing the razor.^{[13]
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American Academy of Dermatology
Professional organization made of over 20,000 certified dermatologists

Go to source}
- Re-lather the area and shave against the grain if you want an even closer shave, but be aware that this increases the chances of skin irritation.^{[14]
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  Expert Source
  
  Juan Sabino
  Professional Barber
  
  Expert Interview. 28 January 2020.}
- Apply aftershave lotion once you finish showering and dry off.
5
Rinse the remaining hair down the drain during your shower. Since you used a towel or sheet to capture all the hair from trimming, the tub or shower drain should be able to handle what remains without getting clogged. In the long run, the less tiny hairs from trimming and shaving you rinse down the drain, the better!
- If your drain does start clogging, pour 1 cup or 8 oz (230 g) of baking soda into the drain. Combine 8 fl oz (240 ml) of hot water (boiling if possible) and 8 fl oz (240 ml) of white vinegar, then slowly pour it down the drain. Wait 30-60 minutes, then pour more hot or boiling water down the drain.^{[15]
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- Try homemade drain-unclogging methods before reaching for a commercial drain cleaner, which can be dangerous to your health and damaging to your plumbing. Calling a plumber may be the wiser option.^{[16]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Special Advice for Pubic Hair

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1
Trim and shave your pubic area with extra care and quality tools. While it’s nice not to get hair everywhere while shaving your pubic hair, worry more about doing the job “down there” carefully! Whether you’re shaving in the area of your penis^{[17]
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- Carefully trim any pubic hair that’s more than about ¹⁄₈ in (3.2 mm) in length.
- Soak the area in warm water (or shower) for about 5 minutes before shaving.
- Use a fresh, sharp razor with a moisturizing strip—never use a dull razor!
- Pull loose skin taut with your free hand.
- Shave only with the grain, not against the direction of hair growth.
- Rinse the blade often with clean water.
- Apply baby oil or aloe vera lotion when you’re done instead of using aftershave or scented lotions.
2
Trim and shave pubic hair in the shower or tub for the easiest cleanup. Just like with other body hair, the best place to trim and shave pubic hair is in the tub or shower. This is the easiest way to contain all the trimmed hairs in one place. Follow the same general steps as when shaving other body hair:
- Lay down a towel or sheet to capture the trimmings.
- Trim your pubic hair down to about ¹⁄₈ in (0.32 cm).
- Fold up and remove the towel or sheet to shake out later.
- Wet down your pubic area, then shave with shaving cream and a good razor.
- Rinse the remaining hair down the tub or shower drain.
3
Position a plastic bag between your legs as a hair-catcher, if desired. Some people swear by this trick for trimming pubic hair: Set up in the tub or shower as normal, but slide the handles of a plastic shopping bag over your legs. Pull the bag up so that it’s open right underneath your pubic area, waiting to catch many of the hairs you’re about to remove. When you’re done, ball up and toss the bag of hair!^{[19]
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- You can try this method instead of putting down a towel or sheet, or use it in combination with the towel or sheet.
- If this method feels a little too weird for you, no worries! Just stick with the towel or sheet on the tub or shower floor.

Expert Q&A

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Question

What's the best way to get a smooth shave?

Juan Sabino
Professional Barber
Juan Sabino is a Professional Barber and the Owner of Juan's Barber Shop, a barbershop based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Juan has over 20 years of male grooming experience and over eight years of professional barber experience. He specializes in combovers, barber fades, and tapers and is focused on improving men's overall wellness.

Juan Sabino

Professional Barber

Expert Answer

First, get the hair as short as you can with a pair of clippers. Then, use soap to wash your face, making sure you lather it up well—that will soften the hair. Use your razor to shave with the grain, or in the same direction the hair is growing, then lather up again and shave against the grain if there are any spots where there's still hair.

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Things You’ll Need

Large towel
Paper towels
2 bowls
Electric trimmer
Razor
Shaving cream
Aftershave lotion
Vacuum cleaner

Tips

If you have good weather, can set up a good mirror, and aren’t shaving an area that’s too private, consider going outside. (This is a great option for haircuts as well.) After all, hair is biodegradable!^{[20]
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Warnings

If you choose to use a commercial drain cleaner to unclog a hair-filled drain, follow the safety instructions very carefully. The caustic chemicals can seriously harm your skin or eyes if a spill or splatter occurs, and inhaling the fumes can be very dangerous. Improper or excessive use can also damage your plumbing pipes.^{[21]
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