What Happens To Your Skin When You Shave Every Day

Whether it's your face, legs, or armpits, odds are shaving is probably part of your grooming routine. There are many different opinions and myths out there about shaving and what it does to your skin or hair. But how often you shave will typically depend on if you prefer a clean-shaven or more scruffy look.

Shaving daily can have its perks aside from achieving your desired look. When done correctly, shaving can act as an exfoliant to remove dead skin cells and increase your collagen production (via How Stuff Works). If you plan to shave daily, you should be mindful of your skin and monitor it for irritation.

But you probably don't need to shave daily, and it may be wise to give your skin a day or two to heal in between shaves. Exfoliating daily via your razor can leave your skin red and raw, which can turn into razor rash and painful ingrown hairs (via Fabric).

Shaving too often and improperly may also cause itching, redness, and small white pimples — or folliculitis. This occurs when bacteria gets into your hair follicles, according to How Stuff Works. The condition typically goes away on its own, but in the meantime it can be irritating to say the least.

No matter how often you shave, following some best practices of shaving can give you a closer, cleaner, and less painful shave. Specific tips can be applied to different parts of the body, but the general guidelines are to hydrate your skin with shave gel or cream before shaving, exfoliate your skin to get a closer shave, and shave the direction of your hair growth (via Healthline). You also want to avoid sharing razors, don't shave over irritated skin or wounded areas, and replace your razor often.

If you do need to shave daily for whatever reason, be sure to be gentle with your razor and stay within the grain of your hair, according to Fabric. You could also consider a trimmer, which won't give you as close of a shave but will avoid some of that irritation that a razor can bring.