First time poster so sorry if this is in the wrong place...

I am a 23 year old Male and recently new and open to crossdressing, and I have recently started shaving my legs, which is something I have always wanted to do since I have (or had) extremely long and thick leg hair which was really noticeable and embarrassing...
I have been shaving them for about a month and I love it, will never go back to having hair on them, my problem is...! They are not as nice looking as I am hoping. They are very smooth as I use Shea Butter and Aloe Vera lotion daily, so no problem in the smoothness department, my main problem are razor bumps, ingrown hairs, and dark spots. It's still cold enough here where I regularly wear pants (and fleece lined tights underneath them, omg they are so soft! Especially on freshly shaven legs! Why did no one ever tell me this!?) so it's not like everyone is looking at them (right now).
I usually shave once the hair gets about 1mm long so it's not like im shaving daily or even every other day to irritate my skin that bad. I have bought a Venus Razor with the blades for sensitive skin and those seem to do no good and have actually went back to using my Male razor as that actually seems to irritate my skin a little less and cause a lot less razor bumps, along with getting a closer shave, but I am still getting a few razor bumps and ingrown hairs after shaving, which has been a problem since day 1.
I am looking for ANY advice to get my legs looking just a little more clearer looking before short (and possibly this year even skirt) weather, as I really hate the few (but still to many) red bumps which pop up around them, and the dark spots (which are basically everywhere my hair was) that are more noticeable then I want them to be.
I would like to note that I live in a small town and pretty much only have access to stuff like a Walgreens, Walmart, or Meijer and prefer to not have to buy something online, so any recommendations I would prefer to be able to purchase there.
I would appreciate any help as I don't know what I am doing wrong and not sure what to fix! Thanks!

Welcome to Susan's! Good to see you here. You'll find a diverse and awesome community of people to share experiences and thoughts with.

Have you tried using plain hair conditioner on your legs when you shave? I find that that helps more than shaving cream at getting a smoother, clean shave.

Furthermore, I would recommend honestly epilating. Sure, it's gonna be painful, but it spares the bumps and it lasts a lot longer than a single shave will. Growing back stubble will be less intense as well.

I used to shave my legs, but almost committed suicide.  I also tried Nair etc., but didn't care for it.  I then used an epilator for a while, but eventually went with laser.  I've been happy with the results.

I forgot to mention I use Shea Butter + Warm Water to shave. Alls I do is get some water and lather up my legs to get them wet, then put an excess amount of Shea Butter lotion on them, this creates a "thicker than normal" coating of lotion on them legs, and with a wet and warm razor it glides right over my skin and gets a nice and smooth clean shave. It actually feels a lot less painful than when I was using shaving gel, unsure if that just made my skin really dry (as I have really sensitive skin pretty much everywhere, I shave my chest as well and hoping the information I gather for my legs I can use to help why shaving my chest as well) or if I was doing it wrong, but the Lotion + Water has been working good for me. I will have to try the hair conditioner though, as I recently ran out and havn't bother picking up more yet.
I have actually never heard of epilating... I tried waxing my legs once (and used to regularly wax my chest (which I imagine is a little more painful) before I ran out of strips) and the pain was not that bad at all, my problem was that even with the hair being over 1mm long, the waxing strips (don't REALLY want to invest in actually wax as I prefer the strips) were not gripping the hair and after pulling the strip off I looked like I was a dalmatian of hair... Have you got any recommendations on or tips on epilating as I have never done it... I would just soon get rid of the hair for good but laser will never be my thing and like I said before waxing didn't like to grip everything. So something that lasts longer than shaving is a + for me.

QuoteHave you got any recommendations on or tips on epilating as I have never done it...

Well, you'll have to get an epilator.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=epilator&ie=UTF-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=N4b2WPSOI-zCjwS9zprgAg

They're not hard to use, but it hurts the first few times you use one.  Then, it becomes easier, as there's less hair to pull out.  It's just a matter of running it over the area you want to remove the hair from.

So it basically has the same effect as waxing, it just basically grabs each hair at a time and pulls them out? I can see where it would be a little more painful than waxing as it's like pulling each hair out individually rather than a large amount in 1 go, but hey, im willing to give it a try. This will help will the ingrown hairs (and hopefully) the dark spots right, and if it's like waxing, it will thin the hair overtime?
I will definitely be picking one up tomorrow on my way home from work! Same lotion (Shea Butter + Aloe Vera) can be used right? I would imagine so... Is it best to do it before or after a shower? And I would also imagine the hair has to be quite long for it to work properly as well...

No, you want your skin to be dry.  Lotions etc, will act as a lubricant, making it more difficult to pull the hair out.

Stop shaving for a while to let your skin heal. Exfoliate with salicic acid body wash every few days to help clear up the ingrowns. Buy a bodygroomer and use that without an attachment once your skin heals. Using this you should be able to get smooth enough. Then carefully shave with a razor.

The BEST method I have found to shaving any part of the body (including genitalia area) without a spot of ingrown hairs is using extra virgin coconut oil. It's like $4.99 for a jar, and you need maybe a teaspoon per leg (depending on size).

Lubrication is the ultimate key for no razor bumps, which is why i stopped using shaving creams. No matter how much they advertised lubrication, they dried my skin out. I'm pale and have oily/combo skin that's incredibly sensitive.   

Take a shower and wait till the end to shave. The warm water and steam with soften the skin and hairs to where there is no razor pulling. Of course, don't fall when using coconut oil in the shower! lol

Exfoliate exfoliate exfoliate...can't say that enough. It will help with the red bumps and ingrown hairs plus it makes your skin feel so much better . I use an epilator on my legs, butt, arms and underarms. Some on my belly but can't take the pain on my breasts completely. Would not use anything else on my legs now. Love how they feel!

Quote from: MrTravisL on April 18, 2017, 05:01:40 PM
So it basically has the same effect as waxing, it just basically grabs each hair at a time and pulls them out? I can see where it would be a little more painful than waxing as it's like pulling each hair out individually rather than a large amount in 1 go, but hey, im willing to give it a try. This will help will the ingrown hairs (and hopefully) the dark spots right, and if it's like waxing, it will thin the hair overtime?
I will definitely be picking one up tomorrow on my way home from work! Same lotion (Shea Butter + Aloe Vera) can be used right? I would imagine so... Is it best to do it before or after a shower? And I would also imagine the hair has to be quite long for it to work properly as well...

Actually unlike waxing, which rips hair out in the opposite direction leading to snapping and ingrown hairs, epilation removes hair in the direction of growth.  Plus it doesn't damage the skin like waxing and isn't as sketchy or costly as using creams!  Ever since i switched to epilators my hair has become so fine and so scarce than i only have to epilate once or twice a month!  Here are some tips and suggestions!


1) Invest in a GOOD wet/dry as it will help you adjust greatly and gives you the option to use it in the shower Personal recommendation is the Braun Silk-épil 9 9-579.
It may seem steep but they give you a shave and trimmer head which works great on stubborn hair like armpits or groin.  Plus it comes with a spinning facial brush for washing your face which is pretty cool alternative to the vanity planet one!

2) Avoid coffee for a day or so before hand.

3) try taking an aspirin of some kind OR drink a glass of wine or two BUT DO NOT DO BOTH AT ONCE!!!!

4) exfoliate before and after to loosen the skin around the hair and prevent ingrown hairs.

5) use a good lotion!!

6)make sure to go slow as fast movements may just snap the hair rather than remove it

7)keep your skin pulled tight!

Now the way i got myself ready for epilation was a little bit of a process
Step 1: trim hair down to recommended size using the trimmer head
Step 2: Took an aleeve before hand
Step 3: scrubbed my skin the shower and the broke out the epilator
Step 4 I started on a pretty bare spot on my leg which was near my shins and then slowly worked towards the hairier sections which is way better than jumping straight into a full patch of fuzz.
Step 5:  After the shower I dried off completely and finished off with a dry session.
Step 6: apply lotion and avoid friction.

Now it may take once or twice a week to actually get all the hair since it comes in cycles but the more you do it the better!  Also about the third time I was able to jump straight into dry epilation without wine or an aspirin (but i never turn down a glass of wine )  I can even do my armpits without flinching!

Hope this helps!
-xoxo