Magazine Health Books. To send a link and summary of this article to a friend, click here . So the last thing that you want is to whisk the razor over your legs and raise up an ugly red rash. Unfortunately, a lot of women do just that when they shave incorrectly. The redness is a normal response to tissue injury.
Blood flow increases to the area to heal the wound, and blood vessels dilate and become red.
Razor burn is hard to get rid of, says Patricia Farris Walters, M.D., clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Dermatology. Every time you shave again, you re-irritate your skin. If that's not your preferred option, women doctors offer these tips for taking the redness and itching out of shaving. Reach for hydrocortisone. Reduce embarrassing redness by immediately applying a dab of 1 percent hydrocortisone cream to the area after you shave.