This Is My Shower Secret For The Softest, Smoothest Knees & Thighs 

The way you remove hair (should you even choose to remove it at all) is entirely up to your preference, whether you wax, tweeze, sugar, or shave. Personal grooming choices are, well, personal.

As someone who often resorts to a low-maintenance routine ("everything" shower? Don't know her), I tend to opt for whatever method will get me in and out of the bathroom, stat, so I can get on with the rest of my day. Most of the time, that means a haphazard shave resulting in a smattering of cuts and scrapes—until I started relying on this skin-smoothing hack. 

OK, I'm not exactly reinventing the wheel here. Plenty of people choose to use a body scrub before shaving; in fact, experts agree that pre-shave exfoliation is always a good idea, no matter which part of the body you're shaving. 

"Gentle exfoliation can help [loosen] the free edge of hairs that may be trapped under the skin," board-certified dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, M.D., once told mbg. "This can give you a smoother shave and lower the likelihood of razor bumps or irritation." And on a practical level: Your razor will have an easier time removing hair without a film of dead skin cells blocking the area. 

The difference here is that I don't rinse off the body scrub before grabbing my razor; I'm using it in place of shaving cream to simultaneously exfoliate the surface and provide a smooth glide. (I told you I'm impatient!) Some clever folks have dubbed this tip "exfoliarizing," since it both rids dead skin cells and provides a layer of protection between the blade and the skin—I just call it a streamlined shower trick. 

Of course, the body scrub you use can make or break your results. Grab a gritty scrub with large, sharp granules and you'll likely scrape your skin, not to mention clog your razor blades. No, you'll want to use a finely milled scrub (like one with fruit seeds or sugar) infused with moisture-replenishing oils to buffer against irritation.

And don't forget about post-shower hydration, either: Exfoliating then shaving without repairing the skin barrier is a recipe for dryness and crepey skin later on. "Remember that shaving is an interaction between the blade, the hair, and skin itself," notes Zeichner, meaning it's crucial to soothe and nourish the skin after dragging a razor over it.