Before shaving the face, women should follow these steps:

1. Cleanse: Wash your face to remove any dirt or makeup before you shave to prevent skin irritation and infection if you get scratched by your razor blade.

2. Exfoliate: Gently exfoliate or scrub your face to prevent ingrown hairs by removing dead skin cells that can block cut hairs from breaking through the surface of your skin.

3. Hydrate: Pat your face with warm water or hold a warm, damp washcloth to your skin for about three minutes before you shave. This will help soften the hair follicles and allow the hairs to be cut more easily.

4. Apply shaving gel: Shaving gel helps retain moisture and helps the razor blade to glide smoothly across your face. Applying a pre-shave lotion like aloe vera or a shaving cream makes your shaving experience seamless. Besides, it also helps reveal where you have shaved already so you can avoid re-shaving over that patch and irritating your skin further.

5. Shave: Shave in short, light strokes in the direction of hair growth.

6. Rinse and moisturize: After shaving, rinse your face and moisturize immediately. Shaving removes skin oils so re-hydrating post-shave helps prevent dry itchy skin.