How to Shave Your Balls
If you're wondering how to shave your balls, you may have already made up your mind. But before you break out the razor, first, consider that nobody needs to shave your balls. You can be a perfectly well-groomed person even if your nutstack is au naturale.
Secondly, even if you want to get rid of some hair down there, full-on shaving your balls can be unnecessary when using a body hair trimer is far easier, far less risky, and yields more or less the same benefits. You can still get 90% of the smoothness with much less chance of ingrowns or an ER visit.
Still, we know plenty of guys want to put a razor on their jewels. No judgment, it’s your body, and we’ll be the first to agree that getting bowling-ball smooth down there feel great, so… we want to make sure that you do this as safely as possible.
How to Shave Your Balls1. Get the right tools
No cartridge razors, please. That ballsack skin is so delicate and free—you don’t want to risk it getting trapped between a stack of sharp blades. Instead, you need two tools for your soon-to-be-smooth tool: an electric trimmer and a safety razor.
An electric trimmer will snip the hair super close to the skin without breaking the surface, so that you get the appearance and general feeling of smoothness. Ball hair is typically fine, sparse, and flimsy, so you won’t feel the same stubble-like nature as if you shaved your pubes, pits, or beard.
Meridian below-the-belt trimmer$74
Amazon
A safety razor will minimize skin dragging and will tackle the shave with a single blade as opposed to 3-5 of them. You should probably learn how to shave with a safety razor (on your face, that is) before trying it on your balls. There is a method to doing it right, given the weighted handle and sharp blade.
OneBlade safety razor$30
Amazon
2. Pre-trim the area
You need to use a trimmer before you shave, in order to snip down the hairs to a short enough (read: shaveable enough) length. Aim for half a centimeter or so on the trim, so that they cooperate with the blade but don’t hinder its performance. It’s the same reason you can’t just tackle a beard with a razor; you need to trim it down first, in order to actually manage the shave. Don’t touch the trimmer to the skin if you can avoid it, and pull the skin taut as you trim.
3. Take a warm shower
Same as shaving your face, you need to warm up the scrotal skin and prepare it for a shave—using warm (but not hot!) water. This relaxes the skin and the hairs alike, and makes both more receptive to the blade, but in the case of your balls, it serves another important point: A shower warms and stimulates blood flow to the balls, so that they’re loose and flexible for your shave, instead of climbing up into your stomach as if it’s -20 degrees. Give the area a good wash, too.
4. Apply shave oil
Skip the pre-shave oil and the shaving cream, in favor of a standalone shave oil. You need something translucent so that you can track your progress and shave with precision. A shave oil will do the trick, and it’ll nourish the skin and soften the hair, prepping both for the blade. It’ll also make things a little slippery, so just remember to take things slow.
American Crew shave oil$14
Amazon
5. Pull the skin taut
We said this for the trimming, and we’ll emphasize it doubly so here: Pull the skin taut. Fan it out so that it is smooth and easy to trim. This will prevent any folds or ridges from getting snagged in the teeth of your trimmer, or from blocking the safety razor. Again, with shave oil on your junk, things can get slippery. That’s why you shouldn’t apply oil to the entire scrotum; leave some spots dry, then wash your hands and avoid getting oil on your fingers throughout the shave.
(May we remind you that it’s honestly, truly, just soooo much easier to trim the balls and leave it at that? Did we say that yet?)
6. Take it slow
Have you seen Sweeney Todd?
7. Rinse in cold water
Once you’re done, rinse your balls in cool water (a shower seems like the easiest solution here). This will close off the pores and minimize any ingrown hairs. (Can you imagine treating an ingrown hair on your balls? No thanks.)
8. Apply after-shave balm
Once you pat everything dry, apply a generous layer of after-shave balm or toning moisturizer to cool the skin and protect it from any bacteria buildup. This will also nourish the skin, while preventing irritation or burn—and it won’t sting like an astringent splash on the face. Best to choose an unscented, sensitive-skin pick for this product, for obvious reasons.
The Art of Shaving unscented aftershave balm$45
Amazon
Read MoreEverything You Need to Know About Groin Grooming10 essentials for keeping things clean and stink-free below the belt.
By Adam Hurly
Adam Hurly has been covering men's grooming since 2013 (and for GQ since 2016). He is also a travel writer. In Fall 2024, Adam is launching Blue Print by Adam Hurly, a men's grooming platform. Adam resides in Lisbon (previously Berlin, NYC, and San Francisco). He is a Sioux Falls, SD, native... Read moreWriterInstagramRelated Stories for GQGroomingShavingBody Hair