A proper shave starts with warm water (looking at all you dry shavers out there) and then an application of your fave gel or cream. Make your first pass on your skin move in the direction of hair growth (this especially applies to sensitive areas like your face or bikini line). Then, rinse your razor before continuing, explains Ploch.

Overall, you’re trying to minimize the number of passes you have to do with your razor. If you’re going over the same spot multiple times, the more likely your skin will be angry after. “Irritation is most often caused by shaving with a dull razor, using multiple passes, and shaving in the direction against hair growth,” says Dr. Ploch.

If you’re ready for smooth skin that isn’t angry the next day, there are a couple of features to keep in mind when you’re perusing your local store or the online aisles of Amazon:

Number of blades

Surprisingly, more blades don’t necessarily equal a better shave. “Multi-blade razors are designed to minimize how many passes someone needs to achieve a clean shave,” explains Ploch. Her golden number is three, and she adds that five-blade razors may even leave you with more irritation and cuts.

Electric vs. traditional

Extra sensitive skin? Ploch recommends trying an electric razor. It may help ease some of your irritation, since they glide more easily over skin than blades that often scrape and can leave behind nicks and cuts.

Moisturizing strip

While it’s not hurting your shave, a moisturizing strip isn’t necessarily doing a lot to help it either. If you’re using a shave gel or cream already, most of the moisturizing action will come from that. So, don’t feel like you need to break the bank on razors that charge more for a moisturizing strip.