Whether it’s waxing, shaving, trimming or laser zapping, ladies are obsessed with removing their hair.
But the quest for baby soft skin doesn’t always run smooth and the reality of using a razor in the shower can make you work up a sweat.
Women have revealed the silly contortions they make while shaving in a bid to obtain the perfect supple finish.
Experts at Friction Free Shaving have now dubbed the beauty ritual shaving yoga, or “Shoga”, because it’s such a workout for your body.
The most popular pose is the “Shin Salutation” – where a woman stands on one straight leg, bends the other out in front and rests it on a ledge so she can shave it.
Meanwhile the “Crescent Loon” contortion came second, which involves a lady leaning back and twisting to try and shave the back of her legs.
In third place came “The Crab”, a move which sees the woman double over to shave her bikini line and upper thighs, sometimes resulting in a bum-toning squat position.
The eye-popping poses were revealed in a study of more than 2,500 women by Friction Free Shaving, the world’s first shaving club for women, in partnership with publishing house Northern & Shell.
Friction Free Shaving aims to get honest about the hair removal process by admitting it has its challenges, like uncomfortable body flexes.
But to make things go a little smoother, the company has launched the world’s first shaving subscription service for women and posts out premium (yet affordable) razors to ladies every month.
Briar Keen, Co-founder & CMO of Friction Free Shaving, said: “For most women, the daily shave is a far less sensual affair than it appears on the small screen.
“It involves twisting, turning, stretching, bending and balancing to reach hairs all the way from our toes to our armpits.
“We wanted to talk openly about this for once, to remove some of the taboos around women’s shaving and to have a bit of fun along the way.”
Jonathan Bown, Head of Commercial Content at Northern & Shell’s branded content division Brew, added: “Creating this campaign in close partnership with FFS has allowed us to showcase the full scale of Brew's creative capabilities across print, digital and social.
“Friction Free Shaving is one of a growing number of Media for Equity partners we work with here at N&S, but the client's enthusiasm for the #Shoga concept has been infectious and really helped us build on their initial creative ideas.
“The light-hearted tone of the campaign will hopefully resonate with women everywhere – whether they’re Flamingos or Crescent Loons.”
Here are the top 10 Shoga poses:
1. Shin Salutation: Where you stand on one straight leg, bend the other out in front and rest it on a ledge (often the side of the bath tub) so you can shave it (27%)
2. Crescent Loon: where you lean back and twist around trying to shave the back of your calves or thighs (14%)
3. The Crab: Where you bend over double (often squatting but not always!) to shave your bikini line and upper thighs (12%)
4. Seated Shaving Bend: Where you sit on the floor of the shower to shave - legs straight out in front or with one bent (aka the lazy girl shave) (11%)
5. The Bowing Pose: Where you stand with your back leg bent and your front leg stretched out straight in front (as if you’re about to do a big dramatic bow) so you can shave the front calf of your straight leg (8%)
6. The Flamingo: where you (try to) balance on one leg as you try to shave the other in front of you (7%)
7. Toe to Thigh Triangle: Where you reach from your ankle all the way to your thighs in one long stroke (6%)
8. Cobbler Pose: Where you sit on the floor of the shower with your feet together, knees out to the side to shave the sides of your legs and maybe your bikini too (6%)
9. Feet & Ankle Bend: Where you stand bent over double to shave your ankles and toes (5%)
10. Standing Knee Shave: Where hug one of your legs to your chest so you can shave your knee (4%)
More on Friction Free Shaving here