How to shave your legs - TV first
You’re 13, you are in your bathroom looking at the hair sprouting from your legs, you reach for your mum's used disposable razor, hitch your leg on the side of the bath, and begin to shave your legs for the first time. You’re convinced you’ve got this; you’ve seen it on TV and in magazines, you know what to do, how hard can it be? You begin to shave up from the ankle to knee in one long stroke, it seems to be going ok, but then you nick your skin, ouch! You carry on regardless, long strokes adding pressure to get a close shave, blissfully unaware of the problem you are causing your poor legs!
Stop right there! You are about to teach yourself a lifetime of bad habits! You may not know it because it’s all you have ever been shown, but you have already committed at least 3 shaving sins. Sin no more friends, we are here to be your shaviour, and show you the correct way to shave, because yep, you guessed it, even those TV ads have been doing it wrong.
It’s not your fault, razors have been sold this way for years, you know the TV ads we are talking about. The ones with pristine models and their super long toned glossy legs, that are likely waxed or have had laser hair removal anyway, shaving their nonexistent hair from ankle to knee, and promising the smoothest shave ever.
FFS is here to change this, we recently filmed our new TV ad, and once again we are breaking down the stigma around shaving and the misinformation surrounding women’s shaving. Back in 2015, we had our ads banned from Facebook for showing ‘implied female nudity’, you can see what all the fuss was about here. We were also one of the first to show real hair being shaved in our advertising. C’mon, it’s a razor, designed for hair removal, why wouldn’t you?
As with many things throughout life we learn from our family, peers, TV & magazines. As a responsible female-first brand we feel it’s our duty to inform our audience correctly and guide them in the best ways to use our products that’s why we wanted to create this TV ad.
Behind the TV ad concept
We caught up with our brand manager, Ange Degville to find out where the creative idea for our TV ad came from.
“I had always shaved my legs in an upwards direction, it’s how I used to see my mum shave and how the glossy legs in 90’s TV ads were shaved, it was even represented on the razor packaging I used to buy, so it was all I have known. I started to work for FFS 6 months ago and as part of my research I stumbled across an Instagram post from influencer & Esthetician @joannajkenny, It was a complete surprise to me when I learned that we are shaving wrong, and when I saw the correct way it made so much sense. This led me to think about how women’s shaving is represented in media, and I wanted to do something to change this.” – Ange Degville, Brand Manager
After years of being told to shave one way we know it’s going to be difficult for people to accept this may not be the best way for them, we don’t expect everyone to change their shaving habits, what you do may be working for you already, we are all for you doing what makes you feel good! Shave, or don’t shave, shave downwards, shave upwards, put it in a braid, it's entirely up to you, you know your body best! What we as a brand want to do is give you the information and tools to make the best decision for you, and to make at least one of your daily routines as fuss-free as possible.
When & where can we see the ad?
Our TV ad is going to air from 4th July on ITV Hub during Love Island, listen out for the Love Island references! It’s clear the FFS marketing team are big fans of the show! Catch our shaving ad here or watch the video below.
“As well as shaving the ‘correct way’ we had another important message to tell with our ad: that shaving is personal to you and for YOU only. If you choose to shave you should do it for yourself, because you enjoy the feeling of smooth skin, and not for a special occasion, someone else, or a date! Shaving is a personal choice we just aim to give you the tools and knowledge to do it well. “ - Ange Degville, Brand Manager.
On the set
This is a behind-the-scenes look at our TV ad shoot with Reels In Motion, the experts in film/video. They captured our vision of showing how to shave your legs correctly for TV. Here are some of our favourite behind-the-scenes pictures from the shoot.
Our amazing actress and model @anabella_king in makeup preparing for a long day of filming.
Scene one touch-ups, and it gets glowy under those lights.
The money shot! Shaving real hair, the correct way.
That’s a wrap, is it time for bed yet?
Want to shop the ad?
You can trial the FFS womens razor starter kit for just £4.95, worth £24.68 sign up here.
What do you get? A luxury weighted reusable handle, so you can say goodbye to plastic disposables once and for all and have a razor that seamlessly matches your bathroom. 2 super sharp long-lasting diamond-coated titanium blades, and a matching shower holder to keep your razor high and dry between uses. All this is delivered to your door, and recurring blades at a frequency to suit you, be that once a month or every 3 months the choice is yours, plus you can easily skip, swap, and cancel whenever you need to.
Want to upgrade your shave and immerse yourself in the full FFS shaving experience then add our 3 step shaving system to your basket, step is our smooth exfoliator that lifts away dead skin cells and reduces the risk of ingrown hairs, Step 2, our remove shave cream with a silky transparent texture that adds a protective moisturising barrier and lastly Step 3, our soothing post-shave balm packed with nourishing ingredients to leave your skin soft and hydrated.
