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Seven steps will give you the smoothest bikini line shave this summer – you’re probably using the wrong razor to start
WHETHER you’re soaking up the sun if your garden or planning a summer trip, it’s time to whip out your bikini.
And thanks to these handy steps, you can get the smoothest shave before you sunbathe.
If it feels impossible to shave your bikini line without causing unsightly bumps or ingrown hairs, don’t fret.
A former swimmer has revealed the process she swears by for “the perfect bikini shave”.
TikTok user Emily Guebs (@emilyguebs) shared her wisdom for a smooth finish in a video that has amassed 2.4 million views.
She explained that she does not wax, laser, or sugar her bikini line but still receives compliments on the smooth finish.
The first step of the process she has mastered is ensuring her bikini line is the last part of her body she shaces.
According to Emily, this “gives the follicles time to soften up in the warm water”.
She also advised her audience to designate a specific razor for that area to “eliminate spreading infection”.
And as for the type of razor you should opt for, the TikToker said she was surprised by what works best.
“I’ve been using cheap razors forever, as long as you’re using one that is staying in a clean and dry environment and you’re cleaning it regularly, I really don’t think you have to use a super nice razor,” she said.
She discussed the best direction for shaving to prevent irritation, explaining that it should always be “sideways and down, not up”.
And the steps you take after shaving prove to be just as important in perfecting a smooth bikini line.
Emily recommended rinsing the are with cold water before patting it dry with a towel.
According to the TikToker, you should never rub a freshly shaved area dry.
Finally, she revealed her “biggest game changer” tip, which is to spread a pea-sized amount of antiseptic cream across the area.
Emily’s followers shared their thoughts on the beauty advice in the comments section.
Seven steps for a smooth bikini line
- Shave your bikini line last
- Designate a specific razor for your bikini line
- Cheap razors are fine as long as they are cleaned and dried after each use
- Shave sideways and down, not up
- Rinse with cold water
- Pat dry with a towel, don’t rub
- Apply anitseptic cream to the area
“Adds antiesptic cream to beach shopping list,” wrote one TikTok user.
“Heavy on the don’t need an expensive razor! I tried out a five blade there and gave me razor bumps,” said another viewer.
“This is the first time I’ve not heard to exfoliate the area,” commented a third person.
“OMG, antiseptic cream, that’s f**king genius,” wrote another impressed follower.
“These tips are all so good and apply to shaving other areas too,” pointed out one viewer.
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New larger Child Benefit payments plan with extra top-up rate on €140 cash for families with three or more kids
FAMILIES with three or more children could soon be receiving larger Child Benefit payments under new plans being examined by the Government.
The move is being looked at to try and boost birth rates, it has been reported.
This week, Taoiseach Micheal Martin confirmed that the Government is considering a second-tier Child Benefit payment targeted at poorer families in a bid to combat child poverty.
The €140 flat payment will still be paid to everyone, regardless of income.
The €140 payment per child is currently the same regardless of the number of children in the family.
However, a higher top-up rate could also be paid for the third and subsequent children to encourage more births.
A policy paper is currently being worked on to set out the options ahead of the budget.
Other areas being examined to reduce child poverty levels are payments for children of primary-school age, lone parents, working families on low incomes and children with disabilities.
The Taoiseach has also pointed to initiatives such as free school meals, free schoolbooks, childcare subsidies and broader social welfare payments, such as the Working Family Payment (formerly Family Income Supplement) and the Child Support Payment.
He said: “We are looking at a range of measures, in respect of the next budget, to bring down child poverty.”
Child Benefit payments are universal, and are paid to parents regardless of their income – but it has risen by less than €10 in the last 20 years.
The monthly payment for a first child was €131.60 in 2004 and stands at €140 now, just six per cent higher.
CHILD BENEFIT PAYMENT DATES
THERE are five Child Benefit payments left in the year.
- July 1
- August 5 – may be paid early due to August Bank Holiday
- September 2
- October 7
- November 4
The Child Benefit rate reached €166 during the Celtic Tiger era, but was reduced during the recession to its current rate.
Research by the State’s economic think tank looked at the effect of bringing in a second tier of Child Benefit to address child poverty, at a cost of €800m.
NO SUMMER DOUBLE CHILD BENEFIT BOOST
A DOUBLE €280 August Child Benefit promised by Fine Gael leader Simon Harris last year is unlikely to hit the accounts of the over 650,000 Irish families who benefit from the boost.
In November 2024, then Taoiseach Simon Harris proposed a permanent double Child Benefit payment every August in a bid to gain votes from hard-pressed families.
In a post on Instagram, he said: “A double child benefit payment every August to help parents with costs, particularly around the costs of schools and the additional costs parents often face over the summer.
“Please share to spread the word. I need your support for Fine Gael so I can get on with delivering on this agenda.”
However, his proposed August double payment is unlikely to happen.
When asked this month if the double August Child Benefit is being considered, the Department of Social Protection confirmed that the boost is not outlined in the Programme for Government.
Katie McCabe shares loved up snaps with girlfriend Caitlin Foord during ‘beautiful week with beautiful people’ in Ibiza
KATIE McCABE and her long-time girlfriend Caitlin Foord looked loved up as they jetted off to Ibiza for a well-earned holiday.
The Arsenal duo were joined by some of their teammates – both club and respective countries – for an end of season trip.
Republic of Ireland international McCabe shared a host of pics from the holiday to Instagram, labelling the holiday a “beautiful week with beautiful people”.
Alongside a pic of her with her beloved partner, she shared pics with the likes of fellow Ireland stars Jessie Stapleton and Grace Moloney.
It was a well-earned getaway after what was a relentless and hectic end of the club and international campaign for the Dubliner.
On May 24, she and Arsenal shocked Barcelona to win the Champions League final.
The Gunners enjoyed the celebrations afterwards, with McCabe taking centre stage at the Emirates Stadium homecoming.
However, less than a week later, she was back in Ireland camp for the Nations League double header against Turkey and Slovenia.
McCabe was Player of the Match in the former, just six days after her Champions League heroics, but lashed out at the football calendar in the build-up to the latter.
The 29-year-old insisted: “It’s the whole calendar. I don’t know who’s in charge of it but it definitely needs to be looked at.
“What it will create over time, and we’ve already seen it in recent years, is burnout in players and major injuries.
“You’ve got world-class players that will be sitting out tournaments through injuries. We don’t want to see that.
“We want the best players in the world playing at tournaments on the biggest stage. I just hope it doesn’t cause too much more harm to us as players going forward.
“Like what we had to do last year, all through the summer, where you’re finishing a season and you’ve to kind of rest but kind of keep fit for the next block of games.
“It’s hard mentally and physically, from a periodisation point of view, to do that. So the timing of the fixtures needs to be looked at.”
The workload has taken its toll, with McCabe being left out of the Ireland squad for a pair of summer friendlies against the USA.
Head coach Carla Ward said: “Katie has played a lot of minutes for club and country.
“She’s on the verge of burnout, as are some others. There’s going to be conversations. It won’t just be Katie that won’t be travelling.”
And Ward believes it is a more widespread issue in football.
She cited her own decision to step away from former club Aston Villa — and England ace Millie Bright’s call to pull out of the recent England squad — due to burnout.
The Ireland boss added: “It’s a difficult one. You’ve seen it with Millie Bright at England coming out. The mental and physical fatigue is just massive.
“I felt it at Villa. It’s the reason I needed a break. It’s a tough place to be and I think there’s a lot of players close to it.
“They’ve played a lot of minutes, so we have to protect them. We’ll support anybody that needs a break.”
Jack Conan solely focused on British and Irish Lions duty just days after URC glory with Leinster
WITH precious little time between lifting the URC trophy and linking up with the Lions, Jack Conan made sure to worry more about care of the dog than the hair of the dog.
Along with the retiring Cian Healy and the injured Caelan Doris — for whom he stood in as team captain — Conan raised Leinster’s long-awaited latest piece of silverware last Saturday at Croke Park after the 32-7 final victory over the Bulls.
This was cause for celebration but with Conan being one of 12 Blues players selected in the Lions squad for the upcoming trip to Australia, there was never going to be a huge amount of time for him to bask in URC glory.
While he did not feature against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium last night, he was in UCD yesterday morning as a number of Lions players hosted a training session for 90 schoolchildren from right across Ireland.
And pressed on how much time he had to enjoy his province’s success, the back-row ace said: “The afterglow went pretty quickly on Monday morning when you had to pack up for the next eight weeks of your life.
“We had a great few days, it was nice. A few pints on Sunday as well early doors, which was good. I felt fresh enough on Monday morning.
“I had to go down to Bray at seven in the morning to get the dog. I was home early, so I was being wise.
“Monday was good. We didn’t have much to do. We just came in, met everyone and got our gear.
“We had a proper runout here on Tuesday, which was soul-searching stuff. We had to run out the demons.
“You’d love to be playing against Argentina, but it is what it is. Everyone has been training away for the last week without us, so hopefully get a run out soon.”
Just a few short months before starting all three Tests that the Lions played during their tour of South Africa in 2021, Wicklow native Conan was in the Leinster side for their PRO14 final win over arch rivals Munster at the RDS.
That was the last major title the Blues got their hands on until they collected the URC crown last weekend so Conan, 32, will hope for the same again as he looks to follow up a trophy in blue with a big summer in red.
There are still some question marks over whether the 2024-25 season will be deemed a success or a failure for Leinster given their latest Champions Cup bid ended in a shock semi-final loss to Northampton Saints at the Aviva Stadium.
Yet even though he acknowledges their defeat to the English Premiership outfit was a difficult one to take, Conan stressed any campaign that sees a team winning a trophy ought to be regarded as a satisfactory one.
He added: “I think any season where you win something can never be deemed a failure.
“Obviously we want to go well in both competitions. I think if it hadn’t been for the performance against Northampton . . . even if we had lost that game but we performed really well, I don’t think people would have said much about it.
“The problem is when you are winning most of the time, it papers over cracks a little bit, so we had to have a good hard look at ourselves.
“You get to win a trophy in Croke Park with all your mates.
“At the end of the day, I would have taken that.
“I definitely wouldn’t say it was a failure but there’s definitely more in this club and in the lads.
“Hopefully a big few years still now ahead of us.”
‘I’m dreading it’, says RTE star Daithi O’Se as he shares worries about raising teenager in ‘social media age’
RTE star Daithi O’Se has lifted the lid on his experience with parenting a pre-teen in the age of social media.
The Today Show host and his wife Rita welcomed their son Ogie back in 2014 – and the youngster just celebrated his 11th birthday.
Daithi and Rita recently told how their entire life “revolves” around their young lad.
The Kerry native told RSVP: “He has a busier schedule than I have. It’s great craic, but it’s also tiring.”
The popular presenter expressed his shock at how fast his son is growing up in front of him.
He said: “It’s crazy. He only has one more year left in primary school and then he’s on to secondary school. You’re thinking, ‘Holy crap, how did that happen?'”
However, raising a pre-teen comes with its struggles, and Daithi opened up about his concerns surrounding social media usage.
The 49-year-old said: “People say that kids are so fast these days and they’re way better than us when it comes to devices, but that’s not good enough.
“We have to be better than them and we have to know what they’re doing.
“If you don’t understand phones then go and learn about them. You have to educate yourself and you have to educate them.”
Both Daithi and Rita are skeptical about giving Ogie a phone and admitted they monitor all of his screen time.
The Irish host added: “It’s hard for kids because the phone is so important and they’re everywhere. Everyone records everything, so you can’t make a mistake.”
And Daithi revealed that he is “dreading” the moment his son gets his first phone.
The host admitted that there is “so much pressure” on parents to protect their child from social media.
This comes after Daithi revealed he got the “kick in the behind” that he needed to lose wight.
The presenter kick started the year with a new health routine and it definitely has paid off.
Daithi has revealed his whopping weight loss results after just a few months of eating healthy and going to the gym.
‘I’M IN A GOOD PLACE’
The star told RSVP: “I’ve been going to the gym since Christmas and I’m down over a stone. I sit in a car for four hours a day before sitting in a TV studio and going to bed, so I had to start moving.
“I was getting to a stage where I had to start doing something and then I got into a really good routine. I only do about half an hour in the gym and then I sit in the sauna for 30 minutes afterwards.
“I take a cold shower after that. I have gotten the kick in the behind that I really needed.
“I don’t kill myself. I do 10 minutes on the bike and then I do 15 of whatever is in front of me weights wise along with my stretches before the sauna. I’m in and out, washed, dried and cleaned, in an hour.”
Daithi has explained that getting older contributed to him wanting to be healthier.
He said: “Well, I’m 49 this month and I’ll be 50 next year, so that’s on my mind. I know I need to mind myself.
“I try it a few times a year, but this is the first time I’ve continued with it and I’m really enjoying it. I’m in a really good place.”
Paul Mescal spotted on date with Gracie Abrams ahead of her Glastonbury set next week
IT seems that actor Paul Mescal and singer Gracie Abrams are enjoying some low-key dates before heading to Glastonbury Festival next week.
I can reveal that the pair have been making the most of the heatwave in London by having picnics in North London’s Highbury Fields this week.
An onlooker said: “Paul and Gracie were definitely making the most of the warm weather by hanging out with pals in the park.
“Paul was bounding around the park and clearly loving the long summer nights.
“But it was a bit awkward when Paul forgot his bottle opener and had to ask a nearby group if he could use one to open his drink.
“They looked super loved-up and Paul couldn’t resist taking a picture of the sunset on his phone to capture the moment.”
Gracie is set to play the Other Stage at Glasto next week – and it looks like her No1 supporter will be her boyfriend Paul.
The couple were first linked in June 2024 when they were snapped having a romantic dinner date at celebrity haunt BRAT Restaurant in London.
Their picnics and drinks in the park come after Paul was ordered to lose some muscle and put on some fat for his next role.
Paul will play Sir Paul McCartney in the upcoming Beatles biopic – and The Sun recently revealed the hunky Gladiator II star has been told to go on a Normal People diet.
An insider said: “Obviously there weren’t really gyms around in the Sixties.
“The Beatles weren’t dead-lifting between gigs.
“Macca was always pretty lean and flexible — he has always been really into yoga — but this is a very different aesthetic to that of a burly gladiator, and Paul has been keeping his body pretty ripped, even after filming stopped.
“Sir Paul McCartney is also famously a vegetarian, whereas Paul mainly lives on a high protein steak, chicken and eggs diet.
“There also weren’t whey protein shakes back in the Beatles’ day.”
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