Anyone who shaves their pubic hair regularly dreads the chafing and irritated bumps that can crop up when their sensitive skin is exposed to the rough-and-tumble world. We've all got a few options for protecting our sensitive skin---we can leave the hair there. But if we feel sexier when shorn? Well, we can protect our skin with oil or lotion, but those leave residue on underwear and leave us with a greasy feeling. The other option is a powder lubricant, like Coochy After Shave Protection Powder, from Classic Erotica's Body Boudoir line.

Using a protection powder allows your skin to glide smoothly against other skin (your own or anyone else's), preventing chafing and irritation by giving a little dry lubricant that doesn't feel oily or stain your clothes. Coochy After Shave Protection Powder has only a light, gender-neutral powder scent, and is easy to apply with the included "Fluffy Puff Applicator".

Coochy After Shave Protection Powder is a simple blend of dry lubricants. Mica is a sparkly mineral that naturally cleaves into flat sheets, so when crushed up into a fine powder the sheets glide across each other easily. The mica in this powder is so finely-ground that there is no glitter effect. Boron nitride is a compound extremely similar to graphite (but non-staining)---it, like mica, has a molecular shape that slips and slides easily, reducing resistance and letting your skin glide easily. Zinc stearate is a water-repelling zinc soap which also acts as a lubricant---magicians doing card tricks lubricate their cards with zinc stearate. Silica you're probably already familiar with as the hygroscopic agent that keeps new shoes and beef jerky from absorbing ambient water. It serves the same purpose here, and also contributes to the free slide of the powder. Aloe barbadensis leaf juice powder is a botanical soothing agent. Zinc oxide (CI 77947), aka calamine, is used commonly in salves and other barrier protectants such as baby powder and diaper rash creams for its antibacterial abilities. Fragrance speaks for itself---Coochy After Shave Protection Powder smells exactly how I would expect a powder to smell---grandmotherly or sports clinic-y (it reminds me of white athletic tape, actually)---but not overpowering, and you don't smell it through clothes.

None of the ingredients of Coochy After Shave Protection Powder (except Fragrance) are common allergens or have any side effects that I'm aware of (so long as you apply this to your skin and not your eyes or stomach).

Coochy After Shave Protection Powder is a very finely-ground powder. If you apply some to your fingertips, it works its way between your fingerprint lines and, if you try to snap, your fingers will just slip past each other smoothly. Poofed on a freshly-shaven pubic mound (or testicles, if that's how you're built), the powder smoothes into the skin and seems to coat any hair stubs remaining with an ultra-fine layer of light pink powder. This feels soft and natural, and the gauge they've ground the powder to seems to be optimal to work as a dry lubricant for preventing chafing.

Coochy After Shave Protection Powder is a cosmetic powder, and it smells just how you'd predict a cosmetic powder would smell. Its scent reminds me either of a grandmother or of a sports clinic. If I had to pick a single objective thing (so, grandmothers don't count---maybe your grandmother smells like spaghetti sauce or gardening) that the scent is closest to, I would say it smells like a powder version of the white sports tape that athletes, worried about their ankles, will put on before a game.

The scent is noticeable when you open the powder pot and as you apply it, but once you put clothes on it's not noticeable. If your partner was to go down on you immediately after you shave and powder up the powder scent will be present, but if you wait a few hours it should fade most of the way.

I had neutral expectations for Coochy After Shave Protection Powder, but it's definitely done a good job. It has prevented any ingrown hairs, bumps, or regrowth irritation for three straight days---and I shaved by normally-medium-length hair the day this arrived, so it even held up well on that first, most-tender day.

I am especially glad that this powder prevents skin irritation while also not staining my underwear or leaving an oily or greasy feeling on my skin. Instead, I have a nice soft-feeling, which it's a pleasure to glide my hands or my partner's body against. I have not found any powder in my smallclothes, but if you did powder your panties up by over-applying it would wash out easily.

Through a medium level of activity (bike riding, low-impact aerobics, partnered sex), this powder has prevented any chafing. I'm more prone to chafing at my underarms if I'm exercising in a sports bra than I am to pubic chafing in general, so I also put this on my underarms after a shower and before a quick aerobics workout---and while this isn't an antiperspirant or a deodorant it did prevent my arms from chafing against my sports bra. My sports bra was powdery afterward, sure, but it washed out fine.

Classic Erotica presents Coochy After Shave Protection Powder in a very clever powder pot. A thick clear plastic pot, about 2" in diameter and 1" high, is adorned with a metallic-reflective sticker with ingredients and instructions for use and topped with a thick black plastic lid with another metallic-reflective sticker. These make the container look like an upscale product, and if it didn't say "COOCHY" it would blend in quite well with other makeups and cosmetics.

Opening the twist-off lid, a "Fluffy Puff Applicator" (a satin grip-pad on one side with synthetic marabou feathers on the other) meets you. When you lift it up, you'll see that the powder is securely contained under another thick plastic wall. The powder-wall has several square holes, so to apply a dose of powder to the puff, you put the puff in place and shake the container upside-down a few times before daubing the powder onto your skin.

This is probably a very basic design that most powder cosmetics have, but I am a cosmetics newbie and I thought it was really brilliant. It prevents you from spilling all your powder in one fell swoop.

The powder pot holds 0.46 ounces of powder, but I believe that is enough to last quite a long time---probably at least two months with twice-a-day applications.

According to the packaging for Coochy After Shave Protection Powder, this product is not tested on animals, sugar-free, safe for all body types, and paraben-free. (Does it frustrate anyone else that a cosmetic powder needs to be advertised as sugar-free?) It is made in the USA.

The packaging includes directions for use: "Delicate, intimate powder with soothing aloe vera. Use after shaving, bathing, or anytime. Absorbs moisture and relieves chafing. If irritation occurs, discontinue use. Intended for adult use. For external use only. Do not use on broken skin. Avoid contact with eyes. Do not inhale." Classic Erotica's contact information and website are given.

My standard practice is to shave only my labia, and leave my mons at a medium trimmed length to avoid irritation during regrowth. When I'm asked to shave or wax my mons, I usually coat the shaved or waxed area with some grapeseed oil, which was originally suggested by my esthetician. It's handy in the kitchen, it's body-safe, and it does a good job of lubricating and preventing ingrown hairs and irritation. Of course, the downsides are that it feels oily and gross and it can leave oilstains on underwear.

When I first decided to review this "After Shave Protection Powder," I didn't really know what to expect---but as I shaved up (using just Dr. Bronner's Almond Soap, although I'm sure you could use Coochy's Shave Creme if you wanted to be complete about your pubic hair routine) I realized that the powder would serve the same purpose as the vegetable oil, but without being gross and oily and without staining my smallclothes.

Opening the container up and daubing the powder on, I was really happy with how well it worked with my skin. Both sitting around the house and during some light bike riding and some low-impact aerobics, I didn't have any chafing. (TMI warning---even when wearing an Always pad!) Since I received this three days ago, I've continued to shave the whole shebang daily and apply Coochy After Shave Protection Powder both after showering and before bed. Not a single red spot or ingrown hair has cropped up. I'm really pleased with how this is working, and I will not be switching back to vegetable oil. Luckily, the 0.46 oz pot of powder seems like it will last a good long time.