If you are reading this article, I will assume that you are a first-timer and have never taken scissors, a razor, an electric shaver or anything else to the fuzz growing between your legs. It may be in a state of complete chaos and you're wondering how things ever got so out of control...but the important thing is that you've taken that first step and decided to shave.
You should gather everything you'll need in the bathroom (generally the best place to do this task) so you don't need to stop in the middle of the process to fetch something. I will be focusing on shaving with a personal razor (non-electric) and shaving cream for the majority of this article. I personally use the Gillette Venus Vibrance and find it leaves a very smooth shave. If you want to save a few bucks on razor blades, you don't need to buy their special Vibrance blades because they are no different than the original Venus ones aside from coloring (but don't tell Gillette I told you that!).
Now it's time to get down to business. One of the first things you will want to do is trim down your pubic hair with a pair of clean scissors or an electric razor. (If you've shaved before and your pubic hair isn't very long, you can skip this first step and just start with the main event.) You want your scissors or razor to be clean so you don't cause yourself any unnecessary risks of infection. When you shave, it is likely that tiny nicks will develop (some of them so tiny you won't even see them) and if you're using scissors you were just using to prune flowers in your garden or an electric razor you used on your dog, your chances of a bacterial infection are certainly going to be elevated.
"Trim down" means what it sounds like. The goal is not to remove all your pubic hair in this step but to thin the trees back so you can get an effective shave with your razor later on. Otherwise you will end up cleaning your razor many, many times to keep the blade exposed and may end up snagging hairs which is never pleasant. You may want to do the trimming over the toilet bowl or in your shower, but you will certainly want to collect the hair you trim off somehow. If you are planning to be waxed instead of shaving, your pubic hair should be around one quarter of an inch long but no shorter than one eighth of an inch.
If you haven't done so already, why not check out your hair situation now in the mirror and see how things are going? You may find that after a trim, you have reached a pubic hair length which you are comfortable with. It's your hair and if you're not ready to go completely bare yet, there's no pressure. But if you are ready to go on, so am I.