I may stop epilating after this summer, based on the experiences expressed in the other threads. But this is what happened to me.
I’m a guy (hetero) who likes to have smooth boyish tanned legs. (Got more + than - comments from public). Once I started shaving, I became obsessed with keeping my legs perfectly formica smooth. This required constant ‘touch up’s’ with a razor, as well as constant plucking, which I learned is not a good thing. So I bought an epilator when they were on the shelf of a Target store, hoping the clerk would think it was for my wife.
First time I used it, it hurt like hell but I got about half the hairs before I had to go on to something esle. (Took forever to get even half) A week later, I tried again, spending fifteen minutes or so each day until all the reachable hairs were yanked out. Then, finished off with razor and went back to almost daily shavings in the shower. Limited epilating to thighs so they’d be smooth, but kept sparce hair on shins and calves, just to give the ‘naturally hairless’ look to my legs. Anyway, this went on for the summer months. Yes, got bad ingrows at first but I found that a complete shave after epilation exfoliated the skin to reduce ingrowns and leave the pores open so the nubs would find their way back out instead of growing in. Learned that buffing w/fine sand paper eventually reduced the ingrowns, but it’s time consuming. When winter came (Short winters her in TX, so that means long summers with lots of ‘shorts weather’ days) I stopped all hair removal, with probably just one shave a month to even the growth. Wore pants only so no one knew anyway. When spring came, my thighs, which had received the epilation, still looked almost hairless. At five feet away, my upper legs looked like they did when I was 12… bald. Up close, the little hairs were obvious, but a lot more sparse.
I started the spring with shaving and epilation of complete legs, both above and below the knees. I still have ingrows on the ‘outboard’ side of my calves but they’re getting better. Haven’t decided whether to keep entire leg completely hairless this summer, or just go w/ smooth thighs and knees, and let the hair be sparse on shins. I still like to keep calves smooth because it shows a little definition.
I find epilation does reduce the ‘hairy’ look but found the skin requires a little extra care to avoid ingrowns and possible infections. I’ll decide in a month or so whether to continue epilation treatments.
Thx for reading, nice forum, (And for all you smooth legged people out there… NICE LEGS! (whistle) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />