If more guys had the curage to shave their legs, and show it off in public, then I’d say it would become more common. At this point in time, I have’nt seen very many guys with shaved legs, as a matter of fact, I can count on one hand how many I’ve seen. I’m probably not going to shave my legs again, that is untill more guys do it. For the time being, I’m going to trim them for sure, cause they look a lot more clean without a lot of hair growing on them. You guys keep shaving, cause someday, you’ll pave the way for more of us to shave regularly. I’m satisfied with the way my legs look right now, although I’ve been out of the sun for several months, and they’re quite white. When my legs are white, or pale looking, before I started trimming them, they were pretty hairy. Now you can’t really see any hair, most of it is blond, and hard to see, unless you get close up to them. As long as I’ve got hair growing on my legs, even if it’s not a large amount, the guys that see me in shorts don’t even look twice. They did look twice when my legs were shaved, and like I said, had nothing good to say. I can go to the gym, and wear my shorts, and no one cares, cause I’ve got hair on my legs. Before when I’d go for a workout, there’d be whispers by guys saying, he’s got to be gay. Even though I had a wedding ring on!! One dude told me they don’t like fags in the shower, I said hey, I’m married. He said does your wife like your legs? I said she does’nt care, and he said right, she’s probably a lesbian. I wanted beat the crap out of him. I dropped out of that gym, and when my legs got some hair on them again, I joined another one. This time, since I had hair on my legs, no one even bothered me. I even noticed a guy from the other gym, had come to this one. He was one of the many guys who made comments about my shaved legs. He saw me, and said, hey how’s it going? I told him I was fine, and that was it. He never made another nasty comment. I think it’s going to be a long time, if ever in this area of the country, that guys can go out in public with shaved legs. I guess I’ll just have to stay with the amount of hair I’ve got on my legs, and be happy. Talk to you all later. Josh
One dude told me they don’t like fags in the shower, I said hey, I’m married.
You should have told him, “then you better stay out of the shower!”
He said does your wife like your legs? I said she does’nt care, and he said right, she’s probably a lesbian. I wanted beat the crap out of him.
That’s reason enough to. If it ever comes to that, get him to hit you first so you can claim self defense as you beat his sorry ass!
I have to say, you do have your share of rude people where you live.
RJC2001
Hi Josh
It sounds like that guy in the shower already donated his brian to science. For me it’s unusual that anybody in a gym would criticise another man for shaving his legs. It’s a very athlectic look where I live and most guys would ask about your sporting activities here. Maybe as you say it’s just easier on yourself for now not to shave. Nothing wrong with that either, it’s a personal choice.
Regards
Stuart
Hi Josh:
It is too bad that you had to run into a jerk like that.
Sometimes the guys who show the most hatred towards people they think might be gay, have closet tendencies towards being gay themselves. They therefore go over the top in their opposition to people they think might be gay to show that they are opposed to gays.
The fact is that a lot of gays are honest, decent people who can’t help being gay. I saw Brokeback Mountain the other day and liked it, but I could hear people talking about the film in the lineup when considering going to see it. It is sad that they missed a great film due to predjudice.
Josh. Hopefully someday that neanderthal, knuckle scraper will get what is coming to him before he hurts someone. Even though there was no physical altercation in your case, the psychological damage has been done, and that is sometimes much worse.
Alicia
Do you guys that remove your underarm hair have the same problem of other guys making the same rude comments as they seem to make if you shave your legs? I have always removed my underarm hair but never my leg hair and I don’t have other guys saying bad things about the hairless pits.
Do you guys that remove your underarm hair have the same problem of other guys making the same rude comments as they seem to make if you shave your legs? I have always removed my underarm hair but never my leg hair and I don’t have other guys saying bad things about the hairless pits.
No. In the summer, I spend most of my weekends out in the boat with my shirt off. I’ve never had any rude comments. Every year I see a few more guys with shaved armpits and legs. It is catching on, but slowly.
Earlier in this thread, someone, I think it was Josh, said that many wrestlers shave their legs and yes it is true.
From what I’ve seen in the sports section, quite a few of them are shaving their armpits too.
RJC2001
I don’t shave my underarm hair, but I do trim it down, so there’s not so much of it. I do this about every 10 days, and at the same time, I take the trimmers to my legs. I’m really looking forward to warmer weather, it’s been a pretty mild winter so far, but I’d still like it to be in the 80’s. When it gets warmer, I’m gonna be in shorts all the time. My job requires me to wear a uniform, and it consists of a checkerd shirt and khaki shorts. This year I’ll be inside most of the time, so I won’t have as tan legs as I did last year. If I let the hair go, and not trim it, then they’d really look hairy, cause they’re gonna be more white, and dark hairs against white legs always looks more hairy. I remember when I was 15, I’d never wear shorts, cause of my hairy legs. It’s only been recently, that I’ve had the nerve to wear shorts, and let everyone see my hairy legs. That’s why I wanted to shave them, and let everyone see my smooth legs. Since that did’nt go over very well, I trim the hair down, so now they look close to smooth, but there’s still hairs on them. My skin is fair, so I should’nt be going out in the sun without at least an SPF of 15, or higher. Are there any guys here that were ashamed of their legs when they were younger? How young were you when you got hairy legs? I was about 14 when my legs started to get hairier. I hated it, cause most of my friends still had hairless legs. It was within a few years however, that a lot of them got hairy legs. Once I was pulling up my socks, and my best friend said, Josh, your legs are really hairy. Why don’t you wear shorts, and show them off? I said cause I don’t like them hairy, that’s when he said, take a lookat mine, and pulled up his pant leg, and I said, dude, you’ve got hairier legs than I do! So he said, if you wear shorts tommorrow, he’d wear shorts too. I got up the nerve and put on some shorts, then I drove over to Scott’s house, and he came out in shorts too! He said, hey lets go to the mall, and meet some of the other guys. I said, no way, not in shorts. He convinced me to go in shorts, and we met up with the other guys. They all had on shorts too, cause it was summer, and HOT. I won’t forget the jokes, hey look guys, Josh, and Scott got hairy legs. All day, all I heard was dudes, your legs are hairy, you gotta get them tanned. Everyday we went to the beach, and within a few weeks, my legs were pretty tan. For some reason, the hair got lighter, and they did’nt look as hairy. Well, now it was OK in summer, but in winter they got white again. Plus I had to grow up and work, so I did’nt wear shorts. I was teased about having hairy legs, and teased when I shaved them. I guess that’s why I had to find middle ground, and trimming them was the best thing for me. Scott still has hairy legs, and won’t trim them. He said he’s a guy, and having hairy legs is just something he has to accept. He’s married too, and his wife says my legs look good trimmed. I said you should trim your legs, you’ll still be a man, cause you’ll still have hair on them. He won’t do it, so I gave up, let him have hairy legs, and win the hairiest legs contest at the local fair every year. He’s got first place so far 2 years in a row. I guess some guys just like the hairiness of their legs. I don’t appreciate having hairy legs, so I take care of that, evey 10 days. Bye everyone, till my next post.
I think the reason for removing leg hair is different than removal of pit hair. The leg hair is for looks while the pit hair removal is for that smooth feeling. To get that smooth feeling I think you have to remove the hair by waxing,electrolysis or laser. Shaving produces a stubble after a day or two which can be annoying.I don’t know of anyone who has waxed his underarm hair that didnt like the feel.After trying it a while,most will never let the hair grow back out. Has anyone reading this felt otherwise?
Hi Everyone!
I’ve been away for awhile, and just read the latest posts. Josh, your experience with those idiots in the shower and gym really infuriates me! The guys that made those comments really are ignorant bigots and really deserve to have their butts kicked! It really upsets me that such fools can prevent people from doing what they want.
Alicia and Stuart, you’re both right that we shouldn’t let others dictate how we live and that we should do what we want but there are some places here (as probably in any country) where it could be “risky” to go with smooth legs. Then again, these places are probably risky for any foreigner or outsider and aren’t exactly on my itinerary–I guess one just needs to use a bit of “common sense” in such areas to avoid courting disaster. Stuart, I remember that you wrote some rural areas of SA are less accepting of men with smooth legs–have you ever felt threatened?
After reading this forum and others on hairtell, it seems that there are a lot of men who would like to shave their legs, or are worried that they have too much body hair but yet, they feel “ashamed or embarassed” that they want to get rid of their hair. One guy wrote that his mother “just laughed and said that men are supposed to be hairy” and said that he couldn’t discuss this with his father (because men aren’t supposed to be worried about this kind of thing)! All of these prejudices and ideas of how men should look seem outdated but unfortunately, still prevail. I can’t understand why some people think it’s strange that men might also prefer to have the smooth look and get rid of the fur coat.
Italianguy mentioned some good points–do the rest of you think that most women feel that we’re stepping onto their turf??? Shaving does accentuate the legs but I don’t know why women would feel like we’re “competing” with them! Several women have written that they like men with hairy chests and legs–they find that look to be rugged and sexy. Is this something in their psyches or just outdated sterotypes that the media created in the past? Maybe, it’s due to all the ads and messages in the media about women’s smooth legs and bodies which really carried the message that smooth legs are sexy and feminine. I really believe that if the media started pushing the smooth look for men in sports or whatever, it would become more accepted amongst the general public.
I’ve been reflecting on why men with smooth legs might draw more attention and maybe, it’s because most men who shave the first time have very pale legs if they haven’t been out in the sun and that “paleness” might get more attention because people are simply used to seeing men with hairy legs which makes them appear darker. For those of you that sport tan legs, do you tend to get fewer glances than when you have pale legs? I agree that one becomes more “aware” of body hair on others, after shaving but I don’t the guys who made the negative comments about me or some of the other members were into body shaving themselves!
Alicia, you mentioned earlier that we should “stand up for our rights” to do what we want. After reading all these comments, maybe we should all make a concerted effort and write to Philps/Remington to express our feelings towards men and body shaving. If we can convince them that there are a lot of men interested in this product, they might put out some commercials that show men shaving their legs. We could refer them to this thread and maybe, even come up with some kind of “group letter” that would serve to promote men’s leg shaving. As Italianguy noted, once magazines and the media show athletes and normal guys with shaved legs, it will become more mainstream. What do the rest of you think???
Regards,
smoothlover
Hi Smoothlover:
I agree that there are places that many people have to avoid for the sake of being safe. Women unfortunately have to avoid unsafe areas too. You have to use common sense and develope a radar for bad situations.
I don’t think it would hurt to write some of the shavings products companies about men shaving their legs, or other parts of their body. There are lots of athletes out there who do it from swimmers,wrestlers,cyclists and body builders. There are others who just do it because they like the look or feeling.
As far as having the courage to be yourself, that is a personal battle each of us must face and deal with. In my case I could not stand people laughing at me or thinking I might be gay. Sometimes it really hurt, and I took it to heart. But I kept telling myself that firstly I shouldn't worry about what other people thought and secondly I have to be myself and take some pride in who I am.
In the end I realized that I was the better person and they were shallow, uncaring hypocrites.
In order to get to that stage however I had to fight my fear and face up to it, tell myself to just be who I am
and be proud of the type of person I am.
Alicia
Hi Alicia!
You thoughts and comments are very true and inspiring. You definitely have a lot of courage to be yourself and it’s important that we don’t let those hypocrites and other idiots prevent us from living life the way we want. I remember your earlier post to Josh–you mentioned that the guys who made those comments might have some “issues” about their own sexuality and could lash out at others to feel stronger. That’s a good point and does ring true–why else would they show such hostility towards someone else who is a complete stranger? Or perhaps, they are individuals who really have no life of their own and could be frustrated with their own miserable lives, so they choose to lash out at others like those bullies at school–whatever the case, we really shouldn’t waste our time trying to analyze these fools!
I shaved my legs a few days ago after about a one-month break and it felt really good to get rid of that hair again. I just like the feel and the smooth look and really, that should be a good enough reason for anyone to shave their legs! I just wish my legs weren’t so pale and a bit more muscular, then I think I would feel more confident walking around in public. I don’t really think that my smooth legs look that great due to a few permanent bruises and blotches but being smooth makes it a lot easier to put lotion on them and in my case, is really for the feel and comfort. Then again, I really thought that my dark hairy legs looked terrible and I was self-conscious walking around in shorts and hated that sweaty feeling when wearing long pants or exercising in the summer heat.
Josh, you mentioned that the trimmed looks good on you but I think that only really works if you have light colored hair. My legs looked very “stubbly” with prickly dark hair sticking out on the sides–I don’t know how you perfected getting the right hair length but I had to let it grow for about three weeks to look more “normal” again which also was an improvement over the original super hairy look.
Barrester, I agree that smooth pits feel great and I shave them at least once a week. I’ve never had them waxed but I bet it would feel great and take much longer for the hairs to grow back. It could be a challenge to find a salon willing to do that on men here and I’m kinda worried about the pain factor–the underarms are pretty sensitive areas. I’ve never had any negative comments but I don’t think that other people really notice, unless you lift your arms over your head. I really can’t stand letting the pits go for more than a week now because I sweat more then and start to feel dirty–having clean pits really does cut down on odor!
RJC and Barrester, you both mentioned that more men are shaving their legs and pits in your area. Are these guys all wrestlers or bodybuilders or just “average” looking guys that like the smooth look?
Cheers,
smoothlover
Hi Everyone!
Just one more post which gets back to ways of clearing body hair. I came across a rather funny way to get rid of body hair from another forum but after thinking about it, it really could be promising and maybe, someone here has actually tried it. It really cracked me up at first because one guy wrote that he had used “dog clippers” and funny as it sounds, I think that they could withstand the abuse and duration that it takes to clear body hair better than ordinary beard shavers because they are designed for a dog’s heavier hair.
If any of you have tried this method, then let us know about it! BTW, did you use clippers for “short or long” haired dogs and which brand would you recommend? While we’re on the subject, how about sheep shearers–lol!!! I think that might be a little over the top but then again, you never know!
smoothlover
Hi everyone! I thank you all for the support, and I wish I was’nt such a whimp when it comes to letting others influence my decisions. I guess I care too much about what others think of me. I am doing the best I can, I won’t let my legs get too hairy. Short of shaving, I’m trimming them at a lenght that looks natural. A lot of the hair on my legs are light, but it grows a little too long. When I trim it with these clippers I bought, there is an attachment that just gets the blades close enough, without hitting the skin. This reduces the length of the hair, and my legs look much less hairy. You can still see that I have hair on my legs, but it’s not nearly as thick. There is no reason to say that guys with shaved legs are more feminine, there’s no evidence that it makes a guy gay. It’s just that a lot of normal guys want to look less like a hairy beast, and more like a body builder. I think those guys look so awesome, and I’m not gay, I just think they have bodies that women like. Look at WWF, I know those guys shave off the hair on their bodies. I don’t think the a-holes I delt with would ever try talking to those dudes, the way they spoke to me. If they did, they’d find themselves on the ground in a second. I can get pissed off, but if I do slam them around, then I’d get arrested. So I decided I’d just do what I’ve been doing, keep my legs hair trimmed.
RJC and Barrester, you both mentioned that more men are shaving their legs and pits in your area. Are these guys all wrestlers or bodybuilders or just “average” looking guys that like the smooth look?
Cheers,
smoothlover
No, not all of them are wrestlers or bodybuilder. Some “average” looking guys to it to. Even if you’re not a bodybuilder, removing body hair will make your muscles look bigger and more defined.
RJC2001
Hey guys! You should check out amateurwrestlingphotos.com to see just how many young guys shave their legs for sports. They all don’t shave their legs, but there are plenty that do. Now this is a direct contact sport, so it’s better not to give your oponet an edge. If you got hairy legs, this gives the other guy a better grip on your leg for a take down. If your legs are smooth shaved, then it’s slippery and the other guy can’t get a good grip on your legs. Even more, since you’re pretty sweaty, that causes the legs to be even more hard to grip onto. I knew guys in school who shaved their legs for sports, and kept on shaving them after they were done with sports. No one ever questioned them about having smooth legs. We could wear shorts to school in warm weather, and I know for a fact there were plenty of guys with smooth shaved legs. The girls were always checking them out. At that time, I did’nt see the need for me to shave my legs. They were’nt hairy, it was’nt until later in my 20’s they got kinda hairy. I guess I went thru puberty late. Even so, my legs are’nt really that hairy, but I like the smooth look. I’ll keep on trimming the hairs, and I’m pretty happy with the way they look. I might post some pics to show you just how good they look.
How great topic!
I am a new visitor of this topic and am happy that such issues are being discussed in the society.
I hope that the problem of shaving legs for men that is now like a taboo, be solved.
It is good.
Mabye I should shave my legs again. I’ve let the hair grow out for quite a bit now. The only thing that I hate about it is that it takes SO LONG for me to shave my legs. Like, around 30 minutes or so. >_>
Mabye I should shave my legs again. I’ve let the hair grow out for quite a bit now. The only thing that I hate about it is that it takes SO LONG for me to shave my legs. Like, around 30 minutes or so. >_>
How often do you shave? It will go much faster if you shave them every day. The longer the hair is, the longer it takes to shave.
Also use a good razor like an M3 Power, Venus Vibrance, or Fusion Power. The Fusion Power is my favorite. It does seem to shave a little bit quicker than the others.
RJC2001
Hi Akram
It need not take so long at all. Listen to RJC here. Shave every day and you will need no more than 5 minutes max. You can use the products he mentions or an electric like my favorite Phillips Coolskin. It really is quick and easy with an electric, and you don’t get cut like a blade if you can’t see so well. I just buzz my beard and follow with my legs, rinse the razor and it’s done. A charge lasts me a weeks doing both legs and beard. leave a few days too many and it will take time to get back to the smooth skin look properly.
Regards
Stuart
Hi Akram, I agree with everyone else, trim your legs first, then shave them. The hairs will be shorter, and it can be done faster. When I did shave my legs, it only took me about 5-7 minutes. Trimming them does take a bit longer, cause you have to make sure you’ve got all the hairs the same length. It takes me about 15-20 minutes to trim my leg hair, but I only trim about every 10 days. I have friends who wrestled, and they shaved daily, and it only took them about 2 minutes per leg. And they had very smooth legs, no stubble. So go for it, shave your legs again.