[color:“red”] I’ve tried shaving and it doesnt work for me. My legs have like 5 o’ clock shadow. And it takes HOURS to shave my legs initially.
If I wax my legs will the hair that I currently have grow back thinner and look better? I really dont mind the pain, but I can imagine it’ll be severe. What is an epilator? Alot of people keep mentioning it.
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[quote]Ohio is not that conservative politically. Bush barely won there BTW, and that may be more due to the weakness of the other candidate. I live in a far more conservative area and have never had a problem. I think that Josh’s concerns/problems are due specifically to the idiots that he works with. They sound like ignorant rednecks and he must deal with that in whatever way he thinks best. And BTW rednecks are not necessarily conservative. Rudeness knows no political boundaries.
Part of the reason he quit shaving was that he didn’t like being hairless, and that is reason enough for him.
RJC2001
OK, I’m sorry I ever started this. I give. OK. Given where Josh works, he probably isn’t dealing with the cream of the crop, but it’s a summer job, and I think the whole thing was making him uncomfortable, and I don’t think he was in love with shaving anyhow, so the combination led him to conclude his legs are better off in their natural state, and that is fine with me. I think unless you really prefer your legs smooth, there is no pressure to shave, quite the opposite in fact, so far, for men. If you like your legs shaved I would hope that most people would leave you alone, but there are going to be sub-populations, “red neck” or otherwise, who will give you a hard time. If you care, its worth the fight. If you don’t, just going with the hairy legged majority is far easier. All that said, the odds of someone objecting are FAR lower in, say, Los Angeles, than in Canton, OHIO. If you remember back to the 1960’s, and all the dad’s that got so upset about their son’s “long hair”. They were not tolerant of change, or of differences, and that same group are not going to be tolerant of men shaving their legs, it’s just that simple. The percentage of people with that sort of outlook are greater in more rural, more “blue collar” midwest and southern locations; but they exist in blue collar communities in New Jersey as well, so I’m not picking on geographical locations per se. I hope we can let poor Josh’s problems go now. [/quote]
No need to apologize. In different areas of the country, shaved legs may be more or less acceptable. Why? We may never know all the reasons and there may be different reasons. Maybe some are afraid that shaving legs may become more acceptable or even the norm. If their wives and girlfriends want them to shave, they won’t be happy because their daily grooming regimen just got longer! Maybe some have a deep rooted fear that they might be gay, so they lash out at others as a defense mechanism. This is all speculation, but it would not surprise me if these were some of the reasons.
And some things defy explanation. My dog’s vet is very conservative, yet when his daughter wanted her navel pierced, he said, “I’ll do it so it’s done right and you don’t get an infection.” So she is sporting a navel ring which looks very nice on her. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> More than a few people with pierced eyebrows, noses, and tongues, but nobody seems to really care or be bothered by it. It is far from mainstream, yet those who are pierced are rarely hassled.
RJC2001
Thanks, I hope things will turn out alright like you guys said.
Seeing as I’m carrying a bright pink schick quattro for women into the showers its hard beleive that no one will know that I shave my legs and such… but its nice to know the hassle won’t be nearly as bad as I had anticipated.
OH YES–How do you shave your back?
Norelco ReflexPlus works fairly well. It’s the only way I know sort of cutting myself up with my traditional razor…
Hi
Shaving your legs initially will take time. Neither blades or electric razors can handle the amount of hair the first time. 5 O clock shadow is not unusual on guys legs either. I shave with an electric Phillips / Norelco every morning as part of my waking up program. Once you get used to using a razor like this it’s quick and easy. Keeping it up is the main thing.
An epilator is a device that “plucks” hair out. It will allow a longer time for regrowth as the hair is pulled out and has to regrow from beneath the skin’s surface. There is an extensive section on the forum dealing with this.
Hope this helps.
Regards
Stuart
Hi RJC
Ohio is interesting even though I haven’t been there yet. It was the home of Thomas Midgley who invented leaded gasoline in 1921 working for General Motors.
He also went on to invent CFC’s as a “safe” alternative for refrigerator gasses. Ohio people are definitly not stupid, only poor Thomas had a knack for the unlucky.
We can be lucky he didn’t invent a razor <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Despite this he was a bright guy - and he may even have shaved his legs <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
Regards
Stuart
Thanks, I hope things will turn out alright like you guys said.
Seeing as I’m carrying a bright pink schick quattro for women into the showers its hard beleive that no one will know that I shave my legs and such… but its nice to know the hassle won’t be nearly as bad as I had anticipated.
[quote]
OH YES–How do you shave your back?
Norelco ReflexPlus works fairly well. It’s the only way I know sort of cutting myself up with my traditional razor… [/quote]
The womens’ Quattro does a decent job of shaving. Did you know that the women’s cartridges fit on the men’s Quattro handle? There is no real functional difference between the two handles, only the color.
You should at least try the M3 Razor. I find it to be superior to the Quattro in closeness and speed, but I know there are some that prefer the Quattro. So your YMMV. The M3 Power men’s version has a green and silver handle and works well in the shower. It has rubber grips on it like the Quattro. The Venus Vibrations is excellent also, but has a fuschia-colored handle and it’s huge, very easy to grip. THe M3 Power blades are cheaper than the Venus.
For shaving the back, check out www.razorba.com. I have never used it, but it looks like it would be useful.
RJC2001
I’ve tried the men’s quattro and it really does a terrible job in my opinion. But I sent in for a free women’s one (schick was doing a promotion a when they first came out) and it’s done so much better than anything I’ve ever tried (Venus Devine, Mach 3 Turbo, men’s quattro). I wasn’t sure if the handle might be at a slightly different angle or something… but I guess not.
I read some where that Gillette had a lawsuit going on about false claims with the M3 Power. I don’t know how it ended but the premise was that the powered razors did no better than the regular ones. But if the venus vibrance worked better for you… I might take your word for it and buy one.
Oh… and that link didn’t work.
Edit: Nevermind… got it working. Ugh… that thing looks dangerous…
I’ve had a lot of luck using the Venus Vibrance in the shower to shave my body, though some have said the prefer the feel of the older Venus models. I find the vibrating head does make a smoother shave. Their blades are very expensive, you can use the men’s blades in it, but the women’s blades are much better designed for body shaving, and will not cut you. It is fuchsia in colour, but that’s the way it goes, if you shave your legs, you may as well use fuchsia.
Regarding shaving my back, I’ve in the past used a small clamp (such as you would get at Home Depot), clamped the razor into the thing, and used it to basically extend the handle of the razor.
Wow. The Venus Vibrance is amazing. Simply amazing.
Waxing doesn’t usually reduce hair growth but with regular treatments the time between each waxing should increase untill you only need to go in a couple of times a year. The nice thing about waxing your legs compared to shaveing is that the hair does grow out soft, unlike shaving you won’t get a ruff stubble.
Waxing does hurt, not as bad as an epilator, but a lot of waxers now have creams or sprays that help numb the skin and really the pain only lasts a moment and its worth it for four weeks of hair free life.
I had to re-register under a slightly new name.
This is my second summer shaving my legs and I still do get the odd look. For those who ask, I find humour goes along way.
I compare my leg hair to wearing fur pants. In the winter I let it grow out and some hairs are close to an 1½" long (yeah, I measured). Multiply that by at least 100,000 hairs and you’ve got fur pants.
It’s great for the winter when it’s -20, -41 with the windchill, and that’s celsius. But come summer, especially these past few days, it’s “unbearable”, pun intended.
Plus, I’ve never liked the look of hair on my toes. It’s a little too hobbit like and with size 12 feet, it’s a bit much. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
If that doesn’t work, you could always tell those who ask that women prefer your legs without hair, including their wife/girlfriends. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
I had to re-register under a slightly new name.
This is my second summer shaving my legs and I still do get the odd look. For those who ask, I find humour goes along way.
I compare my leg hair to wearing fur pants. In the winter I let it grow out and some hairs are close to an 1½" long (yeah, I measured). Multiply that by at least 100,000 hairs and you’ve got fur pants.
It’s great for the winter when it’s -20, -41 with the windchill, and that’s celsius. But come summer, especially these past few days, it’s “unbearable”, pun intended.
Plus, I’ve never liked the look of hair on my toes. It’s a little too hobbit like and with size 12 feet, it’s a bit much. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
If that doesn’t work, you could always tell those who ask that women prefer your legs without hair, including their wife/girlfriends. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
I like those snappy comebacks! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
If some other guy tries to link shaving to being gay, you could also respond by saying, “sorry I don’t date other guys, so no I won’t go out with you!” That ought to throw them off guard.
RJC2001
Hi all! I quit shaving because of both reasons. First it felt wierd to me, and the people that come to the amusement park I work for gave me strange looks. Yes I could have ignored all that, but since I’ve got to work outside in public view, I decided not to give those people any reason to look at me in a strange way. Most of the guests come from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, W. Virginia, and Kentucky. I must tell you that most guys would not ever consider shaving their legs. I wanted to because I thought it looked cool. Men shaving their legs is not an accepted thing to do, as yet. I bet sometime in the future, it will be. For the moment, it is not. I see alot of guys in shorts, and I’ve seen maybe 2 guys brave enough to shave their legs. All the rest have hairy legs. Mine are not real hairy, and since I’m out in the sun all day, the tan and sun have turned my hairs very light. I have not given up the idea of having smooth legs. As some of you guys have said, I’d probably get over the feeling in time, but the ridicule I had to take from people, is’nt easy to overlook. You all keep up shaving your legs, cause someday it will be more accepted. Models in store advertising usually always have smooth legs, and arms. They shave their legs, and arms without a doubt. Have fun this summer with tanned smooth legs!! I’ll just keep my legs with hair.
Josh: For the summer shave or wax your underarms and the tell how you like it. No one at the amusement park will even notice you had it done.
Hi Josh
As you say it is not always good to invite ridicule. There is no need to feel embarressed about not shaving. Like I said some people are conservative about these things (while of course not being stupid), and it does you no good working in public, where the public don’t accept your appearance. I am lucky that people where I live don’t judge on men with smooth legs.
Also, like you correctly say, it will change soon anyway. I firmly believe that hairy legs on guys will soon be regarded as quite disgusting.
Regards
Stuart
Wow. The Venus Vibrance is amazing. Simply amazing.
BTW, Venus users, Walmart has the Vibrance refills on sale for $8.55 for a 4 pack.
RJC2001
Hey all you smooth legged guys, I’m still letting my leg hair grow back in. I think it’s pretty much all done growing back in, I mean my legs are just like they were before I started shaving them. Although the hairs seem shorter than they were, maybe I’m just seeing things. I guess this is the way I’ll have to let my legs be, since alot of guys in my area are’nt ready for guys with smooth legs. I saw a couple of guys yesterday that had no hair at all on their legs. They looked fine to me, and they did’nt hide the fact that they had shaved their legs. I’d like to be as comfortable as they were with smooth legs, but that’s not gonna happen any time soon. I’ll just keep my legs hairy for now, and maybe the future will change. Josh
Hi Josh
Glad to hear things are going better. Like you say the future may change things. Once you have shaved your legs once though it sticks. You obviously prefered less hair on your legs because you started trimming before shaving. I think you will be tempted to try shaving again one day.
It’s worth thinking that some guys never develop strong hair on their legs. When I was at school I had a friend like this. All that he ever had was the very fine blonde hairs that young kids have, even when he was 18.
Lots of guys are like this. When I first started shaving I kept this in mind to deal with any situation in which I became a bit uncomfortable. These guys don’t feel uncomfortable about their smooth legs, so I reasoned that neither should I with my shaved legs.
After a while I found that everybody around me accepted it as my “natural” look. It simply suits some guys like me. I am gratefull that it is quite common here for guys to shave. I am only sorry I didn’t start sooner. I used to be embarresed to wear shorts because my legs were so hairy when I was in my twenties (totally at odds with my light complexion and blonde hair), it looked really weird and I used to get stared at a lot.
Now if I stand in front of a mirror and look at myself critically, I can see why people used to stare at my hairy legs. The smooth look is much more in keeping with all the rest of my appearence, for me it is normal.
Regards
Stuart
Hi all! first post. I started removing my hair about 4 years ago. I got my whole body waxed…took forever and hurt like hell so I had to do it in 2 4 hour sessions. My wife loves me but she was appalled. I had been working out like a madman, and really like the look. I live in Indiana which is very conservative (right Josh?) and she wanted me to hide my hairless legs. Farnkly, I was a little embarrassed when I did it, but looked at myself in the mirror every chance I got. I thought it looked great!
Waxing cost me about $300 for my whole body the first time (8 hours, I thought it was fair), and the second time was cheaper since it was faster. My biggest problem (besides my wife lack of acceptance) is the bumps and ingrown hairs in my bikini line and around my belly button to my lower abs. I try to exfoliate like mad because the bumps look awful, but the more I shave the better it gets (can’t afford to wax all the time).
Waxing legs is easy until you get to the inner thigh. The abs are tough too. Chest is only painful because if you have never waxed your roots are strong. As you wax more the roots are easier to remove, therefore less painful. I do shave my armpits, but have never waxed them. I imagine it would initially hurt like hell, but would get better over time.
Thanks for the posts! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Hardinsteel: Glad that you are a total body hair remover. I am to. Get those underarms waxed. You will like that look and feel best of all. I didn’t find that waxing the underarms was as bad as waxing the chest.However,I am no longer waxing as I have had total hair removal by electrolysis.At first my wife didn,t go along with my idea of hair removal;but after a year of being smooth she now thinks it was a good idea. Maybe time will get your wife to appreciate the smooth look as well.