does anyone who shaves their legs completely ever have problems with ingrowns? i have quite dark / thick hair and i seem to get ingrow hairs quite easily. would it be a good idea to start shaving them with a razor?
I shave my legs clean almost every day. I have had less problems with ingrowns on my legs than on my chest or arms. Use a high quality razor like the Venus Divine or Mach3 and that will cut down on irritation. Also use a good shave gel like Aveeno Positively Smooth or a body wash like Suave if you shave in the shower. It is easier, quicker and makes less of a mess when you shave in the shower.
RJC2001
Hi tuvock
As I mentioned under another thread, I think you will find smooth shaving to be easier eventually. Most guys who begin to reduce leg hairs eventually “graduate” to this. I always found trimming very tricky, because even with the right trimmer head it is possible to go too short. Before I started my cycling shaving , like today, in my late teens, 1989, I had tried trimming as my leg hair had always bothered me and I thought this was the answer.
I was watching TV and the clipper head came off. Not paying too much attention I ran the clippers down my right calf and oops, there was an almost smooth strip on my leg plainly visible. That was one of my first introductions to fully shaving my legs. I did it because with that strip showing smooth, everybody would know I trimmed, and I felt embarresed letting on. I thought the smooth shave could be explained away as a joke / lost bet or something silly like you think when you are younger.
I’m surprised I never shaved permanently from then on, because even then no one really looked at me. I was embarresed for the first few days, because a couple of my friends made a joke or 2, but after them eventually forcing the truth out of me about what happened we had a good laugh and they never said any more, not even the trimming part. I also felt I looked like a young kid again at the time, but I was 19 and you are more self concious of wanting to look older then, so the hairs grew out and I went back to trimming.
I could kick myself today for missing out on more than a decade of the comfort I have today, not to mention the hundreds of hours of trimming! All I had to do was look in the mirror and seen a 19 year old with shaved legs! My age hadn’t changed only my legs a bit. It made me look younger, but I didn’t look like a 10 year old which my mind was telling me at that age.
Anyway that is all in the past, but I thought I would share that story. It’s one of the reasons I tend to encourage younger readers here to give it a try. If they eventually do shave permanently they will, I think, also regret the lost years.
Regards
Stuart
I would just like to second Stuarts comments, all around. I, too, began by trimming, as I hated the hair on my legs, at the time I was an avid runner, and the hair would make me so hot and sweaty in summer, and I hated how it looked. I have always gotten comments (positive) on my legs, and know they look better smooth. However, 10 years or more (15 if I’m honest) few men other than professional athletes shaved their legs, and I was very self conscious about it. Plus, my wife hated it. So, I would trim them, hoping that looked more natural. Of course, I would trim them shorter and shorter, as it looked better, it took forever, and felt horrible, as the short hairs get very stiff and sharp. Finally one day I just threw in the towel and shaved them altogether, and couldn’t believe how wonderful they looked, and how happy it made me. I will never forget the first night when I got in bed, how wonderful my legs felt against the cool sheets, it was worth it for that alone. The other thing that was equally sensual was after shaving my pits I went swimming, and the feel of the cool water against my smooth underarms was simply amazing. Anyhow, my wife hated my legs shaved, so I went back to trimming for a while, until more men were shaving, and I finally decided to do it despite my wife’s feelings. She has since gotten used to it. I have since gotten serious about weight lifting, and as my legs have gotten more muscular, they look even better smooth. I never get comments directly about shaving, though it isn’t unusual for women to make positive comments about my legs. Men never seem to notice, or if they do, they are probably embarrased to be looking at another man’s legs. I don’t know why, I do it all the time, and women think nothing of looking at other women’s bodies. In any event, you are lucky, men now have some limited rights to groom themselves, even get facials, manicures, pedicures, etc., and if you feel better with smooth legs, by all means do not deprive yourself of the pleasure just because you are worried about what someone might say.
Hi Veinlover
The “young look” is only in peoples mind really. If you are young and slim shaved legs and wearing shorts will probably make you look younger but you are not. Almost every time I come to the US I need to show my ID to buy beers at a store when I feel like it. I am 6 ft tall and weigh about 95 kg’s. Nobody can mistake me for a kid as grey hair is more than evident at 35, but this happens at my age as often as at 19.
We all think body hair makes us look mature and older, but really it is only our life approach. My smooth legs make no difference. I understand that most US liquor outlets have too ask for ID even if it is evident the purchaser is more than old enough. Hairiness may help underaged kids get alchole sometimes, but the appearence of greater age is not related to hair on the body, only an ID document.
As I said for younger people, particularly those interested in sport, try shaving and see if this is better. You will be surprised I think.
Regards
Stuart
Hi Veinlover
The “young look” is only in peoples mind really. If you are young and slim shaved legs and wearing shorts will probably make you look younger but you are not. Almost every time I come to the US I need to show my ID to buy beers at a store when I feel like it. I am 6 ft tall and weigh about 95 kg’s. Nobody can mistake me for a kid as grey hair is more than evident at 35, but this happens at my age as often as at 19.
We all think body hair makes us look mature and older, but really it is only our life approach. My smooth legs make no difference. I understand that most US liquor outlets have too ask for ID even if it is evident the purchaser is more than old enough. Hairiness may help underaged kids get alchole sometimes, but the appearence of greater age is not related to hair on the body, only an ID document.
Regards
Stuart
Hi Stuart,
I don’t think age and leg hair are related at all. All women in the US anyhow shave their legs, and I don’t see how that makes them all look like little girls. Of course not. When you are 14 and get a little leg hair people will note it, because it means you are going through puberty, and that is supposedly cool, and parents love it when their kids mature, but in reality, other than meaning you’ve made it through puberty, hair means nothing. For girls, it means their mom will show them how to shave their legs,(and I will attest to the mess they make that first time), and boys learn to shave their face. This is “Tradition”. In some way, this will make them look older, aas they are now old enough to shave. So absense of hair shows maturity, not the hair itself. How about that one? If a boy asked to shave his legs, and the parents didn’t pass out, I wonder whether mom or dad would show him how? Mom, eh, as most dad’s wouldn’t have a clue how to do it. That would be a hell of a laugh, don’t you think? So much for that “masculine” ritual.
The funny thing is, and this is off topic, everyone associates “shaving” with masculinity, yet, first, women shave more than men. Two, if men shave any body part other than their face, they are looked at suspiciously, by many people. Does that make shaving a feminine activity, then? Maybe, after all, Gillette, a “man’s company” has been acquired by P&G, a “woman’s company”. I wonder when they will make razors for men to shave their legs with? A Mach L (for legs), in some “manly” colour.
I am 52 with fully white/gray hair on my head, which by the way began going gray in my 20’s, and shave my legs. Who on earth is going to think I look like a boy because my legs are smooth? I will say, I’ve been carded in liquor stores, as that evidently was the rule, and it even feels good, stupid as that sounds.
I don’t think if a boy has leg hair it will get him any closer to booze in the US, anyhow, as we are now pretty obsessive about not selling to anyone wihtou the appropriate ID. So of course, the kids all get fake ID’s. There are so many factors that go into how you age, and body hair isn’t really one of them. You look at facial characteristics, skin tone (I am blessed with extremely smooth, young looking skin, which unlike body hair, does influence how old people think I am), wrinkles, etc, for age.
Hi Veinlover
I agree that body hair (like leg hair) has not got to do a lot with kids getting their hands on alchohol. This was only a “for example” comparison. There have been some posts saying trimming leg hair makes a man look like he is 12 etc. which was my point - it is not that way. When I first shaved my legs at 19 as I described in another post, I felt I looked like a little boy as well.
Anyway that was only my self perception and not reality speaking. We have both said that smooth legs on a man are far off that of a male kid or woman. I do think it imparts a more athletic and youthfull look to most fit guys who try shaving, and my personal opinion is that it looks better without compromising the dignity of age. I also think that this perception of looking like a kid if you shave your legs puts many men off doing such a thing.
The only way guys are going to learn that this is not the case is to try it and see. A tan helps as well as newly shaved legs tend to look a bit too pale if you have strong leg hair to begin with.
Regards
Stuart
Shaving your legs, and really any body hair, lets you tan more evenly. Excessive body hair can interfere with tanning.
I used to have stripes on my abs and chest before I shaved them.
RJC2001
Hi everyone! I was reviewing some of the “older” topics and thought this one really addresses the issue of just trimming leg hair and could be a good intro to body shaving for those who aren’t ready to go “all the way”. This thread pretty much sticks to the trimming aspect and also addresses some of the latest debate on chest/arms/pits to create a more balanced appearance.
This thread really is a good “how to” guide to trimming and setting and is worth checking out before “graduating” to shaving!
Cheers!
Hi smoothlover
Trimming immediatly makes one feel better balanced in terms of body hair. One can continue this for as long as necessary. I think ultimatly the smooth shaved appearance is inevitable and most everyone will try it and like it moving from trimming to shaving.
Regards
Stuart