I haven't shaved my legs since November

[stafl]

but now the weather is just too hot and I'm going to have to wear shorts. I am terrified of what will happen to my super-sensitive skin when I shave, but I got to get that hair off my legs before people see them. Really, I have to, I have some of the thickest darkest hair and the lightest fair skin - not a pretty sight! What should I do?

[momto l&a]

IMO make sure you have a brand new razor with a double blade and work up a nice thick lather or use one of those gel shaving creams.

Happy shaving

[mraven721]

I just shaved for the first time since September. I wish I hadn't bothered. I have blonde hair and you can't really notice my leg hair anyway.
I would take a bath first or let the warm water on your legs for a bit first to soften the skin and hair. I would also use lotion while my skin was still wet.
Good luck!

[wemoon]

I haven't shaved my legs in 5 years! I never wear shorts though, I only wear long skirts and occasionally capris. My advice would be a new wardrobe Hope it goes well for you, no ouchies!

[sssmommy]

wemoon...i love your advice about wardrobe but i must say i do wear shorts and even bathing suits...let 'em stare!! i haven't shaved in about 3 years. legs or pits! i think pits especially should never be shaved, it just feels so soft and no stubble or burn. i too have dark hair and fair skin, but i do tan well so only that first month in shorts is scary!!! i wonder if there is a thread about other women who don't shave. i have interesting questions about children and there attachment to mommy's hair. do you know of any??

[heket]

When I was pregnant last summer and couldn't reach my legs to shave, I broke down and bought Veet. I didn't think it would work (most dipilatories don't do anything for my thick hair), but I was surprised that it worked great. Now I do realize that it's packed with chemicals, but maybe there's a healthfood store you could contact to see if they carry a safer equivalent?

[alexisyael]

I haven't shaved my legs in almost 12 years! (I know the exact day, too -- my mom made me shave my legs the day before my grandfather's funeral. ) I can't really date the last time I shaved my pits, except to say it's been a very long time (over seven years?)

I am extremely blonde, so you can't tell. Sometimes I show people my leg and they still can't tell.

Anyway, sorry to ramble. If you can't brainwash yourself* into loving your hair as it is, I highly recomend waxing. Or sugaring. I wax my husband's back in the summer (poor guy, he hasn't taken any of my brainwashing seriously. I really don't mind his extremely hairy body. He's gorgeous!) It's much better than shaving...

(spot test first, of course -- my dh has sensitive skin, too. We tried Nair, but it burned him like a mo-fo. Shaving is *no good* for him at all! Waxing was the best of the bunch. )

HTH!

(* My hair-loving brainwashing: "hair is good. It covers you in the winter, and is soft and fun to play with! Hair is natural and looks beautiful as a contrast to pale skin!")

[wemoon]

Alexis, love your train of thought, and that is where I am at.

I really just love long skirts and think I look ridiculous in shorts, so that is where my wardrobe advice stemned from :LOL I do wear a swimsuit though on occasion.

I do shave my pits. I went a long time without doing it, and there are pros and cons to each option. With the hair, my pits stank more. The hair would trap all the perspiration and no amount of soap (and I don't use deodorant) would get the smell out. Without the hair, I'm much more moist in my pit area, but it doesn't smell. So....for now I am shaving, but only do so like once a week, if even that.

I tried a nair-type product once, yuck!

[stafl]

Wemoon - a different wardrobe may work where you live, but it's already been up to 90 degrees here!

I definitely can't use chemical hair removers - I can't even use scented laundry detergent!

I'm considering some sort of rip the hair out by its roots type thing, but I'm scared!
Still haven't shaved. I like the fuzzy furry feeling much better than itchy stubble... but I just can't go all summer in long pants and I simply don't tan, ever, so the thick dark hair has got to go....somehow

What is sugaring?

[pilesoflaundry]

I next to never shave in the winter, once and a great while when dh jokes I look like saskwatch from across the room or I get the itches.

Anyway the very first time after awhile I always take a hot/warm bath to open the pores (soak at least 5 minutes before you start) and a brand new razor and I'm good. Moisturize after that with a gentle lotion.

[Brisen]

Originally Posted by stafl

I'm considering some sort of rip the hair out by its roots type thing, but I'm scared!

I've had my legs done by a waxer a couple of times. She was really good, it didn't hurt, even though I got her prep advice backwards and used no moisturizer for a few days before, then applied it the day I went :

Her mom did the same thing for a living and started waxing her (the daughter's) legs when she was old enough to want to shave. By the time she was working on her own, she didn't need to wax at all any more. Or maybe just once a year. I don't know how "natural" that is, but it sure sounds nice! Also, all the women in my aunt's family have plucked their underarm hairs once they start growing in. She says she now plucks maybe 5 a year, otherwise she's hair free. But yeowch. I suppose they are more fine when they start growing than my massively shaved ones are now.

Wemoon, I've gone on and off with shaving underarms. I had been doing it about once a week for a while -- I found that odour was becoming a problem, like you said. But once I read the no poo thread, I started using baking soda on my underarms, and I haven't had a problem with smell since. I haven't shaved for a month or more at this point. I use the rock crystal deoderant. Now, I haven't really been doing any sweaty work, but that never really makes me stinky anyway, it's being in stressful/nervewracking situations that does.

[alexisyael]

(I tried responding before, but the boards ate my post!)

Sugaring is basically waxing except they use a very thick sugar mixture instead of wax. Some salons do both, and you can buy either in a drugstore.

I would recomend getting your legs waxed at a salon the first time (and you can see whether it will work for you on a regular basis.) Make sure you follow the pre-care insructions and ask them about sensitive skin. In my experience, waxing is the best for sensitive skin, but see what they say

Wemoon -- I generally like longer skirts and capris better than shorts, but I have been known to wear short-shorts, too My pits aren't stinky, but occasionally in the summer I trim down the hair with a pair of scissors (a trick I learned from my dh). I wear deodorant, but that's mostly just in case I get "fear BO" (I sometimes get anxious and it causes my pits to stink VERY badly, just like Brisen was saying. Pain also causes me to stink.)

[OnlyLovePrevails]

Oh My~

Hello There,
jus a little note to say i have been laughing , this is so nice to see everyone really chatting about this.
i haven't shaved anything for about 7 years. i have strawberry blond hair and very pail leg hair. It's not majorly noticable. i wear short, skirts, cut offs, bathing suits, and i love my hair the way it is. My Husband does also. No complaints. It's actually his preference.
Sometimes i get a look from folks while wearing a tank top , but i jus keep on going. i'm not emabarressed. Also i don't realy have a stink problem. i use "Toms of Maine" Deoderant, about three- four times a week with great success.
i shaved when i first started growing hair. Then the rashes and burns and stubble were too much to bear. i hated the process and thought, You know, i was born this way, This is natural, i think i'm gonna leave this alone. Also i was constantly getting blocked pores in my arm pits that would be so sore. i think i was getting signs that it just wasn't the right thing to do.
So, here i am reading your posts and totally lovin' this communication. It's real life. sad not too many women are willing to truly discuss their Body's.
Thank You for the space.

Be Well*

[OnlyLovePrevails]

There should be a thread for us!

[alexisyael]

If you post it, they will come! (Or at least me, I'm trying to rack up enough posts today to get my senior member status!)

It may be easier for us pale haired girls to go au natural....

My dh (very hairy, very dark) wishes he had less hair...

[MaShroom]

i broke down and mowed my legs and pits. i hate it. note to self: hairy body is fine, leave it alone!!! i'm a pale girly with dark hair too. i think i'll take people staring over feeling like a cactus.:

[Aura_Kitten]

i being hairy!

i didn't shave my legs for years, then shaved them for my SO... then stopped again, started again, etc etc. now i'm quite furry (everywhere! i never thought i'd like having pit hair :LOL) and loving it.

anyway... in all of my numerous hair-shedding experiments, one shave cream stands out above the rest: Kiss My Face moisturizing fragrance-free shave cream for sensitive skin. that stuff is FABULOUS. i slather it on then shave w/ a Venus razor ~ very smooth, very gentle shave. it even worked well when i shaved my head and eyebrows, and that's saying a lot.

follow up with a good moisturizer ~ i like Kiss My Face fragrance free, oil-free moisturizer "with Alpha and Aloe". it's a nice, basic, oil-free lotion that won't bog you down w/ a heavy fragrance, and helps smooth your skin and get rid of dead skin cells.

[MaShroom]

ok klothos, i have to know why you shaved your eyebrows. i get the head thing, i've done it a few times myself. the first time was a drunkfest, we used a bic and barbasol. i would not recommend that.:LOL since then i just used clippers with no guard. but why the eyebrows? i'm just curious.

[alexisyael]

Perhaps it was a Marilyn Manson tribute?

[stafl]

Originally Posted by alexisyael

Perhaps it was a Marilyn Manson tribute?

:LOL I'm showing my age, but I was thinking of The Wall...