As long as your wife doesn't complain who cares? I did a full body shave once and my wife hated it. Now I trim down my chest and leg hair but don't totally remove it.

That's the only reason I got into this damn sport. I needed a reason to get rid of all this excess hair;-), and I'm not overly hairy. I just hate body hair... My wife loves it, she gets a kick out of buzzing the two small patches on my back.

Once I started shaving I quickly got to the point where I can't stand body hair now. Especially my pits, I don't keep up on it in the winter as much as when it is warm out but I can't let it go too long or it bothers me.

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Jim

**Note above poster works for a retailer selling bikes and related gear*

I hate body hair and honestly don't know how guys deal with it. I see some people who are so hairy and I just don't understand how they live with it. I stay clean all year because I can't stand the feeling of it growing back. I don't shave my arms but legs, chest, stomach any hair on my back and my armpits are pretty close to shaved. I am closer and closer to shaving my head. My girlfriend says it is so close anyway but haven't got that far yet.

I'm sure in some form or fashion we all need a shrink :) Now onto the hair question. I am quite hairy. During the season I shave my legs, arms, back & trim my pubic region very, very low. I trim my underarm hair to a modest amount. During the offseason I still maintain my shaved legs, pubic region, & underarm hair. Oh yeah I trim my chest also.

If I ever did a full body shave; I would never leave the bathroom...lol. As far as the area down below shave it if you like it. I'm not ashamed to admit that I (& my wife) like a trimmed, clean look, & yes, I catch some funny looks at the gym but who cares. Not to mention when you are training in the heat of the summer it makes things a lot more comfortable on the bike & in the tight clothing we tend to wear.

I say shave away my friend.....put your shrink $$$ towards more razors. P.S. I haven't gotten the b@ll$ to try back waxing yet!

I love it when threads like this come up. One of the reasons I stopped reading Men's Health several years ago was that it was getting, well, too gay, what with all the articles on shaving and primping and whatnot. I liked the real articles, like "What to do when you cut off your thumb with a circular saw".

Anyway, after a couple of years at the pool, and several years of getting crap from my cycling friends, I started getting sensitive about my body hair. Now, I am pretty freakin' hairy, and I never used to think about it. But then, I also never used to go around in public wearing a Speedo. Also, I noticed that my brother has been shaving his back(he spends a lot of time at the gym). So last August(appropriately enough, I did this after IMLP and my trip to Hawaii - 'cause I'm a dumbass!) I tried to shave my back. It was difficult, and I almost ended up enlisting my bride's services, which I didn't want to do. I ended up at my stylist's for a waxing.

Let me just say this: DAMN!!! It hurts, a lot. I say this as a guy who has tattoos, has had piercings, and has a lot of hair on my back. Then, as if the pain wasn't bad enough, for a couple of weeks afterwards, I had a lot of pimples, probably caused by the torn up hair follicles and the oil they put on afterwards, but my point is that it looked awful. After that, it looked pretty good for a few weeks, then I started getting fuzzy again.

The moral of the story: If you're hairy, don't get your back waxed. It isn't worth it, and it hurts. Also, it costs about $60.

One note: They shaved me pretty good for my recent hernia surgery, and it's been growing back. You couldn't pay me to do that again. It's just too damned itchy.

I miss the good old days, when a hirsute man was considered manly and attractive.

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Nothing feels better on shaved legs/arms than going 30+ mph on the bike. Feels like a hot knife cutting through butter. Don't knock it until you try it.

~AB~

OK so help me out. How do you prevent/treat ingrown hairs? I love to have my legs, chest, etc. all smooth but the ingrowns are a huge pain. I can't imagine shaving my ass for that reason - I'm worried that it would turn out to be a huge puss-filled boil.

Please help.

I spent the first 15 years of my life without body hair and I don't remember it being "orgasmic" or any of the other enlightening terms that could decribe the ideas put forth in this thread.

Yes, you guys need a shrink ... I mean, body shaving isn't for me. That's what I meant to say. =)

Can't a guy be "groomed" without being 11 all over again? I don't see where body hair is a "all over the place or nothing" condition.

I agree with Morrissey, body hair is masculine. The prepubescent look is for, well ... prepubescents. ;)

Preferenfces. Everyone's are different.

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-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --

"I love it when threads like this come up. One of the reasons I stopped reading Men's Health several years ago was that it was getting, well, too gay, what with all the articles on shaving and primping and whatnot. I liked the real articles, like "What to do when you cut off your thumb with a circular saw". "

Hahaha!! Too funny!

Year 'round... shave the noggin

Cycling season... no problem with the legs.

Racing season... feel free to add chest, back (and arms - if you like)

But the gonadal region? A neat trim, sure... but walking around the gym locker room with bare balls (cue sound track with chunky bass line and "wacka, wacka, wacka" guitar) just screams porno-freak to me.

I remember my first road bike race and being one of the few participating who didn't shave his legs. Was told after the race that if you have hairy legs, you're most likely new and should be considered dangerous in a peloton. OK..fine.

I never felt the urge to shave, and now that I do tri's, I must be oblivious to all of the shaved bodies around me. Do that many guys shave? Any guesses to the percentage of men who participate in triathlons who at a bare minimum shave legs ? And other than the sensual qualities, what does it do for you?

REasons I shave:

4% - My wife likes it / Looks cool / show off the calf progress

1% - It might make me go faster/easier cleanup for scrapes

1% - Everyone else does

7% - Feels dang fast on a bike and in the pool

87% - Not having to put up with other bikers/triathletes making fun, talking behind the back, saying I am not taking it seriously, or giving me reason after reason to shave. I just can't handle the peer annoyance.

Here is one awesome reason not to shave.

When I was on the college cycling team I purposefully didn't shave becasue it was itchy and a hasssle, and during crits and races there was nothing so great as seeing the faces of people I passed when they saw my super hairy legs. It always made them feel like they were getting schooled by an amatuer. I was rarely chased on breakaways. Priceless.

What about butt-crack hairs?

I mean, we've all had an experience where, no matter how hard you try, you just can't seem to get clean after a number 2. So, you wipe real hard and enevitably pull out a few of those hairs. Ouch! That hurts. So, if you shave 'em out, wouldn't that make clean-up easier and less painful?

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Proud member of FISHTWITCH: doing a bit more than fish exercise now.

Sick.

Maybe look into permanent removal via laser. What could it cost? $5K for most of your body? $10K? A pittance considering the aesthetic part, and the zero hassle. Like Lasik for bodyhair!

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Too f@ckin depressed from various injuries to care about having a signature line.

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