I'm not a waxer, I'm a shaver. I just have issue with some random woman in my girly area for any reason, but especially to rip hair out and cause me pain.

Some others may be able to give you good info on some of your questions re: effects of waxing on riding, but I would go check out a good esthetician and ask lots of questions too. If this is a road you want to go down, you want to have lots of answers from a professional and feel really comfortable with the person doing it (my best friend is my waxer which may be another reason I don't want her down there lol, but she does exceptional work on my eyebrows!).

---

______________________________________
I know I'm promiscuous, but in a classy way

LOL. Yes, I can think of lots of things I share with my best friend, but this would not be one of them. And I definitely want to be comfortable with the idea before I go ahead. I tend to over complicate things. So maybe I should just jump and see what happens once I find some one. And maybe test drive with a not so sensitive part.

Thanks for the input.
gb

YEs waxing is the way to go. Ask around in your area for who does the best braxilian wax. You want someone experienced!!! It hurts like hell but it's over quick. If you keep up and go once a month it doesn't hurt as much.

I try not to ride right before I go in. It's ok to ride after.

i had a bikini wax done by one woman who left me hurting for days. my new person has me hold the surrounding area tight and it doesn't hurt. granted, i don't get brazilian, but regular bikini wax.

try to get a referral, and hold the surrounding skin tight. it is over quick and then you'll be able to get on with it.

overall though, i highly doubt your saddle problem is because of hair. unless your getting hair pulls, but if it's more than that, waxing will not rememdy it.

I have some experience with waxing. Here's my two cents (maybe not worth even that much): if you believe the discomfort to be hair related, it may be necessary to remove it all- not just the bikini area. I highly recommend seeing a professional. Yes, her face will be in your business but she does this for a living and she's seen a LOT. Plus, she's much faster at it than you will be. You will need to do some trimming if you don't keep it trimmed already. When you make your appointment, ask how long your hair should be. Often .25 to .5 inches is optimal (too long leads to pulling; too short and the wax can't grab it). If you have sensitive skin (I do so I know something about this- I could never be a shaver), I highly recommend bathing just before going (softens hair) and right after with gentle exfoliation (prevents clogged hair follicles). See how you're going to react the first time before you jump on the bike. I waited three days after my first wax. I had absolutely no problems.
I was worried for a time about an increase in saddle sores, but have found that these are actually a bigger problem when there's hair down there (and seemingly related to the B complex I take). Preparation H wipes are great for soothing the skin afterward. They're just witch hazel and aloe wipes.
It's usually about 5-6 weeks before I need to return to have it waxed again, and at least for me, the hair is starting to thin down there. I had a healthy growth down there before I started this too.
A word about the pain....yes it hurts. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain and did not find it to be unbearable. As your hair starts to thin, it will hurt less. You're an athlete right? Chances are, your tolerance for pain is pretty high too. It's the mons part that hurts worse than the labial part. Once the mons is waxed, the rest is easy.
I only started this because my husband bought a teeny bikini for me to wear on a vacation, and I've decided it's the berries. Plus, it has some sexual benefits as well!
Hope this helps!

benefit (the make-up company) usually has great waxers, if there's a store in your area--

i say spend the $$$ on the first wax, after that, it's really easy to maintain just by shaving!

My experience was that having hair caused some, if not all, of my saddle sores. As soon as I started shaving, I've had no problems with them. I'm too cheap to routinely wax, but I do have it done once in a while. The pain isn't that bad, but I agree with someone else's advice to check what length to have the hair cut to before going in. I went in once with long-ish hair and that HURT. I also like using witch hazel afterwards, it helps with the redness/bumps. You can find it with alcohol and peroxide in the first aid section of Walgreens. I was back to normal activities, including riding and running within a day or two. I scheduled my last appt the day before one of my rest days. Remember to wear underwear to the appt that you are comfortable wearing home. You will want something with a higher waistband so that the band doesn't rub on irritated skin.

You get over the embarassment pretty quickly. I get my waxer talking about all the crazy stuff she does (hearts for valentine's day, girls that bring their guys in for back waxing . . .) and I realize that I'm actually one of the more normal clients.

I do the full wax, then lots of bodyglide and I can run or ride the day of.

C'mon, time to develop that taint of steel. ;-)

AP

---

------------------------
"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

Thank you everyone. The advice was sooooo helpful. All of it. The info for what to do before, during and after!! Never even thought about trimming. People trim?? LOL You learn the darnedest things on ST. And incresingly on the Womens. I think I am going to treat this like a hair cut. What is the worst that can happen. If it is terrible, it will grow back. I will be the wiser for the experience. And maybe a little tougher too. It will make those Ironman races seem tame!! : ) I will have a look around, and ask a few friends if they can recommend someone. And yes, oh my God, I am going to have to develop a backbone and nerves of steel to go through with this. Almost spit out my orange juice at the idea of a taint of steel though!! Very funny!! Am picturing a stylized "S"... Just thinking about that might just get me through the ordeal. : )

Thanks all.
gb

ladies,
lots of great info here, new to the slowtwitch..wow I have been missing a lot.. so where would you go to find a professional.. a beauty salon, a spa??? hopefully not a local nail salon that waxes... lol

you know, while we are on topic in this "area", I was wondering what you womens do to prevent ingrown hairs here? I do the bikini wax but sometimes get the bumpies from the ingrown hairs.

I use an epilator (although I waxed in the past).

Quick, easy, and pretty much pain free after you've done it a few times.

---

---

mmm-mmm-Momo Charms
Handmade beverage charms, jewelry, and miscellanea
http://momocharms.wordpress.com

You know, since going "all in" on the hair removal I find myself a little shy in the locker room. It's like I'm more naked.

---

---------------------------------------
Awww, Katy's not all THAT evil. Only slightly evil. In a good way. - JasoninHalifax

I am very curious myself now... I gotta try this.. Katy you are a crack up.... I love it

Laser hair removal or wax. if you bike alot it is the way to go. Shaving just leaves you way too bumpy!

---

leslie myers
http://www.foodsensenow.com

I'm not "all in" but I'm pretty damn close and I have the same shyness in the locker room full of guys.

---

--
01001010 01100101 01101110 01001000 01010011 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01010100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01000100 01100101 01110110 01101001 01101100 00100000 00101000 01100001 01100011 01100011 01101111 01110010 01100100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110010 01101111 01100001 01100100 01101000 01101111 01110101 01110011 01100101 00101001 00100001
http://trainingoferic.blogspot.com/

Do you wax, shave or have undergone laser hair removal?

---

leslie myers
http://www.foodsensenow.com

Just trim with clippers.

---

--
01001010 01100101 01101110 01001000 01010011 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01010100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01000100 01100101 01110110 01101001 01101100 00100000 00101000 01100001 01100011 01100011 01101111 01110010 01100100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110010 01101111 01100001 01100100 01101000 01101111 01110101 01110011 01100101 00101001 00100001
http://trainingoferic.blogspot.com/

That is good. Frankly most men should manscape.

---

leslie myers
http://www.foodsensenow.com

I've been complimented many times because of it. Let's just say that when I'm down there that I like the "play area" to be nicely trimmed and I thought that I would return the favor.

---

--
01001010 01100101 01101110 01001000 01010011 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01010100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01000100 01100101 01110110 01101001 01101100 00100000 00101000 01100001 01100011 01100011 01101111 01110010 01100100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110010 01101111 01100001 01100100 01101000 01101111 01110101 01110011 01100101 00101001 00100001
http://trainingoferic.blogspot.com/

Get the Brazillian. Hurts like a mofo, but it quickly (as in 5 minutes) feels great!! Ingrowns are cured by exfoliating the area regularly, using lotion...yes down there, and when you see the little red bumpies just get a tweezer to grab the end that is trying to go back the wrong way. Eventually after waxing for many months the hairs will be thinner and more sparse.

It can also be quite expensive over time. My excellent aesthetician charges $70 for the full (plus tip), so I do that once a month. But my hair grows back so quickly that I just do the front end (not the bottom) after two weeks which is around $35...Wow, I spend a lot on waxing every month!!

Brazilian Bikini Wax is the only way to go. Try to get it professionally done. If you can't find a reputable one in your area, then you can do it yourself...but it always comes out better when it's done by someone else.

Nice way to alleviate the double standard--

---

leslie myers
http://www.foodsensenow.com

X2

Clean, quick and simple.

Fortunately also painless!

---

__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

Breakfast is for Closers