Should I Shave My Chest Hair?

(Almost) all men grow hair on their chest. Some like to keep it that way, while some trim/shave it in order to achieve a hair-free look for instances when they take off their shirts. For some time this has been in the purview of social debates, bordering personal choice vs social pressure. While one side of the spectrum campaigns for staying the way nature meant it and boos down the ones manscaping, the other side champions the supremacy of ‘choice’ while passing no moral judgements. 

The purpose of this blog is not to be in the band wagon of debates or taking sides. We believe both sides have some merit and everyone is free to choose how they’d like to deal with their body hair. To shave or not to shave your chest is totally your choice, but is this the best way to get rid of your hair there? Putting a razor on your chest may irritate the skin and with time it may feel too much of a hassle. But again, who are we to judge? Let’s take a closer look and explore all aspects of this grooming dilemma. 

The Good Part About Shaving Chest Hair

If you’ve decided to do it, there’s a list of benefits you’ll derive from the results. 

• Flex Those Pecs and Abs: If you have been hitting the barbell regularly and putting in that hardwood, then showing off your efforts through a neatly shaved chest is great. A hairless chest can accentuate your hard-earned muscle definition. It gives you a sleek, defined and athletic look that makes your muscles pop even clearer.

• Hygiene: If you have an extraordinarily fast rate of growth on your chest, there is a high chance that your chest is now a treasure chest for things like dried sweat, dead skin cells, and other unsavoury things. So, this is a good reason to go for a neater look. 

• Better Product Absorption: When you remove hair from your chest, you expose your skin to moisturisers and skincare products better, which makes it easier for them to get absorbed into your skin. A shaved chest lets you absorb sunscreen, moisturisers and body oils much better.

The Bad Part About Shaving Chest Hair

• Nicks and Cuts: If you’re new to shaving your chest, you should know the topography of the hair growth on this part of your body. Chest Hair grows in multiple directions, so finding the right direction to shaving becomes difficult and gliding your razor in multiple directions may lead to other repercussions. You may experience cuts, razor burns, bumps, rashes, and even ingrown hair, which makes this a painful process.

• Prickly Growth: When you shave a part of your face or body, the tip of the hair gets cut, exposing a sharper and thicker base of the hair, which gives a prickly sensation. When this is done on the body, and particularly the chest area this prickly sensation is aggravated by the constant cover of clothes on it, as the rough edges of the hair – when they start growing back – rub against them. It isn't easy till the hair grows back to at least half their original length.

• Too Much Maintenance: Just like any other body part, your chest hair too requires a timely upkeep to maintain the look. In fact it demands more maintenance, as the chest hair happens to grow much quickly. So keeping up the chest shaving routine gets very time-consuming and over a period of time may feel like a lot of hassle. 

So, Should I Shave My Chest, Or There's a Better Way?

But the good news is that there are other and better ways to remove hair from your chest. The following tips make it easier to get rid of hair and even keep the upkeep of the look more manageable than if you shaved them.

Avoid Razors On Chest

The blades of a shaving razor directly touch your skin. A gentle and a sensitive on the skin razors only reduces the chances of razor burns during the process but does not completely eliminate the other factors that may add to your discomfort, as listed above. When you shave your chest, within a few days you will notice that your chest will start to feel like a hedgehog’s back (to you and your partner) and it will start to poke through your skin, which is uncomfortable (unless you like it that way). 

Trimming is Evergreen for Chest Hair 

Trimming is not only to do, but is hands down the best way to maintain the neat look of your chest and keep them tidy and finely groomed. When you use a Trimmer, you give your chest hair a more natural appearance. You can choose varying hair length settings with he help of a trimmer comb to maintain a look that is both natural and feels comfortable. 

Here’s How You Trim Your Chest Hair

You can always trim longer hair to shorter length but vice versa is not possible, unless you're in a GTA game. Finding the right length for your hair may take some time and calibration, and you can always adjust by going a notch shorter if you’re not satisfied. Here are a few tips to keep in mind, in no particular order. 

• Start with a 3mm - 4mm comb as this is the safe number to start with, change the comb length, based on the final look you see.

• Take it slow as the pressure you exert can directly impact the results and it can trim your hair much shorter than you want.

• Trim vertically and horizontal straight lines and make it even better by trimming diagonally

• After a few strokes, there would be some patches left, spot them and go at them for an even trim. 

• Be very careful around the nipples, as things get bumpy there. Go against the grain to trim as much as possible with least pressure.

Hair Removal Spray

Another way of getting rid of your chest hair is by using a super convenient hair removal spray, and chemical derivative that works by breaking down the protein in your hair strands and simply wiping them off. The results that you achieve using a hair removal spray are quite different from when you trim or shave. Shaving includes a razor and the hair is cut closely from the surface of the skin. Trimming is performed at a level slightly above the skin surface, so you’d still see a layer of hair after the process. On the other hand when you use a Hair Removal Spray, it removes the hair from a little under the surface, resulting in a closer hair removal. 

Here’s How to Use Hair Removal Spray

A hair removal spray is designed with men in mind and that’s why it is different from a hair removal cream in texture, smell and overall handling. It is more handy and quick with way less hassle than a cream. All you have to do is spray iron your body, wait for some time and wipe it clean with the help of a cloth, foam or spatula. Here’s how to use it step-by step.

• Shake the can well before use

• Spray a good amount of the foam on the desired area. Make sure all the hair is covered and you are not able to see them under the foam.

• Let it stay on the body from 8 to 10 minutes, depending on the density of your hair. But don’t go over 10 minutes.

• After 8-10 minutes, use a cloth, foam or spatula to remove the hair.

• Rinse with normal water or simply take a shower after removing hair.

• Follow it up with a post-shave balm.

Things To Take Care While Using a Hair Spray

• Make sure you do a patch test before you go all in. This means you have to try out the product on a small part of your skin before going full throttle. This will give you a fair idea how your skin reacts to the product. If you feel any burning sensation or discomfort, don’t proceed to the rest of your chest.

• Keep it away from your eyes. Make sure you don’t use it near your face, as the chemicals in a typical hair removal spray are not safe for your eyes or mouth. 

THAT’S A WRAP

So to settle this “Should I Start Shaving My Chest” debate, the best answer to this question is to take the trimming route. This way you can keep things clean, more natural looking and yet pain-free. Do a weekly maintenance on your trimmed areas. Keep trying different comb lengths, and stick to the length that feels most comfortable. An alternate method is using a hair removal spray that gives you a cleaner look and leaves no hair on the surface. The result from this method of hair removal falls somewhere between waxing and shaving. Happy grooming!