Should Men Shave Their Arms and Legs Hair
Swimmers, cyclists and some pro athletes shave hair from their arms and legs to reduce frictional drag, improve streamline performance and to heighten their awareness and feel. But if you're not a professional athlete, is it something that you should do? This starts an interesting conversation. While it’s a practical purpose that shaving the arms and legs solves for an athlete, it is more of an aesthetic choice for you. So the question isn’t as much as ‘should you’ rather than ‘would you like to’. And the answer, quite frankly is – It's absolutely up to you.
In case you’ve been contemplating whether to remove hair from your arms and legs or not, you should definitely give this a read:
Why Should You Shave Your Arms and Legs
Some men may choose to remove their arms and legs for many reasons. If you find yourself aligned to any of the reasons mentioned below, you should definitely consider removing hair from your arms and legs.
Aesthetics: Many men find the feel of smooth skin more appealing, and how it adds extra sharpness to their looks in their outfits. Also, if you have been hitting the gym regularly, you may want to see your GAINSSS and your progress so far. Shaving your arms and legs can definitely give you a better view of your muscles and pop them out more defined.
Athletic Performance: Hairless skin is subjected to less resistance when you’re steering against water or air. People involved in competitive sports like swimming, cycling, and gymnastics often remove hair from their body, including arms and legs to reduce drag. Doing this improves their performance and enhances their elemental feel.
Hygiene and Cleanliness: Look, body hair doesn't inherently make someone clean or unclean. For some men a clean and hairless look enhances their sense of personal hygiene. Removing hair may have a psychological impact on them and they may feel cleaner and fresher with smooth skin, especially in warmer climates or during strenuous activities.
Why Should You NOT Shave Your Arms and Legs
Now, let’s look at some of the reasons why you should avoid removing your hair on arms and legs.
Skin Conditions: If you have some skin condition, like eczema or psoriasis, hair removal by methods like shaving and waxing can be quite irritating, in fact it can even exacerbate your skin conditions. This leads to skin rashes, inflammation, and discomfort. In such cases you must avoid it as much as possible.
Skin Sensitivity: If you have naturally sensitive skin, you may find yourself too slim on the choices you have when it comes to putting anything on your skin. It might be best to let your body hair grow naturally, and trim instead. Shaving your body hair may end up inflaming and irritating your skin.
The Pros of Shaving
Reduced Skin Irritation from Tight Clothing: People with extraordinary hair growth on arms and legs may find hair removal a relief from skin irritation caused by tight-fitting clothing. Areas like the underarms where chafing is most likely to happen, a smoother and hairless skin can minimise friction and discomfort from clothing.
Easier Product Application: Too much hair can obstruct the application of skin products and you might not be able to reap the maximum benefits of these products. With a smooth and hairless skin, it is easier to apply moisturiser evenly to your arms and legs. This can ensure better hydration for your skin.
The Cons of Shaving
Skin Allergies and Reactions: Hair removal products like shaving creams and waxes are filled with harmful chemicals that might not be suitable for some. These products can cause itching, redness, and discomfort on your skin.
Consumes Time: Your arms and legs are big areas to cover and hence it takes more time to remove hair from them. Additionally this is not something you’ll do once and forget. This takes time, commitment and has to be done over and over again to maintain the appearance.
Questions To Answer Before Going At It
-
What’s your preference: What do you really prefer? A smooth and hairless look or a more natural look?
-
Your lifestyle: Are you a regular gym goer? Are you an athlete and the hair around arms and legs is an obstacle to your speed and performance?
Best Way to Remove Hair From Your Arms and Legs
Now that you have made up your mind, the next big question is how to do it. There are methods like waxing, shaving, trimming, hair removal creams and hair removal sprays that give you a cleaner finish. Out of these the most convenient are hair removal spray and a mix of shaving and trimming. Here is how you can do it:
Trim first, shave next: If you have extraordinarily coarse and thick hair on your arms and legs, it's best to start with trimming it down with no comb on the Trimmer and then shave the hair that’s left on the skin after trimming.
Use Shaving foam: Wet the area that you need to shave and then lubricate it with a shaving foam to add an extra layer of protection. Even though the density of hair on your arms and legs is way less than your beard, the logic of using a shaving foam to lubricate still supplies and it makes the process very very convenient. When you reach sensitive areas like your inner thighs it makes it easy to glide your razor while reducing the chances of getting razor cuts.
Use a Sharp Razor: Make sure the blades of the razor you’re using are sharp as it reduces the chances of razor cuts, hair pulls and ingrown hairs.
Hair Removal Spray: This is a revolutionary new way of getting rid of unwanted hair without any hassle. All you have to do is spray a good amount fo hair removal spray on the desired area and let it stay for 8-10 minutes. Then simply wipe off with the help of a foam, cloth or spatula.
THAT’S A WRAP
Of course, there are also many reasons why a man might choose to shave or not shave his arms and legs. Some men with an active lifestyle, or some men who are pro athletes may decide to shave their arms and legs hairs as it will enhance their performance, which is a very practical reason to do it. While some men simply are not enamoured by the idea of shaving because of how their skin may feel after. The bottomline is to each his own.
