# Shaving



## maxiogee

I loathe it, and consider it as possibly the worst chore I need to perform.
I don't grow a good beard - believe me, I've tried on several occasions. I do a good moustache, but I'm a bit too low on the hairs-per-square-inch to be happy with anything I have managed to date.
When I can get away with it, I leave two, three or even four days between shaves.
The problem with this is that generally speaking, people in Ireland like one to be well-groomed, shaved daily - but if you have a beard it should be 'tidy'.
Electric razors don't do a good enough job and I find all the multi-bladed modern wet-razors get bunged up with shaving-cream and hair so easily that that don't do much better.
One of the greatest joys in life is getting shaved by a good barber. They know that this is an undertaking which requires stillness from the customer (a quivering thyroid cartilege is just looking for an accident!) so the usual inane barber's chat is dispensed with.

How do other guys here feel about shaving, and what does your society think about the 'unkempt' look of someone who has gone a few days without a shave?


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## natasha2000

"Unkept" look and three days' bierd is in, Maxi... You didn't know that?  

At least, this guy thinks like this...


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## Chaska Ñawi

Men around here usually are shaven, but you see some trimmed beards.  The last shaggy beard I saw anywhere was on my husband when we were first-time parents.

I'm somewhat amazed and annoyed by this new societal obsession with minimal body hair.  As far as men go, I see regular ads for laser removal of back and chest hair on men.  Canadian male models are generally a hairless bunch.  Are all Irish models mostly devoid of body hair these days too?

As far as women go .... well!!   It used to be that you were expected to shape your eyebrows, shave your legs and underarms and leave it at that ... although you were usually tolerated as a harmless eccentric if you declined.  Now the expectation is extreme bikini waxes (even if the only people present when you unveil your bikini line are the other ladies in the pool change-room), laser removal of any and all hairs on lips and chins ... I'm waiting to see whether models will start shaving their arms next.

Just how did we arrive at all these high-maintenance "looks"?


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## natasha2000

Chaska Ñawi said:


> I'm waiting to see whether models will start shaving their arms next.


 
But a lot of women do this, Chaska! Although they do not shave it but wax it... 

Personally, I don't like hairy chest and *especially* hairy back in men... As a matter of fact, I don't like VERY hairy men at all, but hey, that's me, and my personal taste...

On the other hand, three days bierd is ok with me, it it is maintained.. And of course, if it looks good on a man. 

I think that it is all about the esthetics... And this sometimes can be such a personal thing... What is beautiful to me, doesn't have to mean that you should consider it beautiful too, and vice versa...


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## rsweet

Well, Maxiogee, you seem to be starting out this thread with the women's point of view, but I'm sure the guys will be around soon.   My husband started a beard 30 years ago while I was on a long trip to France. I came home to a bearded guy! Now I don't think I'd recognize him without it. The bad thing about beards, if you're feeling wistful about not growing one, is that as a man ages, often his beard turns gray before his hair!

There's a strange phenomenon with younger men--especially on TV and in films--of having what looks like a three-day beard all the time! I think there's even a special setting on the electric razor to achieve this effect. You could go this route and look very hip  , or you could just be thankful that good grooming for you doesn't include the new fashion of waxing your chest and back hair!!! 

Oh, good just saw Alex Murphy is adding his male viewpoint.


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## LV4-26

natasha2000 said:


> At least, this guy thinks like this...


For some reason a three days' beard looks fine on George Michael and looks terrible on me. 
Electric razors? I hate how it feels on my skin
Disposable razors? Ok, but I have to use a new one every other day.
I wouldn't say shaving is the worst chore but each time I can avoid it, I do. 

I grew a beard only once in my lifetime (and shaved it a year later). But it takes several weeks to become a real one. And I can't hide for that long.


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## .   1

I generally shave once a day with a twin blade pivoting head razor using moisturising 'soap' while under the shower.  I sometimes shave a second time if my wife gives me good reason to do so.  I do not have a heavy growth but a five o'clock shadow is still abrasive.
No one seems to notice if I go for a few days without shaving and I see every type of shaved to three day growth to full beard every time I go out.
If it were possible to permenantly eliminate the need to shave I would do so.

.,,


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## beclija

I tend to grow a goatie (or really two, because there is a bunch of hair on either side of the chin, but little in between), but when it gets to long I start with some neurotic behaviour like chewing it whenever I feel unobserved, so I'll have to trim it back. I then often get the impression that it looks ridiculous so short and shave it off altogether, only to start growing a new one the next week.
As for the rest of the face, I don't like shaving and rarely do it more than once a week. At times I don't shave at all but trimm it at 1mm.


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## übermönch

I really really want to grow a Van Dyke beard with a Napoleon III. moustache, but all that grows a lousy short brush  Here, in southern Hesse (Franconia) a beard isn't really tolerated if it's not a thick full one hanging from your hippy's or old man's chin.  So, once I have my Vandyke i'll move to Bavaria or to the Netherlands!


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## natasha2000

übermönch said:


> I really really want to grow a Van Dyke beard with a Napoleon III. moustache, but all that grows a lousy short brush  Here, in southern Hesse (Franconia) a beard isn't really tolerated if it's not a thick full one hanging from your hippy's or old man's chin.  So, once I have my Vandyke i'll move to Bavaria or to the Netherlands!


 
Excuse me...
What is a Van Dyke bierd? 



PS: Maybe you are still too young to have a good bierd...


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## panjabigator

Interesting thread.  For Sikhs, it is considered horrible to shave...anything!  Which means, beard, leg hair, arm pit hair, long hair etc.  I however shave.  So does everyone in my immediate family.  We were never forced to keep out hair and so we dont.


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## natasha2000

panjabigator said:


> Interesting thread. For Sikhs, it is considered horrible to shave...anything! Which means, beard, leg hair, arm pit hair, long hair etc. I however shave. So does everyone in my immediate family. We were never forced to keep out hair and so we dont.


 
Very interesting thing...
So, those who follow religious commands... They never cut any hair? Never never? Women also?


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## panjabigator

natasha2000 said:


> Very interesting thing...
> So, those who follow religious commands... They never cut any hair? Never never? Women also?


Yep.  No one cuts any hair.  Which means no eye brow waxes etc.  I' say majority of Sikhs follow this tenant strictly, except for the ones who have left India and are 1st generation, like myself.


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## natasha2000

panjabigator said:


> Yep. No one cuts any hair. Which means no eye brow waxes etc. I' say majority of Sikhs follow this tenant strictly, except for the ones who have left India and are 1st generation, like myself.


Eye brow waxes are not so important (even though eyebrow hair is not removed with wax )... I was referring more to hair in women and men, and bierd in men... So, they never cut their hair? So thay must have a VERY long hair... I wonder how they maintain hair hygiene... It must be very hard job...
On the other hand, we (at least I) usually have the image of Indian men and women as very beautiful and rather un-hairy people... I never imagine an Indian with a bierd... Maybe with a moustashe, but never with abierd...
Or these people I am referring to are not Sikhs? (I am so ignorant about this)


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## venenum

Well, considering how I hate shaving my legs, I don't envy men. When I'm too lazy to shave, I simply wair long pants, and they don't have this convenient alternative.  
But I'm actually not really thrilled with my significant other's habit of shaving every third day. (His three days beard maybe looks like one day beard of some men, but nevertheless, it scratches like heck!  )
And, just to add, I hate hairy chest and back in men (luckily for my dearest, he's hair-deficient in mentioned areas, so I won't make him wax any time soon   )


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## .   1

natasha2000 said:


> Eye brow waxes are not so important (even though eyebrow hair is not removed with wax )


They are very common in Australia.
The term eyebrow wax is slightly confusing in that it it is not the eyebrow that is removed but rather the stray hairs between the eyebrows - the hairs on the forehead above the nose.

.,,


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## Bonjules

Hola,
There is this theory that the lawnmower was invented (in Victorian England?) to convert all all those wild and wooly, ideed chaotic and maybe 'sexual' looking meadows into flat, uniformly controlled, totally unexiting carpets. 
Some believe the shaving mania exists for the same reason: Shaving removes signs of sexual maturity (beards in men, underarm hair in women).
This appears esp. comforting for the father vs.daughter in that it helps
him to pretend that she is still a child (I heard of cases of fathers punishing daughters that let it grow).
What is unsettling to me here in Puerto Rico is that men are shaving their faces in incresing numbers. Not only the chin: I'm talking eyebrows, finely
sculpted like in a woman. Not only in the city, but in the sticks, everywhere. Now I even see grown men shaving their armpits. 
What is happening? Is this happening in Europe, US and Southamerica?;
is it a worldwide trend?


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## boardslide315

Bonjules said:
			
		

> Not only the chin: I'm talking eyebrows, finely
> sculpted like in a woman. Not only in the city, but in the sticks, everywhere. Now I even see grown men shaving their armpits.
> What is happening? Is this happening in Europe, US and Southamerica?;
> is it a worldwide trend?



  I personally don't know any man here who _admittedly_ shaves/plucks their eyebrows, (unless of course they are gay or part of the "metro" movement) but if he has a dark unibrow it is not uncommon. Most would prefer to take the chance of being found out they shave their unibrow in favor of walking around with it every day. 

I would say at least 15% of the guys in my graduating high school class shaved their legs regularly, and a much greater proportion did it at least once a year. It was most common among the athletic types. I'm not sure how many shave their chests, but I would imagine it is roughly the same amount.


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## Daddyo

I don't need to shave because I hardly grow any facial hair. I only do so because it looks better to have a clean-shaven face than stray small and thick hairs sticking out at odd places and angles of the face.
However, I do not object to shaving the inguinal area frequently.


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## natasha2000

. said:


> They are very common in Australia.
> The term eyebrow wax is slightly confusing in that it it is not the eyebrow that is removed but rather the stray hairs between the eyebrows - the hairs on the forehead above the nose.
> 
> .,,


 

hehehehe, thanks Dots&Commas...
I myself shape my eyebrows, but I do not use wax...


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## natasha2000

boardslide315 said:


> I personally don't know any man here who _admittedly_ shaves/plucks their eyebrows, (*unless of course they are gay* or part of the "metro" movement)


 
Do you want to say that all gays shave their eyebrows?


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## Brioche

. said:


> They are very common in Australia.
> The term eyebrow wax is slightly confusing in that it it is not the eyebrow that is removed but rather the stray hairs between the eyebrows - the hairs on the forehead above the nose.
> 
> .,,


 
My daughter tells me that eyebrow waxing can involve shaping the whole brow, and not just the part above the nose.


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## natasha2000

Wow! I think I am a little bit confused now.
Just a question. Is "eybrow waxing" a term for eyebrow hair removal with wax only? Or it includes other ways of hair removal, such as tweezers, for example?

I remove and shape mine with tweezers. I have never heard of eyebrow hair removal using wax...


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## .   1

natasha2000 said:


> Wow! I think I am a little bit confused now.
> Just a question. Is "eybrow waxing" a term for eyebrow hair removal with wax only? Or it includes other ways of hair removal, such as tweezers, for example?
> 
> I remove and shape mine with tweezers. I have never heard of eyebrow hair removal using wax...


I have a friend with three daughters.  She informs me that she regularly waxes the eyebrow area of two of them and expects to wax the nine year old in a year or two.

.,,


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## LV4-26

Bonjules said:


> There is this theory that the lawnmower was invented (in Victorian England?) to convert all all those wild and wooly, ideed chaotic and maybe 'sexual' looking meadows into flat, uniformly controlled, totally unexiting carpets.
> Some believe the shaving mania exists for the same reason: Shaving removes signs of sexual maturity (beards in men, underarm hair in women).


Not altogether impossible. One might also think that hairy human bodies do not fit in this modern environment of ours, in the places where we live and work which are all "clean", high-tech and all...all those places which have what I would call the "seduction of non-life".
Maybe, one day, *life *itself will be considered "untidy" and out of fashion...


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## coconutpalm

My father shaves, but I'm not sure about the frequency.
Most of Chinese men don't have a LOT of hair and in this case, beard. I guess it applies to all the yellow race? 
I asked some of the boys in my class, and their replies were invariably "several days a shaving". Yet they look tidy since there is no stubble (or very few, not noticeable).

Two of the boys in my class have once tried to have a beard. Not long, just one or two centimeters. And we found it FUNNY. I'm convinced that they did that to appear maturer, but, well, it simply didn't work. 

Personally, I don't like men unshaved, but if their beards are well trimmed, it's acceptable.

BTW, if my daddy gets drunk and sometimes wants to kiss me, his stubbles make me itch and laugh.


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## Gato_Gordo

Well I've been sporting some sort of facial hair since my teens, mainly because I hate shaving my upper lip. of course a well kept beard is as much a chore, if not more, than a full shave.

For the last ten years or so I've had a short goatee and it's so much part of my personality I'm sure that if I shave it off, people will start ignoring me ^_^

As for the scruffy look... well I'm a man, so there are times when I spend a whole vacation without shaving and come back home looking like the missing link or big foot, I feel Ok, but most people think I'm a hobo or something.

I need to shave daily and twice a day if I have a late appointment, and I just hate it, funny tho, when I skip a day ladies tend to notice me more and be friendlier (is that attractive?)


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## boardslide315

natasha2000 said:


> Do you want to say that all gays shave their eyebrows?


 
Nah, just that they would be less afraid to admit it.


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## Bonjules

LV4-26 said:


> Not altogether impossible. One might also think that hairy human bodies do not fit in this modern environment of ours, in the places where we live and work which are all "clean", high-tech and all...all those places which have what I would call the "seduction of non-life".
> Maybe, one day, *life *itself will be considered "untidy" and out of fashion...


 
'the seduction of non-life...I love it!
But, thinking again of the lawnmower theory: Maybe the reason is much simpler. Even a bug has a hard time hiding in a close cropped lawn. Much less lovers who before had that gloriously tall grass!
Wasn't it you, LV4 ,that taught me 'batifouler dans les champs'?
   Personally, I always felt shaving was just a grand waste of time.


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## panjandrum

The goatee has been there since 1974, when eldest child howled because I removed it.

The other bits are gel-shaved daily, or nearly daily.  As this process addresses only the easiest-to-shave bits, there are no problems.


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## Paulfromitaly

Every morning when I wake up, I look at myself in the mirror and I think:
"Jeez..you look so scruffy..you won't look much better after it, but you should at least shave..."
This thought keeps my mind busy for no more than a couple of seconds, before being ousted by the stronger "Nah..can't be arsed shaving this morning.."
This likely happens five days out of seven unless I'm with my girlfriend and she nags me big style till I shave or I've got a work meeting planned and I don't want my clients to think that I'm sloppy.
Electric razors don't do the job for me, whereas a multi-bladed modern razor works fine.


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## GenJen54

Goatees are perhaps my favorite style of facial hair for men. My husband had one until sometime last year, when he convinced me that they had passed being fashionable (sorry, Panj.) He now attempts to sport the three-day stubble look, which I am not as partial to (I really preferred the goatee). He is also growing his hair longer, which I also don't like. But such things I bother little to complain about since it is a miniscule battle in the grand scheme of life.

I look at all of this as some sort of "eek, I'm turning X0 next year" rebellion that he will one day grow out of. 

Not to say that the long-haired, stubbly look isn't attractive on some people, but I prefer my husband a bit more clean-shaven.  I left the long-haired scruffy guys back in the 1990s, when "grunge" was all the rage.

As for hirsutism in general, I have never completely understood the appeal of a bare "everything." I figured if G-d put hair there, then it is there for some reason. That's not to say a bit of grooming to trim and neaten isn't necessary from time to time, but I just can't get behind the extreme hairless look (for men and women) that has become fashionable as of late.


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## ps139

maxiogee said:


> How do other guys here feel about shaving, and what does your society think about the 'unkempt' look of someone who has gone a few days without a shave?


I hate it too. Sometimes I long for the days when beautiful women longed for a bearded man. 

Being half Italian, and having inherited "the Italian curse," I know there is nothing I can do to look like I haven't shaved. This is how God made me, so deal with it.


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## panjabigator

natasha2000 said:


> Eye brow waxes are not so important (even though eyebrow hair is not removed with wax )... I was referring more to hair in women and men, and bierd in men... So, they never cut their hair? So thay must have a VERY long hair... I wonder how they maintain hair hygiene... It must be very hard job...
> On the other hand, we (at least I) usually have the image of Indian men and women as very beautiful and rather un-hairy people... I never imagine an Indian with a bierd... Maybe with a moustashe, but never with abierd...
> Or these people I am referring to are not Sikhs? (I am so ignorant about this)



Well, not to generalize, but people without facial hair would be Hindu.  Muslims tend to have a beard and Sikhs have both, although not all.  Also, I have noticed the the prevalence of moustaches raises in south India.  

We are as hairy as the next person is I guess


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## panjabigator

Lol, this may sound a tad hipocritical, but when the hair is for a religious purpose (ie, sikhism) I dont mind.  But otherwise, I'm kind of like "why?"  I feel only certain people can really pull off facial hair well without looking like they just rolled out of bed.  I am far from one of them...as a matter of fact, no amount of showering and help me get away from the slob look!  

I have to shave twice a week at least, but my hair grows fast and usually I shave only once a week.  Until about January of this year, I would NEVER s shave...until I got my hair cut.  Then the barber would just kill two birds with one stone.  I cannot produce a "good" beard...just a bunch of stuble and centimeter long hairs.  

On the eye waxing note, I have had one gay roommate who was a proponent of eye waxing.  He said his face felt so much lighter.  I had another very very very conservative christian roommate who also shaved his eyebrows (Side note: but he may very well have been in the closet...draw correlations if you wish...Im NOT suggesting there is one however!).  I had another roommate who also waxed his eyebrows.  I don't know why I got three roommates and three different times who were all indulgent in this stuff, but hey, to each their own.  I also have a roommate right now who shaves down there!  And this is a guy too!


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## natasha2000

I am a little bit surprised by some comments here, guys... 
Believe it or not, there ARE men who remove hair from their bodies, not because they are gays, but because they simply do not like it! And I know for sure when I say they are not gays. 

I personally, do not like much bodyhair on men, and I also find it very nice if a guy removes hair under his arms. It does not have to be shaved, but to cut to some half or 1 cm - I find it much morte hygienic, since hair helps in sweating more, especially in summer.


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## LV4-26

natasha2000 said:


> because they simply do not like it!


 Fair enough. But, you know, it is not always easy to sort out what pertains to your own desire or to others' or society's desire. (or am I such a neurotic? )


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## natasha2000

LV4-26 said:


> Fair enough. But, you know, it is not always easy to sort out what pertains to your own desire or to others' or society's desire. (or am I such a neurotic? )


 
No, I don't think your'e neurotic , but only bend with the winds of the mainstream thinking in our society...

I simply do not understand why a man, if he does something that is not considered so "macho" according to partiarcal canons, is automatically considered gay? I just think that this is one of prejudices of a patriarcal society which is supposed to have dissapeared a long ago at least in these "first world", democratic, "politically kerrekt" countries...


EDIT: It just came to my mind.... What about metrosexual men? They for sure are not gays....


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## Bonjules

natasha2000 said:


> I also find it very nice if a guy removes hair under his arms. It does not have to be shaved, but to cut to some half or 1 cm - I find it much morte hygienic, since hair helps in sweating more, especially in summer.


Sorry, Natasha, I think you got it all wrong here. Armpits, being a warm
spot and having many sweat glands, create a lot of sweat. Underarm hair increases the surface area for evaporation, keeping the axilla (and the body) cooler. So it is exactly the opposite:
Without axillary hair you sweat more, not less.


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## natasha2000

Bonjules said:


> Sorry, Natasha, I think you got it all wrong here. Armpits, being a warm
> spot and having many sweat glands, create a lot of sweat. Underarm hair increases the surface area for evaporation, keeping the axilla cooler. So it is exactly the opposite:
> Without axillary hair you sweat more, not less.


 

So, millions of women that remove their hair under their arms arte stupid???

BTW, when you have your armpits nieatly shaved, even if you sweat, at least it does not *stink*, which is, with hair, inevitable (even if you put deodorant, which stays in hair and not on youer skin)...


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## Tsoman

I have a beard because I hate shaving. And I think it looks good.

I will never ever remove any of my body hair.


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## Bonjules

natasha2000 said:


> So, millions of women that remove their hair under their arms arte stupid???
> 
> ...


The reason women shave, as briefly discussed above has nothing to
do with physiology,logic or practicality(this is a very recent phenomenon, in case you don't know. Shaving tools -with men mostly using them were around for a long time before women started shaving armpits).
They shave for cultural or societal reasons/pressures, since at some time during the last century the
-mainly Western- world decided it was 'unclean' to let the natural hair grow. Puritan fear of signs of sexual maturity has also to do with it, as has 
the widespread use of the female image in art, commerce etc. 
Just watch what a stir it creates from time to time when some celebrity decides to defy the trend and 'let it grow'. To some, it's the end of the world!


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## Riccardino

I sport the three day stubble look, but shave my neck and moustache everyday, so the stubble-part is where a beard would be if I grew it out.

I pluck my eyebrows to keep them nice, keep my chest tidy but with hair always, and trim everything else maybe 2-3 times a year.

I'm certainly not the typical American male though - I'm extremely hair but very effeminate about my body upkeep.


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## ps139

Bonjules said:


> Puritan fear of signs of sexual maturity has also to do with it,


Somehow I think that if went back to the Massachussetts bay colonies, they would be freaked out if a woman did shave, not if she did not shave.


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## ps139

natasha2000 said:


> I simply do not understand why a man, if he does something that is not considered so "macho" according to partiarcal canons, is automatically considered gay?


I've never seen/heard etc the connection between shaving body hair and being gay. Unless it is armpits or legs.  Anywhere else... lots of people I know do it, it is the new "in" thing.


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## natasha2000

Bonjules said:


> The reason women shave, as briefly discussed above has nothing to
> do with physiology,logic or practicality(this is a very recent phenomenon, in case you don't know. Shaving tools -with men mostly using them were around for a long time before women started shaving armpits).
> They shave for cultural or societal reasons/pressures, since at some time during the last century the
> -mainly Western- world decided it was 'unclean' to let the natural hair grow. Puritan fear of signs of sexual maturity has also to do with it, as has
> the widespread use of the female image in art, commerce etc.
> Just watch what a stir it creates from time to time when some celebrity decides to defy the trend and 'let it grow'. To some, it's the end of the world!


 
I know, I know... I dont say you're not right.
But my experience says that if I leave my armpits wit hair, when I sweat, it smells, even though I put deodorant. The same goes with men around me. So, besides esthetical reasons, I do it because of practical ones, too.


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## cutu

I don't see shaving as a big deal, I grow a beard but shave the rest of my face, and the whole deal take no more then 5 minutes.
And personaly I think that giving 5 minutes once or twice a week to yourself to look better, is not such a big deal.

And when it comes to body hair, well its an esthetic matter, if you got to much of it , get it off, if its bothers you , get it off...
I don't think its a shame being hairy, its a shame being hairy and do nothing about it.


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## Bonjules

ps139 said:


> Somehow I think that if went back to the Massachussetts bay colonies, they would be freaked out if a woman did shave, not if she did not shave.


It was not an issue: Everything was covered except for the face. You'd
never know one way or the other.


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## natasha2000

ps139 said:


> I've never seen/heard etc the connection between shaving body hair and being gay. Unless it is armpits or legs.  Anywhere else... lots of people I know do it, it is the new "in" thing.


 
You said it. *Unless* it is armpits or legs...
What about bikemen? Thay are all gays, then?


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## Bonjules

natasha2000 said:


> I know, I know... I dont say you're not right.
> But my experience says that if I leave my armpits wit hair, when I sweat, it smells, even though I put deodorant. The same goes with men around me. So, besides esthetical reasons, I do it because of practical ones, too.


The smell is caused by the metabolism byproducts of bacteria who
like to live around sweat ( most sweat, there are difft. types. Sweat produced by fear smells a little by itself). Buy a lump of ordinary salt(sold
in bath shops) and rub that on - if you dont like the chemicals in commercial deodorant- this will make it much harder for the bacteria to grow. That and a little perfume will usually suffice to keep you smelling like roses!


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## GenJen54

Natasha2000 said:
			
		

> You said it. *Unless* it is armpits or legs...
> What about bikemen? Thay are all gays, then?


 
I highly doubt it. Most bikers I know shave their legs for the practical purpose of aiding in the treatment of "road rash," which happens when they collide with the pavement and scrape off their skin. Apparently, plucking out bits of asphalt and gravel that have been embedded in one's dermis is much easier to deal with when body hair is not involved. 

Competitive swimmers also shave their body hair to the extreme (women even shaving their heads, eyebrows, etc.) as a means of decreasing drag in the water. In a race that counts the milliseconds, I suppose this may help. 

I don't know if the "drag" principle applies to bikers in this same manner, or not. 

I've also known male gymnasts who have shaved their armpit hair as a matter of aesthetics, mostly because their sport involves their having their armpits exposed so often. While it's possible this could be connected to some male gymnasts being gay, I doubt this is the case.


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## natasha2000

Bonjules said:


> The smell is caused by the metabolism byproducts of bacteria who
> like to live around sweat ( most sweat, there are difft. types. Sweat produced by fear smells a little by itself). Buy a lump of ordinary salt(sold
> in bath shops) and rub that on - if you dont like the chemicals in commercial deodorant- this will make it much harder for the bacteria to grow. That and a little perfume will usually suffice to keep you smelling like roses!


 
hahahaa... Listen.... Are you suggesting that I am not bathing myself??? 

No, really. I will continue to remove my armpits hair, since while I am doing it, no worries about smells and bacterias...


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## cirrus

I agree shaving is a pain.  If only it didn't itch when a beard goes through the stage of becoming a proper beard I would be one of the bearded ones.  However my beard is straggly misses the top bit of my lip under my nose and comes out black, brown, grey and ginger. It makes me look like I have scooped a roadkill cat on to my face.

As for the gay debate, consider this - many men shave below because they believe it makes their ... he hem.. accoutrements look more impressive.  The urge towards enhancing the perception of grandeur is not limited to gay men.


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## natasha2000

GenJen54 said:


> I highly doubt it. Most bikers I know shave their legs for the practical purpose of aiding in the treatment of "road rash," which happens when they collide with the pavement and scrape off their skin. Apparently, plucking out bits of asphalt and gravel that have been embedded in one's dermis is much easier to deal with when body hair is not involved.
> 
> Competitive swimmers also shave their body hair to the extreme (women even shaving their heads, eyebrows, etc.) as a means of decreasing drag in the water. In a race that counts the milliseconds, I suppose this may help.
> 
> I don't know if the "drag" principle applies to bikers in this same manner, or not.
> 
> I've also known male gymnasts who have shaved their armpit hair as a matter of aesthetics, mostly because their sport involves their having their armpits exposed so often. While it's possible this could be connected to some male gymnasts being gay, I doubt this is the case.


 
Thank you, Gen... Although my question was ironic (I already knew all of this you said), I am glad you wrote it, just in case somebody didn't know it. It just confirms my theory that not all men who shave their bodies are gays.


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## natasha2000

cirrus said:


> As for the gay debate, consider this - many men shave below because they believe it makes their ... he hem.. accoutrements look more impressive. The urge towards enhancing the perception of grandeur is not limited to gay men.


 
This is so true, and also so sad, Cirrus, hahahaha....
But not this type of shaving is in question here...


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## maxiogee

natasha2000 said:


> EDIT: It just came to my mind.... What about metrosexual men? They for sure are not gays....



From Wikipedia —> "Metrosexuality is, according to British journalist Mark Simpson, the trait of an urban male of *any* sexual orientation who has a strong aesthetic sense and spends a great amount of time and money on his appearance and lifestyle."


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## natasha2000

maxiogee said:


> From Wikipedia —> "Metrosexuality is, according to British journalist Mark Simpson, the trait of an urban male of *any* sexual orientation who has a strong aesthetic sense and spends a great amount of time and money on his appearance and lifestyle."


 
"Any sexual orientation" doesn't mean "only gays", does it?


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## maxiogee

Boardslide said "(unless of course they are gay or part of the "metro" movement)"

You said "EDIT: It just came to my mind.... What about metrosexual men? They for sure are not gays...."

I just pointed out that they can be.


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## natasha2000

maxiogee said:


> Boardslide said "(unless of course they are gay or part of the "metro" movement)"
> 
> You said "EDIT: It just came to my mind.... What about metrosexual men? They for sure are not gays...."
> 
> I just pointed out that they can be.


 

Ups! My apologies then, for all this fuss!

I didn't realize that "metro movement" referrs to metrosexual men.

Sorry.


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## Lavinia.dNP

Bonjules said:


> Sorry, Natasha, I think you got it all wrong here. Armpits, being a warm
> spot and having many sweat glands, create a lot of sweat. Underarm hair increases the surface area for evaporation, keeping the axilla (and the body) cooler. So it is exactly the opposite:
> Without axillary hair you sweat more, not less.


 
That seems logical, but then, can you explain me why I stink if I don't wax my armpit hair?


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## Sallyb36

Lavinia.dNP said:


> That seems logical, but then, can you explain me why I stink if I don't wax my armpit hair?



this is true, I shave mine because it smells less than if I don't!


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## Bonjules

Certainly, ladies,
one can assume that hair not only provides a more
efficient 'air cooling' system, it also means more surface
for the offending creatures to hang around.
Hence the salt idea; it 'sterilizes' the area in a simple
way, preventing the buggers from growing. It works fine for me;
I don't trust the chemicals in deodorant: Like the scalp, armpits
are a highly 'absorptive' patch of skin; who knows what you put into your body there(I am speaking of deodorants,none of these ingredients are thoroughly researched in longterm studies).
About the wax I know nothing (plain wax, or are other things in there too?)
saludos


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## Lavinia.dNP

Bonjules said:


> Certainly, ladies,
> one can assume that hair not only provides a more
> efficient 'air cooling' system, it also means more surface
> for the offending creatures to hang around.
> Hence the salt idea; it 'sterilizes' the area in a simple
> way, preventing the buggers from growing. It works fine for me;
> I don't trust the chemicals in deodorant: Like the scalp, armpits
> are a highly 'absorptive' patch of skin; who knows what you put into your body there(I am speaking of deodorants,none of these ingredients are thoroughly researched in longterm studies).
> About the wax I know nothing (plain wax, or are other things in there too?)
> saludos


 
Maybe I'll try your "salt" deodorant, if I find it.

Concerning wax, I don't know the ingredients, because I'm not using any wax : actually I say that I "wax" the unwanted hair because I don't know if there is a specific word for the electric hair plucker I'm using.

*That's a good question : I always heard about people who shave, wax, but can anyone tell me if there is a specific verb for removing the unwanted hair with an electrical hair plucker? ("silkepil" also called the "thousand tweezers")*

I hope there's an expert around here who can tell me


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## GenJen54

In general, any hair-removing device is called (in English) a depilatory or depilator. You can have depilatory creams and gels, depilatory waxes and depilatory devices, such as razors and other electronic devices which actually pull the hair from the roots. These are called depilators, but generally go by their own name brands.

Funny, because we rarely use the verb form of this word, depilate. For example, I don't say, "Oh my. I really need to depilate." We (I) would normally just say, "Oh my. I really need to shave/wax/....or I use the specific brand name of my hair-removing device as a verb. 

I use my electronic depilator mostly in the winter, when I can get by with letting the hair grow out a bit (on my legs, never under my arms). Otherwise, I shave almost daily. 

The advantage of any electronic depilator is over time, once hairs have been repeatedly pulled from the root, the grow back thinner, softer and in some instances, stops growing altogether.


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## Lavinia.dNP

In answer to the original question from Maxiogee : 
It may be comforting for you to know that we women we have to spend an average 2 hours to painfully remove all the unwanted hair from any part of our body, even parts which you cannot even imagine.
Your 5 minutes shaving is nothing compared to the 2 hours painful waxing that we women have to do (yes, we have to wax if we don't want to have a beard-like regrowth).

If you add all the hair-do and make up business + heel shoes and skirt, I think that you'll be very happy to be a man.

Think about it next time you shave, and you'll be so happy that this is the only thing you have to do.


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## Lavinia.dNP

GenJen54 said:


> I use my electronic depilator mostly in the winter, when I can get by with letting the hair grow out a bit (on my legs, never under my arms). Otherwise, I shave almost daily.
> 
> The advantage of any electronic depilator is over time, once hairs have been repeatedly pulled from the root, is that the grow back thinner, softer and in some instances, stop growing altogether.


 
I have good news for you : you don't need to let your hair grow if you want to use your depilator : it works even with half a millimeter long hair.

Personally, I use my depilator against any hair in any part of the body without any problem, except for the fact that some parts are more painful than others.

But I say to myself that if other girls do it, why couldn't I? Am I less brave? no! therefore I go ahead.

You are right, electric depilators are really the best way to get rid of those ugly hair, because with the razor you have a beard-like effect, while if you pull the hair out from the root, with time the regrowth becomes somewhat thinner, although I didn't have the luck to see my hair stop growing altogether.

Let me know if you find the courage to use your depilator everywhere and throw that ugly razor away!


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## don maico

I just run a hair trimmer at its lowest setting twice a week and leave a little stubble. Works for me

cant see anything wrong with armpit hairs on women.The continentals do it all the time


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## TrentinaNE

Lavinia.dNP said:


> It may be comforting for you to know that *we women we have to spend* an average 2 hours to painfully remove all the unwanted hair from any part of our body


Some women choose to spend, not we women have to spend.  

Elisabetta


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## Lavinia.dNP

TrentinaNE said:


> Some women choose to spend, not we women have to spend.
> 
> Elisabetta


 
I say "have to" because most of us women would look like a yeti if we didn't spend hours depilating.

But maybe you are one of those lucky "aliens" who don't have any hair growing in wrong places... lucky you!


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## beclija

I guess you're consciously exaggerating. I've seen many women that don't depilate and none of them looked like a yeti, Indeed, stubbles are more felt and visible than untouched leg hair (I guess that's what you mean with "bear-like"). 
I don't think men "have to" shave either.


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## Lavinia.dNP

beclija said:


> I guess you're consciously exaggerating. I've seen many women that don't depilate and none of them looked like a yeti, Indeed, stubbles are more felt and visible than untouched leg hair (I guess that's what you mean with "bear-like").
> I don't think men "have to" shave either.


 
I'm Sicilian, therefore, I look like a yeti if I don't depilate, but probably nordic women are less hairy.
You are right, the "beard-like" effect is what happens when you shave your legs : the regrowing hair are more visible and they are kind of "scratchy".

I agree with you : men don't necessary have to shave, they can also keep a beard, but it has to be well kept and trimmed, otherwise it looks too shaggy.
My boyfriend used to shave his beard when I first met him, but we found out that he looks better with a beard : it's that kind of face that "needs" a beard. Now he's got a beautiful red beard that goes very well with his green eyes.
I also made him pluck his eyebrows a little bit because they were excessively thick : they went down to the eyelid, but I am very careful to avoid the "gay eye" effect and I pluck just the hair in excess in order to reveal his beautiful green eyes.

Now, with his new beard and eyebrows he looks absolutely gorgeous.

What I mean with this is that no matter which style you choose (bearded or not, short hair or long hair), your appearance needs constant care : very few people are naturally beautiful and just a little "maintenance" can work miracles.


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## robbie_SWE

My hair growth is the same as for many other guys who have posted here. After many attempts I can finally say that I have sideburns. I can grow a moustache/beard if I want to (cause it would look quite barren  ), but I don't. I only shave once a week (usually) on Mondays or Tuesdays and enjoy the "three day stubble" until Saturday, when I start looking like a complete hobo. 

Concerning the discussion about armpit hair. There is no substantial evidence that shaving under your arms makes you sweat less. And sorry to say it people, what type of deodorant do you people have in your countries?? Here in Sweden, the deodorant is VERY efficient and not only don't you sweat at all, you continue smelling like "roses" (if that's your cup of tea ) the whole day. 

As a man, I can't see myself shaving my legs. Luckily I've been blessed with relatively sparse hair on my legs, but non the less I would never shave my legs. Unfortunately, I have quite a lot of chest hair (I have also the "Italian curse" which I share with most of my fellow brothers  ) and haven't really considered shaving it off or depilating until recently. But I do pluck my eyebrows, so that I would continue having two instead of one  . 

 robbie


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