Hair down THERE??

[zoompastmykids]

everyday. If I didn't shave my legs everyday I wouldn't be able to sleep between the sheets at night. Stubble drives me crazy.

I've been shaving almost a week and it's almost perfectly normal now. All initial abrasion is almost gone tonight.

I do the change shorts, showers, soap bit. I've been getting lots of info from other riders and reading. I just haven't heard or read anything about shaving. I just thought it was the big secret no one talked about because it's an indelicate topic.

I still would like to hear if anyone else out there shaves. Anyone? Anybody? Surely I'm not the only one.

[Grog]

Sorry, I'm part of the "a lot of women" Biciclista refers to. I trim with scissors.

[lph]

Ingrown hairs and boils are very common, so you're certainly not alone there. We've all had our anguished moments on a bike saddle... I find shaving irritates the skin, and I don't have the diligence to do it every day, so I avoid it. But whatever makes you comfortable and works for you!

[nscrbug]

I shave down there, but I don't ride everyday so I can usually get away with doing it every 2 days or so. Most of the time, I'll just do it the day before the weekend because those are my big riding days...and I'm good for those few days.

[Reesha]

Oh man, I could never shave down there regularly. It's just so uncomfortable with all the razor burn and ingrowns and scratchiness. I do however get a full brazilian wax 2-3 times during the summer (totally bare) because it's HOT in St. Louis and they do help me feel a lot 'fresher' down there.

They don't come cheap though. In St. Louis they are between 40-60 bucks. I usually need it once a month. Then you have to take care of the area by gently exfoliating with your fingers, etc. I don't know... I feel like it's worthwhile. I love the way it feels during the hot sticky summer months.

[OakLeaf]

Shaving guarantees me ingrown hairs, bike or no bike. Tweezing and waxing no different. I'm another one who trims with scissors.

[Reesha]

I only tend to get a few with waxing and they usually aren't very painful. Needless to say, I don't worry about it if it's not June, July, or August.

[ny biker]

I just thought it was the big secret no one talked about because it's an indelicate topic.

Oh lord. There is no such thing on this forum. Look for a thread called "Delicately wondering." And then there are the diva cup threads...

[andtckrtoo]

everyday. If I didn't shave my legs everyday I wouldn't be able to sleep between the sheets at night. Stubble drives me crazy.

I shave my legs daily. I shave that area daily as well, too, but not totally - I have a strip of hair there. I'm another who cannot stand the feel of stubble. :P

[emily_in_nc]

I'm waiting for the Diva Cup to make an entrance

It just did.

[OakLeaf]

I'm waiting for the Diva Cup to make an entrance

Okay, hair in the Diva Cup is maybe even too much for TE.

[jessmarimba]

We need the little ear-covering icon right about now...

lalalalala can't hear you.....

[hulagirl]

Ahh but the Mooncup UK is SO much better than the Diva.

I'll just add a big thumbs up for Hoo Haa Ride Glide. That stuff is awesome. Tingly and special in the southern parts.

[bunny_ninja]

omg! hair in the diva cup!!!

FWIW - I use a 'bikini trimmer' - keep everything very short. easy and none of the shaving issues. If I am going on a really long ride - I slather it up with ointment

and omg - I tried wearing underwear so I could wear the same shorts on my 25mi to work and 25mi back home... woh! I cannot believe people tolerate that.

[redeyedtreefr0g]

K I'm gonna pretend I did not just read the last few posts, and jump in about my brand new epilator.

IT"S AMAZING!!!!

I've never epilated before, but I've been interested ever since I read about them. (My Keeper/Mooncup was such an awesome discovery, surely an epilator would be similarly wonderful) Previously, all I've ever done for hair removal was shave. I didn't know there WERE other options for the longest time. My sister tried Nair once on her legs when it came out- horrible chemical burns. I eventually learned to tweeze my eyebrows. Once tried to tweeze bikini line- after an hour I had a neck cramp and it looked like I hadn't done anything at all so I gave that up in a hurry- plus it hurt a lot.

Still, I knew I wanted to try an epilator, so my husband finally bought me one. Philips Satinelle 6401- a simple grey/white machine, has a very long cord and must be plugged in to work.

I did my legs first from ankle to knee. I took a shower beforehand like recommended. Above my ankle turned out to be the most sensitive area, and also has the highest concentration of hairs. Like tiny little bees stinging me- but as soon as I lift up the epilator, it's instant relief, so I just went slowly as was fine. My legs didn't turn red or get painful bumps. They didn't feel completely smooth either, but they LOOKED fantastic, so I'm happy.

After going back to work (I epilated at about noonish) I changed out of my skinny jeans to find red legs that were slightly painful to the touch like razor burn. Sleeping fixed most of that, and by noon the next day all was well.

During my shower on leg-epilating day, I also shaved underarms and pubic area. After a few days, I have just finished doing those areas! I did NOT shower before using the epilator this time. While it may make things easier on your skin by opening up pores, I also feel that the hot water weakens the hair and makes it easier to break it off rather than pull it out.

Underarms were interesting. Because of sweat glands, it was difficult to move the epilator smoothly without it sticking to me. I've since read that baby or talcum powder would help that, but I simply removed the efficiancy cap with it's wide flat area and let the rotating of the disks sort of gently "pull" the epilator along smoothly. Again, I went slowly, but I think my ankles hurt worse than this. Maybe I just knew what to expect. Some of the lower pores bled a teeny bit. The vibration of the epilator itself I think helped with pain a little bit too.

After underarms (which did not hurt at all once I was done), I went to the pubic area. My goal was to do all the visible hair- so the entire triangle down to about the start of the labia crease. I found the edges to be no problem, although each side of the triangle up toward the hip bled a lot. The hairs are a LOT longer than they would seem, with most of the length under the skin, apparently. I was surprised. The center top of the triangle was most sensitive, I think, but near the edge of the labia was the most difficult. The hair there is very fine and hard to see, but packed in close, and that skin is softer. It was easier to do the left side of myself than the right, for some reason.

After I was all done, I realized it had been about an hour and a half, and my neck was sore from looking down for that long. I hopped in the shower. The water stung my underarms, and then of course when I washed that stung the beejeesus out of them, but I wanted to be sure things were clean since I'd just put a whole bunch of tiny open wounds in myself, right? Pubic area didn't care about anything.

Now I'm sitting here, and underarms sort of sting still. It had gotten bad enough that I went and put cocoa butter on them, but now it seems to be okay. Pubic area is wonderfully silent as far as irritation complaints go. I've got on silky smooth boyshorts just in case.


I'm SO happy with this little machine!!