hairless legs

[juldea]

This question is for the ladies out there. I don't know if the type of people I'm looking to answer this actually read my journal (I'm thinking Legally Blonde types) but I'm sure we've got close enough. And, if some of you would be so kind as to link to this post in your own journals, perhaps I'll be sure to get my answer.

So, women - how do you do it?

It's summertime. I'm seeing a lot of short skirts in the hospital and on the T to and from work. I have not yet seen a woman with so much as stubble on her legs, much less lengthy amounts of hair.

Whether or not it's something I should feel, I am embarrassed by my hairy legs. I want to remove the hair from them. However, I have never found a method that is convenient.

Shaving irritates the hell out of my legs, no matter what soap, gel, or creme I use. I'm not sure if what I get is shave rash or not, but basically up the front of my shins I get painful, red (if not bleeding) pores. Plus, I have stubble by the end of the day. Is this a matter of shaving product? Razor? Have people ever actually noticed a difference with an expensive razor vs. disposables?

Waxing provides amazing results but is incredibly expensive and takes a long time. If I go to a salon, first I have to make an appointment at a time I'm available - and since I work full-time, this means using up some of my precious weekend - and then I'm in there for at least two hours and out $60-80. If I buy at-home products for a fraction of the price, removal of hair from all of my legs takes probably 4-5 hours total.

Nair I've had off-and-on experience with. I'm not allergic to it, which is a high point, but it kind of sporadically removes my leg hair. I'm often left with a bunch of stray hairs roaming my legs. Plus, I've never actually had Nair remove from the roots and keep my legs hair-free for two weeks. The hairs disintegrate and then break off at the surface, meaning a day or two of smoothness.

So, what's your secret? How do you do it? How do these women I see on the train keep hairless legs day in and out?

Comments

[baronbrian.livejournal.com]

Whenever I've had to remove hair below my face (I know, probably more info about me then you wanted) I've used Nair and always been happy with the results. You might try the new stuff on the market that's essentially Nair with a plastic scraper. You put the Nair on and then use this plastic scraper that looks like a razor and essentially shave your leg. It works nicely.

[alendres.livejournal.com]

http://www.livejournal.com/community/ask_me_anything/

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

Have people ever actually noticed a difference with an expensive razor vs. disposables?

Perhaps not so much in the effectiveness of shaving, but in terms of reducing the collateral damage to my legs, I find I do much better with a Shick Silk Effects razor. With disposables, and some others, I'd frequently nick my ankles or otherwise cut/scrape myself. I use Dove moisturizing body wash in the shower, both for washing and pre-treating the area to shave. My hair may not grow as fast as yours, though.

I've never found Nair to be worth the awful stench it produces. As you say, it seems to dissolve the hair above the skin, and let more stubble come in quickly.

Below the knee, I'll sometimes use an epilator, which is an electric mechanical plucker. It gives me a bit of a rash for a day or to, but the hair stays gone for a couple weeks, since it generally plucks by the roots. I find this too painful to use above the knee, though, since the skin there is looser.

I haven't heard much about laser hair removal lately, which used to be expensive and of unknown efficacy. I imagine by now there are better data on its efficacy, so that might be something to look into.

Then there's electrolysis. This can be painful, time consuming and expensive, but if you want the hair gone for good, it might be an option.

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

Generally, I shave. I also don't wear shorts that much, but when I do, I also don't want my glaringly white legs to also be hairy. Sometimes, I'll use Nair, but I'll use a washcloth to take it off... the friction seems to help with the stray bits.

Aveeno has also comeout with a lotion for keeping hair finer and less noticable between shaves... I intend to try that out and I'll let you know how it goes.

There was another lotion on the market a few years ago... never used it, but from the smell it had some of the same ingredients as Nair.

I also suspect that there are some people who seriously shave Every Damn Day.

[goldbug.livejournal.com]

several brands make that lotion. they seem to have the same active ingredient, though it's hard to tell how much each brand has. i have jergens naturally smooth shave minimizing moisturizer, and i've been using it for a few months now. i can't tell if it's made a difference or not. i wax my legs, so there's not really daily stubble to judge from.

the thing to do would be to try it on just one leg. but i couldn't bring myself to do that.

[eor1312.livejournal.com]

i cant shave with disposable razors. i get rashes and bleeding and all sorts of stuff. i use the expensive replacable sensor excel kind, but its worth it because i dont get bumps and such. i also use the brand new aveeno shaving gel stuff....not the one that reduces how often you have to shave but the one that is for sensitive skin and razor bumps and stuff.
it also goes best for me if i sit and soak in a warm bath for a while so that everything is softened up. if i get cold while im shaving and get goosebumps, everything goes to shit for sure.
nair never works for me. i get all the stray hairs too. ugh.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

I've not heard of this, and I can't find it on the Nair webpage. Can you find me a link? :)

[baronbrian.livejournal.com]

I have some in my bathroom. I'll take a picture for you when I go home for lunch so you'll know what it looks like.

[manamakeri.livejournal.com]

I think he is talking about Veet. It's a depilatory foam that you put on like shaving cream. Then you take the little scraper and do like you are shaving. It looks neat on the commercial, but I've never tried it

[tpau]

i shave. with no lotion or anything, but after i shower. i don't use disposables, they suck ass and leave me bleeding. and with red painful bumps. i use gillete mach 3. in fact, it is aalex's we jstu use different blades. wheni am extra lazy i use the electric. it doesn't feel as smooth, but it looks as good.

afteri shave, i use lotion. it gets rid of the razor-burn. :)

[juldea.livejournal.com]

In reference to "collateral damage," have you ever had the kind of problem I have with the razor burn/bleeding? I'm not cutting myself, it's just a matter of irritated skin, I think.

Do you know anything about the pain of an epilator as compared to waxing? If I can handle waxing, I might be able to handle an epilator... how much do they cost?

Someday I might have the money to consider laser hair removal or electrolysis, but not now. Sigh.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Many of the women I see on the T also have very tan legs, so I'm sure that helps. I'm a nerd, though, so I have pale legs. And really dark, thick hair. Sigh.

I use a washcloth with Nair, too.

I had this idea that perhaps I could shave one part of my leg (lower left, lower right, upper left, upper right) every day, and that way I could save time and not have any part of my leg get too hairy. It's a thought.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Or you could get two different brands and use one on each leg... That way both legs get lotioned, but you can still try to tell which is better!

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Sounds like you have similar problems to mine. Perhaps my answer lies in expensive shaving products, too... :(

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Aha! That looks likely. Interesting. Do you run the "razor" in the same or opposite direction of hair growth?

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Whenever I've tried to use lotion after shaving, it BURNS. No matter what the lotion is. It sucks. :(

[manamakeri.livejournal.com]

I don't have a clue, but that's an interesting question. I bet it is in the same direction as the hair growth, but I could be making stuff up.

[ex-sleek838.livejournal.com]

The only ones I see with really nice legs are the transgendered gals. Seriously. Everyone else I see stubble on. I usually shave, because I can't afford to wax. I heard from the beauty salon ladies that the queens and other performers only use waxing and get it done every week or every other week, to keep smooth. That seems to be the only way if you don't like nair or are allergic to it like I am.

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

I've occasionally had the rash like burn, but not often. I'm more prone to that in the winter when my skin is drier, but I don't shave my legs nearly as often, then, so it works out.

I think the pain effect of pulling individual hairs would be about the same with waxing and an epilator. The problem with the epilator is that you have to keep moving it over your legs on your own. Once the wax is on, it's going to hurt coming off anyway, so you may as well just get it over with. With the epilator, you can choose to stop the pain at any time, and that can be tempting. It's been a few years since I got mine, but I think it was about $35.

[ex-dervish821.livejournal.com]

Plus she's very much a legally blonde type. :) As soon as I read "legally blonde," I was hoping Shannon read it and would respond.

[ex-dervish821.livejournal.com]

I've never had a razor burn problem, but I HAVE found a product that makes me not mind shaving. I know I'm definitely the demographic you're looking for here, but have you tried the Schick Intuition? It's not all that expensive, makes shaving really fast (even for my legs after 4-5-6 months of no shaving), and has its own stuff. As I'm sure you've seen on TV, they call it a skin-conditioning solid. What it means to me is that there's no extra step of soaping/gelling up the leg and then shaving. It's just shave and go. I love it. I'm considering keeping my legs hair-free for the rest of the summer, just because it's so easy.

[tramissa.livejournal.com]

I tend to find expensive products are the only things that help too :(

And men's razors are much better than females - so are their shaving products. Let's face it - they're designed for the face, which is certainly a lot more sensitive than legs, so they gotta be better...

I also try to do my legs at least twice a week...I find they still get stubbly after 2 - 3 days...but you can't really notice it if I do it midweek..

[goldbug.livejournal.com]

you know, i just got one of those (somehow my mom got one for free and gave it to me) and i wasn't impressed. but i tried it on armpits, not legs. it seemed to pull at the hairs a lot, though the skin wasn't irritated afterward, but my main beef with it was that there were patches that it just didn't get. i went over all the hairs, but some areas got cut and some didn't. maybe it works better on larger, less curved areas?

[ex-dervish821.livejournal.com]

Maybe. It makes sense; the area outside the blade is kind of bulky. It glides really nicely over my legs, but I see where it could be hard to use on armpits. I dry-shave my armpits with a cheapo disposable razor.

[goldbug.livejournal.com]

eeeeee! your armpits must be tougher than mine.

[ex-dervish821.livejournal.com]

They are pretty tough. I used to always forget them when I was in high school, and get them after my shower. Then in college I stopped shaving my legs, but I could still shave my armpits in the mornings without leaving my room. And after that it became habit. I do it in the bathroom now, usually right before my shower. Maybe I'll try the intuition on them though, and see how it works for me.

armpit update

[goldbug.livejournal.com]

i just used the intuition for the second time. it pulled on my armpit hair again, and still left some hairs uncut. but i used it on my upper legs and it worked great! and it was so fast...i never realized how much time the soaping up takes.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Heh, well I guess if you have enough money to really make an effort at looking like a female then you can afford that every week or so!

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Heh yeah, I can see how that'd be tempting. "Ow, this hurts... I'll stop for now and finish later." And then keep putting later off... ;)

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Whoa... that didn't at all connect for me, but you're right! She's totally legally blonde! ;)

I'll trade......

[crimson5.livejournal.com]

I'll take your legs, if you take my face and neck. Essentially, I have to shave every 1-2 days. The catch is, I have yet to find a razor that won't cut my face if I've shaved within the last 2-3 days. Even if I dont shave for a week, I stand a good chance of microcuts on my neck. While I havn't tried the exotic stuff like nair etc, I can tell you there isn't an electric razor made that can touch the hair on one portion of my neck. I swear its going in a circle. Given the above, the best razor I've found, is Gillette Mach 3. Gives the least amount of cuts, and unless I shave every other day, takes longer for stubble to reappear. Don't really know why stubble appears faster the more often I shave.

Re: I'll trade......

[juldea.livejournal.com]

You just want my legs. ;)

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

Exactly!

also

[eor1312.livejournal.com]

i know you said that you dont like using lotion afterwards because it burns, but i have found that if oyu put it on RIGHT after you get out the shower, while there is still water on your legs, i am less likely to get any razor burn or anything. also i have found unscented kinds dont burn cause of the alcohol or whatever in the scented kinds.
who knows. :) but now everytime i shave i think of you.
which is odd since ive never met you :)

Re: also

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Well, I tried lotioning up my legs while they were still wet, and while it was weird that the lotion got all watery there was no stinging, so I guess it worked!