Testosterone

Hey guys,

The hardest thing I have to imagine about competing, is the hair removal that one must go through. I could never imagine doing so myself.

For those that have competed, how was the experience? What did you use? Did you continue to do it?

S.C.

Abdominator

When the hair grows back initially is where I have the problems. It itches like crazy for the first 2 weeks as it's growing in. I've found though, that most of how it feels growing back depends on the way I removed the hair (and whether I shaved with or against the direction of growth). If you have thin hair, and you use Nair to remove it, it won't itch. If you have thick, coarse hair, and you shave it with a razor, it will itch like crazy after about 1 week of growing back. The sad thing is, when you first shave, the skin is incredibly smooth and you'll think "Wow... this is great! I look huge! I think I'll keep it!", but after about a week or so you get stubble, prompting you to shave it again. Then once you shave it, it tends to grow back a little faster and more coarse. Then after 2-3 days, you get stubble.

The first time I shaved for a bodybuilding competition, I shaved with a razor and was smooth all over and it felt great. Then a week after the competition, I was in agony because I itched all over. After the hair grew out for a few days, the itching stopped, however some of the hairs became ingrown and I had pimples. The pimples are caused by the hair burrowing back into the skin, causing irritation. I would gently pull the hair back out of the skin using the point of a sterile safety pin (making sure not to poke myself).

So, I found that using a razor was not for me.

Nair produced the best results, however I had to make sure I left it on long enough to work. In my case, it takes about 7 minutes and leaves the skin very smooth. You have to try it on a small area at first because since it dissolves the hair, your skin may also react to it. Fortunately, the cellular structure of skin is a little tougher than hair so it doesn't start to breakdown the skin until after about 10-12 minutes of contact. The downside of depilatories like Nair is that they usually smell pretty bad. However, they are getting better by adding fragrance to it. Nair for Men is a pretty good product, while Epil-Stop & Spray never worked for me.

http://www.nairformen.com/

For my arms and legs, I can use the rotary shaver with no problem. The area around my biceps and behind my knee is a bit sensitive so I use a razor for those areas. And mostly for my chest, I use either Nair, or the moustache trimmer that I mentioned before. Nair and the moustache trimmer produce the least itching, however Nair gets a perfectly close "shave". The moustache trimmer leaves the hair just long enough that the follicle doesn't become irritated, but it's short enough that the only way you can tell the hair is still there is to either touch the area, or look very closely. With Nair, you have to apply it once every 1-2 weeks. With the moustache trimmer, I have to shave once every 3-4 days to stay smooth.

As far as chest hair goes, I usually let it grow back a bit in the winter (and trim it occassionally) and shave it off completely during the Spring and Summer, as I'm shirtless much more often between March - October and I don't want to freak people out with "The Carpet".

Here are two comparison pictures:

1. (with chest hair)

2. (without chest hair)

So, since I have coarse hair that curls back toward the skin as it grows out, I found that either Nair or a moustache trimmer (personal groomer) works best to prevent ingrown hairs from forming.

Hair removal methods:

1. Personal groomers (moustache trimmers). Like tiny barber's clippers, they give you a close shave, but cut the hairs evenly so they don't have a point at the end (making them more prone to cause razor bumps/or irritate the skin). Since it shaves a small surface area at time, it can take a while to shave if you have hair covering your entire chest and abdomen.

a. http://www.skippypodar.net/WebGaller...algroomer2.jpg
b. http://www.skippypodar.net/WebGaller...algroomer3.jpg - This is the one I have.

2. Rotary shavers. Provides a good close shave but for those with sensitive skin, it can produce razor bumps.

http://www.skippypodar.net/WebGaller...taryshaver.jpg

3. Straight/disposable razors. Also works well, however it can also produce razor bumps in people with coarse/curly hair.

4. Nair (or any depilatory). Removes hair by dissolving it. Leave on for no longer than 7-10 minutes as it will begin to dissolve skin if it's left on too long (causing scarring).

http://www.skippypodar.net/WebGaller...r-for-men1.jpg

http://www.nairformen.com/

5. Waxing. It hurts like heck because the hair is ripped out of the follicle. It lasts a long time, but the hair eventually grows back.

6. Laser hair removal. Expensive and time consuming, particularly if you're very hairy. This form of hair removal is permanent.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm...7B66D2825AA1E4

Experiment with a few things to see which works best for you.

- Skip

__________________
"If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything."
http://www.skippypodar.net

The Chosen One

Thanks a lot for that skip, haha it wasn't directed at me but incredibly helpful. Infact, that could be a good addition to the article listings as a way to remove hair comfortably for competition.

Abdominator

Hmmm... maybe I'll write an article about hair removal?

- Skip

__________________
"If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything."
http://www.skippypodar.net

johnsbod

Skip, we're in need of some good articles and threads for stickies, so whatever you think you can contribute, please do. I invited you here because of your experience, so start sharing bro. j/k Good info on the hair removal, and I definately agree with you on the hair coming back more coarse when you shave.

__________________
Wenn Sie Deutsch sprechen können, posten Sie hier.

Misc Perv #69

Dan

That would be cool ..although not needed in my case..

Testosterone

Thanks for that great reply skip

__________________
Formerly S.C.