Road Bike, Cycling Forums banner

The Funk's undeniable Bible of Shaving...

183K views 282 replies 183 participants last post by  Rokh Hard 
#1 ·
So, you are a roadie now... or have just fallen prey to the cycling society and have decided to shave. So you are reading this for one of three reasons.... one, because you are considering shaving, two, have shaved and are having... issues, or three have been shaving and want to hop on and give your two cents. Whichever way, this is the undeniable truth to shaving for men and I dont feel like typing this every single time someone asks about shaving issues. Follow these methods and I promise you a season of happy and smooth legs to impress the gals (or guys) at the office.

First of all, why to shave... good freaking question. I think because Eddy M was actually genetically hairless and everyone wanted to mimic him... but seriously if you have to ask who Eddy is, you do not qualify to shave your legs anyway. Really, shaving is arguable as to why, but it is what it is... is it more aerodynamic... probably, but only slightly so. It is easier to clean those pesky newbie chainring tatoos, it does decrease friction when sliding in a wreck on pavement, it does make it easier to massage, apply lotion, and dammit, it just plain looks cool!

Why am I writing this, good question... am I qualified? Interesting question. Im still not at the point where I can shave dry, like my wife, nor am I very fast, but... alas, I have nicely shaved legs without bumps, ingrown hairs, razor burn...etc. Plus, I helped one GIRL with some stubborn.... private area issues out with this technique.... (get your head out of the gutter)

So here it goes, consider this your manual, and sooner or later you will get the hang of it.

Step 1:Go to the store and get a few things....

--A Gilette Mach 3 or Mach 3 turbo, or hell, Ive even heard they have razors out with 4 or 5 blades. Get one of those, belive me, you will reap the benefits of your investment.

--Some kind of shaving cream, or hair conditioner

--A good, nonscented, noncolored lotion

--A loofah (tell them it is for your girlfriend or wife...)




Step 2. Clearing the forest of the trees. Get your hedge trimmers, beard trimmer, head razor, etc and clear off all the long hair, most cyclists stop mid thigh, but some are horrified by the looks of "hair shorts" and go further up. Either way, the method is the same. Please follow this technique, cause if you try and shave the long hair its gonna take you a year and you will be sitting in the bathtub amid a sea of hair... do it.

Step 3. Have Blade, Will Cut - Once you have the hair down to a manageable level, lets get down to shaving. Do yourself a favor and NEVER SHAVE with a SINGLE BLADED razor. Holy crap, thats a recipie for disaster. I do shave in the bath... yes a BATH, showers wash off all the soap/shaving cream and make it difficult to see what you are doing. There is a lot of discussion about what to use for a lubricant (insert rim shot here...), but honestly... you can use shaving cream, I prefer a gel, but honestly I have found plain old hair conditioner to work as good or better than anything. Soak your legs for a min, then coat them, and start shaving. Some people say shave down... blah blah blah, thats a crock of crap. Just shave opposite the hair, you will have much better results. Please note that your hairs will grow in differing directions, especially on the back and insides of your thighs... take your time and just get it right the first time. Be really careful along the front of your shin, on your achilles tendon, around your ankles, and behind your knees

Step 4: Managing the Beast - regardless of what your issues (unless you are just cutting yourself), follow the following regimen RELIGIOUSLY and your issues... ingrown hairs, red bumps, dry skin, etc... will likely disappear.

A. Every time you shower, loofah the bejeesus out of your legs. This is a process called EXFOLIATION. This is paramount and especially pay attention to the areas that are prone to the ingrown hairs.. insides of thighs, back of legs. Do this VIGOROUSLY, this will toughen the skin and exfoliate dead skin. I just use soap.

B. Every time you get OUT of the shower (or bath), pat dry your legs and wait a few minutes, then apply a GOOD lotion, I use Nivea or Neutrogena, but Curel, and Vasoline brands are all decent, but get a lotion that has little color or scents, sometimes legs are REALLY sensitive to that.

C. If you get up in the morning and your legs are dry, lotion again.

If you get the little hairs groing under your skin, you need to loofah harder. Pick them out with a pin, or they will likely get red and look like little pimples.

So, exfoliate and moisturize. That is the secret to maintenance. Plus, dont shave every day. I have found that every 4-7 days is sufficient.

Best of luck.
 
See less See more
#28 ·
M3 Power is the only razor to get these days. Doubles as a vibrator if you're so inclined. :)
 
#29 ·
How often do you guys find you are replacing your blades?? I've asked my wife, but she's been doing the waxing thing for the last little while and can't really remember. Plus, everytime I bring up shaving and questions she always comes back with "Waxing is much easier"....Might be easier, but sure looks a heck of a lot more painful...

Rich
 
#30 ·
Nair

Just gotta throw this out there to those that have the $ or only shave for big events or every 2 weeks or so. This stuff eats through hair like a weed wacker through the grass. Slap it on, wipe it off in about 8 minutes, and presto and closer 'shave' than a razor, half the time, no cuts, last longer, and doesn't need a preshave if your hair is long. And for those of you using mach 3s this might be cheaper because them blades ain't cheap!
 
#31 ·
Another Benefit?

BigPiece said:
Just gotta throw this out there to those that have the $ or only shave for big events or every 2 weeks or so. This stuff eats through hair like a weed wacker through the grass. Slap it on, wipe it off in about 8 minutes, and presto and closer 'shave' than a razor, half the time, no cuts, last longer, and doesn't need a preshave if your hair is long. And for those of you using mach 3s this might be cheaper because them blades ain't cheap!
Maybe it's just psychological, but I swear that another advantage to shaving is that my legs feel cooler on hot days.

Anyone else experienced this?
 
#32 ·
Fogdweller said:
Any of you retro fans out there, I have some Campy single blade models from the 70s/80s, new in the box. Single blade, Ha! You scoff but these blades last 10,000 shaves and work without shaving cream. Make me an offer...
I actually have two Gillette double edge razors. Twist the knob at the end of the handle and the blade holder opens like a missle silo. There's an adjustment under the head for fine or coarse grind. Also a "Lady's Shick" razor, metallic blue with a long handle. All circa 1960's.

Or you can do the antique shops and find straight razors. Jeez! They're scary!
 
#33 ·
The problem with depilatories is that they're caustic. Caustic enough to desolve the protein in hair. Right on the label they warn that some days your skin is fine with this stuff and other days it will react in a "rash" -- which is really a chemical burn.

Waxing works for women because the hair on their legs is finer, smaller roots and not as dense. Grab a fist full of hair on your head and rip it out. This is what waxing is all about -- ripping the hair out by the roots.

I found a decent tool, actually a girlfriend found it.

Conair Hair Removal System.

http://www.conair.com/conair/products/detail.jsp?product=214

It's a pair of pumice wheels that rotate in opposite directions. Besides grinding the hair off, it also smooths the skin. Down side is that it leaves a lot of "skin dust" as it goes. But no cuts.

It works for reasonable fine hair. Not sure if it would smooth out a Sasquatch. They're about $50 at CostCo. Yeah, it's marketed to women. Somewhere along the line you're going to have to get comfortable with the idea that if you're shaving your legs, you're going to have to buy products marketed to women who shave their legs.

We could package these in black with red trim and call them "Conair Velocette." But at least they're not pink and named "Love Your Legs!"
 
#34 ·
RodeRash said:
Waxing works for women because the hair on their legs is finer, smaller roots and not as dense. Grab a fist full of hair on your head and rip it out. This is what waxing is all about -- ripping the hair out by the roots.
For my first time, following my wife's suggestion, I had my legs waxed. Not cheap, but not too painful either -- if you can stand the pain of road rash you can handle getting your legs waxed for f*ck's sake!

Once the legs are bare, maintenance, shaving, is a cinch. Follow the sage advice above, and your legs 'll be very happy!
 
#35 ·
velocity said:
For my first time, following my wife's suggestion, I had my legs waxed. Not cheap, but not too painful either -- if you can stand the pain of road rash you can handle getting your legs waxed for folk's sake!

Once the legs are bare, maintenance, shaving, is a cinch. Follow the sage advice above, and your legs 'll be very happy!
Waxing lasts 4, maybe 6 weeks. The hair follicles that are ripped out get replaced by new follicles. Evidently your skin has a reason for being covered with hair, and ripping it out by the roots just causes new roots to grow back -- just like pinching the buds on a plant cause the plant to generate new buds. It's a Darwinian survival strategy.

Shaving once waxed legs is just a means of transitioning from waxing to shaving as the new follicles re-generate. Once they're back, you'd never know you'd waxed.

(OK, listen, my girlfriend and I did a heap of research on this whole shaving, hair removal thing. Laser is expensive but eventually the hair grows back. Electrolosis is REALLY spendy and permanent. But electolosis on your legs would cost you about what a decent road bike runs these days.)

The wet/dry electric shavers seem to open a new window on the technology. I haven't tried one. I've decided that a blade and lather is the least bothersome, most economical in the long haul.

But you might look at the Conair rig . . .
 
#38 ·
funknuggets said:
It looks cool, feels nice, and says..... "IM A CYCLIST".... or, well... or "IM A SWIMMER"... or... I guess it could say ...."IM A CROSS DRESSER" ... but whichever reason you go for, you can always try it. Leg hair grows back at AMAZING SPEED.

So if you are into that... go for it. Lance shaves.
Actually, a lot of different athletes (at an elite level) shave their legs including pro football and basketball players, wrestlers (grecco-roman, not WWF), gymnasts, etc.

Another good reason for shaving if you are a mountain biker who lives on the east coast, it's WAY easier to spot ticks and they dont have as much to cling onto to begin with. I've had Lyme Disease a couple of times and dont want to get it again.

Also, I replace blades every single time i shave, and I can only shave about once every 6 or 7 days (i can only comfortably shave my face every 3 days without razor burn, i guess it's just the way my hair is).

I've been shaving for a long time many due to the tick reason above, and my biggest problem has been red bumps on the upper thighs near the naughty bits. I still havent found a good remedy, and I'm NOT into the sasquatch shorts look (neither is my girl).
 
#39 ·
I'd have to agree with you about using the blade...I've just made it a Friday night ritual...Go for a ride or hit the gym, then shower at home and shave right after...That way I have nice smooth legs for the weekend rides with my wife...Take that anyway you want ;)

Rich
 
#40 ·
Btw Big Tip!

Stay away from the Venus. The GF and I did a little study... the results were conclusive! The Venus is dulled down to stop women from cutting themselves. The Mach 3 on the other hand is not, my legs are noticeably smoother, and I have less problems than she does. She now uses my razo (damnit!). I have never cut myself and can shave quite fast, the Mach 3 is soooo much better than the venus... plus the plastic handle feels cheap haha.

K
 
#41 · (Edited)
Try the newer Venus Divine. They're currently running a special combo pack called Girl2Goddess :)

Reveal the goddess in you. Now you can get a divinely close shave, for divinely smooth skin, even in sensitive spots. Includes 1 Venus Divine razor, 2 refill cartridges and 1 mini Satin Care shave gel.

<jon stewart voice>mmmmm....ahhhhh....smoooooth......hmmmmmmm.....silky...ooooh</jon stewart voice>
 
#43 ·
So lets say this "friend" of mine is considering trying out this shaving thing for the first time and has read the funks bible but the dumbass does not know what a loofah is, what do I tell him? does anyone have a picture I can show him? I mean I know what it is but apparently he doesn't so I'd like to help him out? Thanks
 
#44 ·
Try this...

http://www.loofahspongesupply.com/loofah1.htm

But you can find them anywhere, any drug store or bath and body type stores. Tell your "friend" to claim it is for their significant other. there are natural and plastic types of loofahs.
 
#47 ·
wow

my friend just absolutely loves this new sleek look wow !!!!!!. Its like my legs....... er I mean his legs were these beautiful specimens hiding under all the hair and he is just amazed by this new found beauty, so much so that he often finds himself gazing lovingly at them and caresing them at random moments. :)
 
#50 ·
If someone asks if or why you shave your legs.

I have a great response if someone ever asks if or why you shave your legs:

Q: "Do you shave your legs?!"

A: "No need. Hair doesn't grow on solid steel."
 
#51 ·
Try a straight razor
You NEVER replace blades
It takes off 1/4 of the leg hair at a time. READ REDUCES SPLITS BY 25%
It is HIGH CARBON STAINLESS STEEL... wow CARBON AND STEEL
Gotta love it!
You can use it on your face too!
From what I have experienced there are LESS ingrown hairs this way too!
It's best to shave WITH the grain of the hair using this one boys and girls.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top