Women's Health asked: should men shave their legs?
22% of women said YES.
30% said NO but we should trim it.
That's 52% of women in favor of male legscaping.
What's a guy to do?
Don't worry – I've got you covered. In fact, I've conducted a poll of my own.
Today we're discussing the pros and cons of that age-old question: to shave or not to shave when it comes to body hair.
In this article I'm sharing with you:
- 5 reasons why men should shave their legs
- 5 reasons why men should not shave their legs
- RMRS Facebook group poll results
5 Reasons Men SHOULD Shave Their Legs
#1 You want to
If you want to shave your legs, this is all the reason you need. Don't let anyone stop you from doing what you want to do in life! And why stop at your legs?
Go ahead and shave your backside and anywhere else you want to shave too.
#2 You've been mistaken for chewbacca
Arrrgh! You've got Wookiee legs. You are so hairy that you make children cry.
If you were to shave your legs, you could knit a sweater with the excess hair….In that case…go for it!
#3 The psychological edge
I did an informal poll on this and got some colorful opinions from the RMRS Facebook group.
I'll give you the full results at the end, but one thing that jumped out at me was the number of swimmers and triathletes who said, ‘I used to shave when I was a competitive athlete because when I hit that water it just felt great. It put me in the right mindset.'
It probably won't cut down water resistance or wind resistance enough to give you a physical edge – but if it gives you a psychological edge, why not do it?
#4 You want to show off those muscles
Shaving your legs is the norm if you're into bodybuilding. In fact, if you're going to be up on stage in a bodybuilding competition, you're probably shaving your chest and everywhere else on your body too.
Your muscles look more defined when you're shaved and oiled up. And nobody will dare to tell you it isn't manly.
#5 You're going to get a tattoo
If it's on your calf, you might as well give the artist a clean canvas to work on. The hairier you are, the more important this is.
Ask your tattoo artist if it's necessary before you go in. If you don't, they may well shave it for you!
5 Reasons Men Should NOT Shave Their Legs
#1 It's a lot of work
There are multiple write-ups online by men going through the process of shaving their legs. Yes, they're actually out there.
And the theme that I saw across all of these write-ups is that men could not believe how much time, work, and effort they had to put in.
Newsflash: your legs are bigger than your face. A lot bigger.
One guy said it took two hours, another said it took two razors. And a third man was mystified about where his legs ended.
Was he supposed to keep going up onto his backside? It's safe to say these men won't be making a habit of shaving their legs.
Of course, if they'd persevered they would have found it gets faster when you've had practice. It's also faster when you're just smoothing off stubble instead of hacking through the jungle. But it's still a lot of effort.
So if your wife or girlfriend shaves her legs, maybe you should thank her for all the hard work she puts in.
#2 It's expensive
You're going to go through more razors if you shave your legs at home. Just think about the amount of surface area that you've got to be shaving.
You will go through one razor a day (or in the case of that unlucky guy I talked about, two.)
If you don't change out your razors regularly you're likely to end up with ingrown hairs and razor rash.
And the alternatives aren't any cheaper. Let's say you decide to get your legs waxed at a professional salon instead.
You're talking $75-125 per treatment. Waxing at home is not a cheap proposition either – or a pleasant one.
#3 It's painful
Yes, waxing is painful. But so is shaving. You think ingrown hairs are painful on your face – well, wait till you get one on your backside or your inner thigh.
And because of the extra cost of shaving your legs, a lot of people resort to using older razors and end up with infected cuts.
So if you're going to be shaving your legs, or if you've got someone in your house that's shaving their legs, do them a favor, buy them some nice new razors – they'll have less pain in their lives.
#4 If it grows back it will ITCH
If you ever decide to grow your leg hair back, you're about to experience an itch like you've never had before.
This is very similar to if you're growing a beard – if you've been cutting your facial hair and trying to grow a beard, you'll find that the ends of those hairs are unnaturally sharp because they've been cut.
The same thing for your leg hairs – when they grow a bit longer they're going to turn in and cause a whole lot of irritation.
Plus you'll experience your wire-bristled thighs rubbing each other raw when you walk.
#5 A lot of people find it weird
There was a flip side to that Women's Health study I talked about at the beginning.
Although 52% apparently said men should do some type of legscaping, 48% said it was just weird that men were looking to shave their legs.
In other words, about half the female population would disagree with whatever you did. But were those numbers really right?
I was curious about this poll. I had a hunch that if I asked men the same question, the numbers would come out very differently.
So I conducted a poll here at RMRS, and set it up so that men could add their own answers if they wanted to. The results were lively, to say the least:
RMRS Poll Results – Should Men Shave Their Legs?
- 361 people said said: No!
- 123 said: I don't care!
- 104 said: Do what works for you
- 86 said: Trim
- 18 said: Yes (I went ahead and added myself on there.)
- 18 said: Only if you're an Olympic swimmer.
- 12 said: I would but way too hard to maintain. Rather be hairy.
- 6 said: You should get your ass kicked for asking this.
- 5 said: I trim upper thighs but not calves.
- 5 said: I wouldn't mind it for others but not me
- 4 said: Only if you're a professional cyclist.
- 3 said: A little bit is fine but to the skin is just weird.
- 2 said: Really?
- 1 said: Wax.
- 1 said: My legs have noticeable bare spots anyway.
- 1 said: Only in the summertime.
- 1 said: Use hair removal creams.
- 1 said: Shave Raccoons and Pritt Stick the hair to your chest and legs for added manliness.
- 1 said: Ewwwwwwwwww.
Click here to check out that survey in more detail!
Click below to watch the video – 10 Essential Grooming Tools EVERY Man Must Own
