After 10 years and a few thousand posts, and with dysfunctional search engine, it’s time for my first TMI post.
I’m a pretty hairy dude, thinking about becoming marginally less hairy. Specifically, my back, shoulders and upper arms. Maybe the ass, too.
Any feedback on how the experience went for you (or someone you know) is welcome. Ladies, feel free to chime in with SO stories.
How long did it take to grow back?
Was the regrown hair thinner and softer, as they claim it will be?
What happens after multiple treatments?
In general, was it worth it to you?
It ain’t going to grow back softer or thinner. But because the roots vary in depth, it’ll seem thinner (at least at first) as only the shallowest come in. You will likely have to deal with ingrown hairs. Exfoliate every single day (or get someone to do it for you). And try not to take offense when the waxer laughs at you! (I assume you’re going to go somewhere, after checking that they take men. DIY is not what you want to do, at least not for your first time.)
Depending on the area of the body, great. Some areas…not so much. For instance, my back (only done once) ended up with quite the case of acne (that lasted for weeks), whereas normally I have almost none. And ingrown hairs are awful.
3-4 days and there are “sprouts”. After a couple weeks, the hair is back, but not quite at the same density (and not as long).
Whether or not what Cat Fight says is correct, it certainly seems so. Which may be all that really matters, right?
It gets easier and less painful, although that may be highly dependent on how often you do it. Again, not to dispute Cat Fight’s post, but in my experience and/or perception, the hair does thin to some degree (both in wiryness and density).
It’s one of the most painful things I’ve ever experienced in my life. I’m quite fair skinned (and have sensitive skin too) so I was red and blotchy for days after the waxing, and the period between the blotchy going down and the hair growing back was about a week.
You don’t need to wax to remove hair - get yourself some hair removal cream like Veet or Nair (you’ll want the “for men” or “strong” version). The first time you do it takes a bit of effort and you may have to do it in more than one session, but each time you do it the hair grows back weaker and finer. I used to have a very hairy chest/stomach/bum but now I have very little as I’ve been Veeting for several years - now I only need to do it about once every two or three months. It takes about 30 minutes tops, doesn’t hurt and costs a lot less too.
I’ve used Magic Shave in the past. Once you get past the smell, it really works well. It’s even safe for use on genitals. Just be sure to get the pre-mixed gel. I used the mix it yourself powder once, and chemical burns on your chest are not fun.
I always thought that Nair and all those creams were pretty much like shaving, so they didn’t make the hair come in any softer.
I’m not a guy, but my hair comes in pretty soft now–I’ve been doing it for years.
ETA: Are ingrown hairs a bigger deal for men? I think I get them on occasion but they’re not noticeable, so I just ignore them and let them get waxed out again next time.
It’s about like shaving except that the hair dissolves so you’re completely smooth to begin with. So it’s like the best shave ever, not the half assed shave you do to your face every morning where you’re not completely smooth anyway. You don`t get a longer duration like with waxing though.
The upside is that it’s really cheap and painless and you can do it quite often in a few minutes followed by a shower. If you have sensitive skin there’s a risk of getting what i could only describe as a nasty chemical burn, so check a small area first.
The biggest downside is that you need a partner willing to apply it to most areas men would be interested in. So if you have a committed partner, it’s not bad. Otherwise helping you dissolve your hair with any frequency is pretty gross, and finding a helper will be a challenge.
It took a few weeks and didnt seem any thinner and softer. If youre not completely hairy when you go back for repeats, it’s going to be easier and less painful.
I never felt it was worth it, for 2 reasons. 1, I want something permanent. I tried electrolysis for 18 months but wasn`t making progress. I tried it because it seemed to be the only thing officially recognized as permanent but I think the areas men are interested in hair removal for are just too large to be effective. I’d like to try laser hair removal, and in fact I have an appointment in less than a month.
2, Like many hairy men, I’m hairy all over. I trim my chest hair but I think having a very hairy chest and no hair on my back and shoulders looks just about as bad as being hairy all over, albeit in a different way. It’s just unnatural. I could wax my chest too, but I don`t really want to have no hair on my chest. Even if I did, I’d have no hair on my torso but hairy arms and legs. Where do you stop?
Wow, I can’t disagree with you more on this. Any place that cannot treat you with professionalism and respect does not deserve your business. Period. If I went into be waxed and some person laughed at me, I would not only leave, I would report them to the licensing board.
Really? As much as I’d like to put a 48-year-old divorced Persian immigrant with four kids out of business… I got laughed at my first time, by a cruel-yet-efficient Russian woman. ‘Ohhh, poor baby,’ she cooed, but all the smiles and sunshine in the world wouldn’t have softened that first square of hair, roots and all.
That would also be my advice – 20-something estheticians in high-end spas seem tempting, but I’ve always fared better in immigrants’ back rooms (though always referred by my hairiest friends).
Sort of related anecdote: a girlfriend of mine used to just do eyebrow shaping and waxing and she’d get women in all the time, dragging their boyfriends. It always began, ‘Yeah, I have tattoos/broke my arm in third grade/am a man, I think I can handle it’ and ended in tears and, ‘I didn’t think it would hurt so much.’
I can’t believe you think that mocking your body is appropriate behavior for a person in the waxing profession. Would you go to a gynecologist that laughed at you when you are all naked and spaddle-legged? The mind boggles. My waxist is also a Russian immigrant and somehow she manages to be friendly and professional. Of course, she’s putting three daughters through college on her aethetician income, so she must be doing something right.
Yeah, I agree. I go to immigrants, too, but I’ve never been laughed at at my current place.
Though one of the other waxers at the place near where I live did comment that I have a lot of (eyebrow) hairs which I found unnecessary. I definitely think I can afford to piss them off since there’s a million places that will do cheap eyebrows.
I think the misconception was that they’d be laughing at you for being so hairy, not being chubby or some unrelated insult. That’s how I took the comment at first. I guess everyone has different tolerances for pain, but I didnt find it particularly painful. Even so, I wouldnt pay someone to laugh at my pain.
I’m always happy after getting my back waxed. Yeah it hurts, but only the area near my neck hurts bad enough to make me wince. The waxer has never been anything but friendly and sympathetic. I sometimes get red blotches but they go away in a day or two. I’d love to get more waxed but I’m too shy to ask an old lady to do it.
So do you have a big hair dot in the middle of your back? I personally couldn’t apply it to enough of my back, and my arms and shoulders are quite flexible. Plus if I had tried, in flailing around trying to reach myself i would have rubbed the chemical into my skin and the instructions were to apply it and let it be, not rub vigorously into your skin. I have sensitive skin and I didn`t want to aggravate it unnecessarily.