I was inspired by a thread about chest hair when I noticed that a few guys mentioned shaving their armpits. I am a fairly hairy guy myself (though not back hair) and have been doing this for about 20 years (am 44). It is now a once-a-week SOP. I started doing this because I have relatively hairy armpits, and antiperspirant would never really get the job done for a long enough period of time. By the end of the day, I was a little too ripe. Plus, the hairs would stick together and pull when I moved. Very annoying.
FWIW, I otherwise like body hair on men. Just not pit hair. For those contemplating this, I have to say don’t worry too much about itching. It feels a little odd the first time, then when you get used to it it becomes second nature. For those concerned about appearing effeminate, don’t worry. It’s actually fairly difficult to notice.
I did it once. While drunk. Purely for entertainment value. It itched when it grew back in, and I walked around for a week or so scratching my pits like a monkey.
I did it about 3 weeks ago and I’m glad. I’m not only a total fuzzbutt, but I perspire like a malaria patient. No itching yet, I’m comfier, and my shirt stains are less severe.
I don’t shave down to the skin, no, but it’s definitely short. I prefer it because I smell better (or at least, less bad), I sweat less, it’s more comfortable, and I prefer how it looks.
Good lord, don’t you all realize that the best thing about being non-female is not having to do things like that? Mark my words – once you start shaving your armpits, it’s not going to stop until you’re wearing pantyhose and spike heels and putting on your face like Tammy Faye Bakker.
I’m a very hairy guy. This includes my pits. Thus, I trim my pit hair using a pair of nail scissors every month or so. The goal is to reduce the amount of hair and to help my anti-perspirant work better. Shaving the hair completely, in my mind, is just asking for ingrown hairs and itching when it grows back. Trimming works better for me. I do not trim my chest hair, but can be talked into shaving my back hair during the summer. Real men are hairy. Sorry.
A few years ago I was between professional jobs; so I started working as a cab driver to cover bills.
I’d never done it before, but when you’re sitting in a parking lot on a Phoenix July night in between calls and not running the AC to save on gas, even those of us with good hygiene ripen up pretty quickly.
I started doing it then and I’ve never stopped. I very much prefer it.
The first time was because I “just didn’t feel ‘fresh,’” and it seemed like an extreme but necessary measure, although I felt a bit weird about it.
It felt a bit uncomfortable at first – I was very conscious of an alien ‘skin-on-skin’ feeling there. Almost chafey. (Maybe just razor sensitivity?)
After that went away and I got used to it, though – I prefer it. So much cleaner and more comfortable. I’m not obsessive about keeping it down to the skin or anything like that, but I raze it down whenever I have the time and inclination – at the same time I remember to tweeze out the few stupid-looking hairs that grow on my chest.
I gotta say, every once in a while, I get Tori Amos running through my head: “She’s your cocaine/She’s got you shaving your legs…” but I think that would be a bit much. Safe bet that my GF would be a little put off by that – although I sometimes hate having all that hair there. (I look like a goddamned faun, and it’s uncomfortable.)
I once made the mistake of shaving the “treasure trail” that leads from my navel to the pubic area. For some reason, I figured it was too unkempt. Boy, does that area ever look wrong when shaved. Oh my god.
Wow, I only shave my face when IMHO it’s too disgusting for anyone else to see, never mind that the rest of me ain’t all that hot to begin with. I can’t even imagine shaving something nobody’s going to see anyway.
That’s what happened the only time I shaved them with a razor. These days, I shave them every now and then, maybe once a month. It looks better, I need less antipersperant, and besides, the way pit hair looks when it gets long and the deodorant turns it into those stalactite things- it’s just gross. I’ve shaved my shoulders a few times, too, but it’s a lot of work.
Well, I Nair them; I suppose that counts. I also buzz down the rest of the body hair every two weeks or so. I dont have a sense of smell or a girlfriend to keep me posted BO wise, so I get a little paranoid.
Hmmm. I don’t. Oddly, despite having a thoroughly hairy chest and abdomen, luxuriant facial hair when I choose to grow it, and a back that is daily inching closer to “furry”, I’ve never had but the barest wisps of hair under my arms.
