Sobaka.ru found five men who remove hair not only with a simple razor, but also with more effective methods - sugar paste, wax applicator and an electric epilator. And she asked them how they came to the need for depilation, why they do not consider it “only a woman’s occupation,” and how it helps them not only maintain hygiene, but also set sports records.
Arthur Roberts
business consultant, 28 years old
I first tried hair removal three years ago, before my trip to Spain. A year before that, I was on vacation with a friend in Italy and noticed that most of the locals walk with a smooth body, so I decided to thoroughly prepare for the next vacation: I came to the salon for sugaring (a method of hair removal using thick sugar paste - Ed.) and asked the master to remove all unnecessary.
Oddly enough, I liked the feeling from the procedure itself: it did not hurt at all. However, the irritation made itself felt, and the redness did not subside for about 3-4 days. By the end of the second week, the hair began to sprout and barely break through, small pimples appeared in some places. And the calendula solution, which the master advised to wipe the skin, had a rather unpleasant aroma. I decided to find a depilation method that suits my sensitive skin and relatively thin vegetation. He began to remove the hair in the armpits and abdomen with an epilator, which he received as a gift from his mother, and to go over the more irritable places - the chest and bikini area - with a regular razor. I must admit that there are still less unpleasant consequences from shugaring than from an epilator and a razor, but I'm already used to resorting to the second method. I shave once every two weeks, and use the epilator less often - about once a month.
Why remove hair? For the sake of aesthetics! The times when a man could be a little more beautiful than a monkey have sunk into oblivion! We all go to the gym, the pool, in the summer - to the beach, on especially hot days we like to wear T-shirts. In these conditions, a well-groomed body is not a fad, but an urgent need. In European countries, hairy men are much less common than with smooth bodies, and in Russia there are still strong echoes of the Soviet mentality and "prison" concepts. Many men disdain to use even face cream, considering it an exclusively female affair. Therefore, by the age of 40, Russians look like Europeans at 60!
Victor Sitalo
Head of Cycling at I Love Supersport Cycling School, 31 years old
I have been involved in amateur cycling since my youth. The need for depilation arose after the transition to road cycling and the dramatic increase in the number of training sessions, since the lack of hair on the cyclist's body solves several problems at once. First, hygiene: After extended all-weather training, areas of smooth skin are much easier to clean. Secondly, safety: in April of this year, I fell off my bike at a speed of over 50 km / h, received quite large abrasions on my thigh and forearm, and due to the lack of hair on my legs, I was able to properly treat the wounds. I can imagine what agony awaited me if every time I changed the bandage I had to tear off the adhesive plaster from my hair.
But the main thing that makes athletes do depilation is seconds of advantage over “hairy opponents”. During the race, the cyclist is faced with a flow of oncoming air, which bends around the body contours and causes additional "friction", the speed decreases. Of course, on a bike ride in the park, you won't feel the difference, but during a sport ride, hairlessness is an additional free opportunity to speed up. I know only a couple of cyclists for whom these seconds play a decisive role, but for professional riders it is really important: for example, before trying to break the hour record, Sir Bradley Wiggins still shaved his stylish beard in favor of aerodynamics.
Aesthetics in the issue of depilation is also important: the times when a well-groomed man was perceived by others as a representative of sexual minorities is gone. Look at the cyclist's sculpted, tanned legs, and then the hairy and thin legs of the "sexual orientation specialist." Comments are superfluous!
Depilation itself is a tedious but necessary routine that I do every three weeks. First I tried shaving with a razor and depilation with hot wax. In the first case, it is necessary to constantly rinse the blade and do repetitions on the same area of the skin, which will certainly lead to irritation. And depilation with hot wax is difficult to carry out at home: this substance requires the utmost care in handling. Therefore, I decided to remove hair with a wax applicator: the wax in the cartridge is heated to the desired temperature and evenly applied using a roller. My first attempt was successful, as I had thought out in advance a "plan of advancement" from the calves to the thighs. But nevertheless, the process takes quite a long time: on average, it takes an hour and a half to two hours to fully depilate the legs. Time costs are compensated by the presence of a column with the podcast "Arzamas"!
Alexey Moskalets
owner of beauty studio "Da", stylist-hairdresser, 31 years old
In my beauty studio, you can do men's depilation - it's even amazing how popular this procedure is now! Apparently, recently men want to be no less well-groomed than their companions. Especially if they regularly play sports, or the work involves physical activity. Depilation is also relevant for men who have tattoos - no one likes it if they are covered with a "carpet" of hair, especially in the summer, when you want to show your body in all its glory.
I remember very well my first experience of depilation, shugaring. It was quite scary - I thought that I would not live to see the end of the procedure, and then I didn’t do the depilation for five whole years. Therefore, when about a year ago, an employee of my beauty studio, Lyudmila, suggested that I try a new type of Skin’s polymer depilation, I didn’t agree right away. The peculiarity of this type is that it involves the use of wax with rubber polymers. They provide high adhesion to the hair and low adhesion to the skin, due to which the procedure is quick and almost painless. For me, this was a decisive factor in choosing the type of depilation, since ordinary sugaring is much more difficult to endure.
At first, I had to do depilation quite often (about once every 3-4 weeks), but over time, the hair began to thin out, and the time interval between procedures increased. Of course, there is laser hair removal, which can get rid of hair almost forever, but personally I would not recommend it. There is an assumption that the laser promotes the development of cancer cells. And health is the most important thing!
Today, many men are ashamed of depilation and even consider it a purely female service. But I disagree! Men sweat more actively than women, so the lack of hair in areas of increased sweating is very comfortable. And it is not at all necessary to do depilation everywhere - you can limit yourself to the area that causes the greatest inconvenience. Stereotypes that girls prefer hairy guys, I also consider the relics of the past. Modern men follow fashion trends, in accordance with which they grow a beard, trim it neatly, remove hair from the neck, correct the shape of their eyebrows and at the same time remain men! Depilation is becoming as routine as cutting nails or going to the hairdresser. After all, masculinity should be manifested in actions, not in the presence or absence of hair.
Anton Bukseev
deputy director of a law firm, 35 years old
I decided to try shugaring on the advice of friends - I wanted to get rid of my hair for a longer period than after using a razor. Sugaring worked well for me: the hair begins to grow a couple of weeks after the procedure, and it is no longer so thick. So now I am depilating my arms, chest, back and buttocks about once a month.
It doesn't matter to me where to do the depilation - in the salon or at the master at home. Personally, I chose the latter option, since the furnishings practically do not differ from the salon, and there are fewer people. I do not feel any awkwardness in front of the master, I perceive him as a doctor. But the first time there were unpleasant and unusual sensations from the procedure itself. But over time, the skin got used to it: it became easier to ignore the pain, there is practically no irritation.
Stereotypes that only gay men do hair removal seem ridiculous to me. If you think so, then you can stop washing, and cutting your nails, and taking care of your face skin. Of course, I met a misunderstanding from my acquaintances: when people find out that I practice shugaring, they are surprised and ask why I do it at all. I do not attach any importance to such reactions - we do not live in the Stone Age, the main thing is that a person is comfortable!
Alexander Shilin
swimming coach at "I Love Swimming" school, 43 years old
I finished my career as a professional swimmer at the age of 25, having managed to fulfill the standard of an international master of sports, become a multiple champion of Russia and participate in the 2000 Olympic Games. Six years later, during which I worked a lot in a sitting position and mostly moved by car, I decided to join the Masters Swimming Federation. It brings together swimmers over 25 who want to compete at the same time. Of course, you have to compete at a different level (training at the Masters is less intense, and you don't have to be a professional athlete to enter the club), but there are also special standards and significant titles here. So, I have repeatedly set Russian records in different age categories and at different distances and became a three-time gold medalist at the world championships (in Kazan in 2015 and in Budapest in 2017).
Winning a competition depends on a fraction of a second, so it is important to use all means to achieve an advantage over your opponent. Often, swimmers remove hair from the entire body with a blade, thereby also removing the upper layer of the keratinized epithelium and irritating the receptors. This is done in order to increase the "feeling of water": for example, a person who can swim, but does not feel the water, will swim across a 25-meter pool in 25 strokes, and an experienced swimmer with increased sensitivity can cover the same distance in 7-8 strokes … Water here is felt not just like a liquid, but rather like a solid from which you can push off.
The "scabbing" procedure is completely painless, but quite sensitive: there are often scratches and redness, which enhance the very "feeling of water". It makes sense to start the procedure only before serious competitions and only when the athlete has already reached a certain level of speed (usually a master of sports, rarely a candidate for master of sports), otherwise he will not feel the difference. Personally, I have not shaved my arms, legs or body since 2000, although I did set the Masters world record for 50 meters on my back! Perhaps, if I had shaved, I would have managed to cover the distance even faster: "scabbing" gives an advantage of half a second when you swim 50 meters, and a second when you swim 100 meters. When I start training more intensely, prepare for the competition properly, then maybe I will shave!
What do doctors say about male depilation and epilation?
Julianna Kirillova
dermatologist-cosmetologist, owner of the “Sorry for my beauty” cosmetology clinic
“Thanks to the male hormone testosterone, men's hair grows faster on the body and slower on the head. In girls, thanks to the female hormone estrogen, on the contrary: on the head the hair is thicker, and on the body it is more rare. Despite these differences, hair removal is the same for both sexes. But usually men have to do it a little more often than women.
All body hair can be removed with laser hair removal. Today it is the most painless and safest procedure: the fact that it promotes the development of cancer cells is a myth. The provocateur of the appearance of cancerous neoplasms is ionizing radiation (that is, X-rays, gamma rays and UV rays, which are given by a solarium), laser radiation does not belong to ionizing. All the energy here acts only on the upper layers of the skin, the penetration depth is only a few millimeters, the laser beam does not damage the cell membrane and does not in any way affect the genetic information in the cell nucleus.
To achieve the effect of laser hair removal, a course of procedures is required: on average, it is 4-10 sessions with an interval of 4-6 weeks. Complete hair removal in the selected area will occur when all the hair follicles in the active growth stage are destroyed, and the sleeping ones "do not wake up" and do not become a target for the laser. Immediately after epilation, the skin is not smooth, there are "hemp" on the surface of the skin, which gradually fall out in 2-3 weeks after the procedure. It is also worth remembering that in the intervals between laser hair removal sessions, only shaving is permissible - no depilation. In addition, it is not recommended to stay in the sun for two weeks after the procedure.
If you want a quick smooth skin effect - for example, for a trip to the sea in the coming days, opt for depilation. And if you are preparing for a vacation in advance - say, in the fall, it is more advisable to conduct a course of laser hair removal. Just keep in mind: this is a rather expensive procedure, although nowadays it is becoming more and more affordable."
Daria Lukina
cosmetologist, dermatovenerologist of the clinic of the highest category "GrandMed"
“There are some anatomical features of the structure of male hair and its growth. This is mainly due to the different hormonal levels in men and women. Male hair is thicker, the hair cuticle is denser, but the hair follicle lies more superficially than in women (about 2 mm). Male hair grows faster than female hair, but it lasts 2-3 years, and in women hair can live up to five years. The anatomical features of the hair structure in both sexes are not significant, therefore, they practically do not affect the choice of the depilation or epilation method. The only difference is that the course of treatments for men may take a little longer.
The need for hair removal in men depends on many factors: these are individual preferences, the need for comfort, and the nuances of work. For example, nowadays, underarm hair removal is popular among teenagers. They prefer to solve the problem of hair growth at a young age and not resort to constant shaving in this area afterwards. Much less often men do hair removal in the beard area, as it is now in vogue. But some people use this procedure to prevent ingrown hairs and therefore ditch the beard in favor of smooth skin.
Recently, stereotypes about "brutal hairiness" of men are gradually disappearing. For example, in our clinic there is even a so-called "image" hair removal, which is carried out along the hairline of the beard, mustache and the back of the neck. Barber forms the necessary lines, and the beautician helps him in his work. With the development of a large number of barbershops, this has become very important. Also in demand is the epilation of some not very aesthetic areas of the body with increased hair growth - for example, on the back and ears."
