To shave or not to shave?

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Permalink Reply by Lucky Penne on June 11, 2008 at 5:30pm

Perhaps I should have said more "bold, brave" personalities... anyway, I mentioned this discussion to my dear hubby, who reminded me of his suggestion to simply trim back the hair (armpits, mainly) for those times when it seems appropriate to bend to society's standards. This is our method of choice (vs. a razor) for controlling stray or bushy neck hairs whenever I give him a trim up top.

At first I was concerned that it might cause my underarm hair to grow thicker and perhaps darken up, but this isn't the case with his "extraneous" hair, so I suppose it's a viable alternative. Maybe the women in our family can feel comfortable wearing sleeveless tops and dresses around town again, without completely compromising our principles! ;-)

Just my two cents and a plate o' zucchini pasta ~ Penne

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Permalink Reply by UrbanBohemian on February 11, 2008 at 5:44pm

I think shaving should only really occur between the months of May and maybe October. That said, I maybe, and it's a big maybe, only shave about once a month or every couple of weeks during the winter. My boyfriend hates it, and quite frankly, I could care less. Really, if he hated it that bad he knows where the door is. To me it's not about making any sort of statement as it is about the combination of the conditions of winter and what shaving does to your skin. Not to mention, I'm pretty tall (5'10) and have really long legs and it takes FOREVER!

But I would love to hear more about what the guys on this site think about the whole deal???

Peace

Traci

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Permalink Reply by Uti on March 3, 2008 at 3:25am

Who invented shaving in the first place?

As a guy I hated shaving my face and walking around with those little pieces of tissue glued to the nicks. The last time I shaved my face I was 26. After that I kept my beard and hair neatly trimmed so as to not offend people I worked with or later, customers of mine.

A few years ago I experimented with not cutting hair or beard. From a yogic perspective this is the way Mom (God) made me. I agree with Wendi on that.

As for women. I personally think natural is just fine. The only thing I've disliked is scratchy stubble in much the same way as when I got complaints if my beard was trimmed down to stubble length. I now live in an area where a lot of women don't shave and most of the women in my yoga group no longer shave. It's not just an old hippie thing any more.

I can understand the desire to shave and wax the pubic area for women who wear minimal swim suits that are designed for smoothies. However, on an intimate level our body hair is a secondary sexual characteristic, so deleting it seems a bit unnatural. Years ago I worked at a museum which had an art school and some of the professional art models shaved completely in the traditional manner as there was a time in the art world when body hair, especially pubic, was considered indecent.

I am friends with Charis Wilson, who was the great photographer Edward Weston's model, collaborator and wife beginning in the 1920's when she was a teenager. She told me that they had to retouch a lot of his photographs of her if any pubic hair was showing before shipping them out to shows and galleries because it was considered pornographic in the 1920's through 1950's and sending pornography through the mails was a federal crime. She's never shaved in her life and this was long before the hippie days. In her day it was called "bohemian", but back then women generally didn't show a lot of skin in public, so shaving wasn't much of an issue.

What I have also noticed as I have transitioned over the years from SAD to vegetarian to vegan to raw is that body odor is caused by the body detoxing the things we put into our body. When you take away the offending foods and detox the residues out of the body the need for deodorant disappears. When I became 100% raw I noticed my underarm sweat lost its pungency.

I'm a little uncomfortable saying this, but I noticed my vegan lovers had a much sweeter smell and taste. I don't know about raw lovers yet.....still waiting for the experience.

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Permalink Reply by Lucky Penne on June 4, 2008 at 10:58am

I'm so glad you shared your thoughts, Uti. My oldest son is trying to decide how to handle this issue as a young guy just starting out. Most of the careers he's considering require a clean-shaven face, and I think that's kind of symbolic in a way... Funny, I was just asking my DH if he noticed a difference in my fragrance and overall presence since I started following Natalia Rose's "New Energy Body" plan at the beginning of the year. There have certainly been some very real changes in all other areas of my life!!! It's good to be back amongst kindred spirits. Thanks to Anisha for posing this question ~ Much love to all <3

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Permalink Reply by Rachel on March 8, 2008 at 8:45pm

I love threading! Never tried it for anything other than eyebrows tho! If you ever do full body, let me know how it goes. I'm curious
rachel

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Permalink Reply by Carolyn on March 3, 2008 at 7:16am

Before I was raw, I stopped shaving.... from my knee up.

The hair on the top of my leg is blonde, and it pleases me so I don't shave.

Now I've stopped shaving the bottom half before and I just can't feel sexy looking at stubbly black hair. So I shave it.

However, when I lived in thailand my friends thought it was horrible I shaved and totally gross when the day old stubble would appear.

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Permalink Reply by G Monkie on March 3, 2008 at 10:34am

I have to say I prefer women with no hair.

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Permalink Reply by rawboomer on March 3, 2008 at 11:06am

I've never given much thought to wether a woman shaves or not, although I'll admit I feel a little intimdated when she has more chest hair than I do. I'm also jealous of women who can grow a better moustache than me.

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Permalink Reply by Sveltlana on March 7, 2008 at 10:43am

LOL : )

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Permalink Reply by Emma on March 3, 2008 at 11:15am

I recently stopped shaving my armpits, and only shave my legs every couple of months. I love my armpit hair- it's soft and light, and it feels great not to worry about shaving. My younger sisters are embarassed of it, but my boyfriend and past lovers all actually believe a woman is sexier with hair, that it shows not only a self-confidence, but that it also looks attractive. To me, it also works as a built-in barometer of people's tolerance. If some guy makes fun of it, than it's pretty clear immediately how progressive and open-minded he is.

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Permalink Reply by april on March 3, 2008 at 12:15pm

I shave pretty much anything that can't be waxed without inducing large amounts of pain..haha

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Permalink Reply by morning on March 7, 2008 at 11:21am

i dont shave my legs durring the winter, and have gone a few years not even shaving in the summer.....i dont shave under my arms at all....the only exceptions to this is when i have a formal something or other to go to where it would be embarrassing to whom ever either invited me, or who i am with....my husband has no preference one way or the other most of the time, but he sees it as a special treat when i do shave my legs sometimes...hahaha...

i believe the whole women shaving thing is a very modern practice....i think it came from a gilette ad at the turn of the last century....there was a woman in the ad that had shaved her legs to show that the new mens razor was gentle enough to shave a woman. it caught on and now most women do it.....

me personally i think hairy legs, and armpits are more natural....

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