Cyclists Legs and Thigh Shaving?

Frank in Miami, Florida wants to know more about shaving his legs and how others do it, plus he wants the inside information on how often Pro cyclists shave and whether they shave their arms too!

Question:
Can’t find any articles about legs and thighs shaving correctly.
How much shaving in these areas do professional cyclist do and how often?
Do the pros shave their arms too?

Cordially,

Frank.

Hi Frank,
As I’m sure you know some people have to shave more often than others, face etc. The legs are just the same, some riders more than others.

Ask around the Pro peleton and you will get different methods, just like what people use on their face. Electric razors are great if you are having massage every day as they don’t cut too close and harm the skin, opening it to irritation from massage products. With an electric razor you do need to use it more often.

Creams are very popular and now there are ones especially for men, it is different and stronger than the woman’s version and works well. You have to be careful with the creams as they can irritate the skin and you shouldn’t put any oils or massage creams on your legs for a few hours afterwards.

The old method of a wet razor with soap being done in the shower is still one of the most popular, but again you have to be careful of cuts. Personally I use a cream and tidy up and missed bits that I didn’t get with the cream. I can get away with doing it every couple of weeks, but when I was racing it was once a week.

As to the arms it would make sense to shave them too as you can get cuts and grazes just as easily as the legs. The only time I heard of anyone shaving the arms was for the World Hour record to cut down all drag. It was Chris Boardman who did it and as I remember he suffered with very itchy arms when the hairs started to grow back. Before swimmers wore those one-piece swim suits they would shave their whole bodies, the showers at the Olympic Games used to get blocked in the athletes living quarters.

I hope this all helps Frank, I would suggest you try all of them and stick with the one that works best for you and re-shave when your legs start to get a bit scraggy and itchy. Very importantly don’t do too high on your legs or higher as this can become very uncomfortable.