I’ve already written about my various green hair-removal techniques, but now, I’ve decided to take things one step further now and not shave my legs anymore. This may sound like another move only a card-carrying hippie would make, but in reality, it’s not that extreme. My leg hair is very fine; even if it’s half an inch long, you can only see it if you get close-up (and let’s be honest, not many people are going to be staring intently at my gams anytime soon). Plus, it’s winter — a huge dump of snow just landed in Toronto so it’s officially pants weather, and if I wear a skirt, I’ll also wear tights. This will save using up my razors, my shaving cream, a sink full of water and the extra moisturizer I’d apply after. It’ll be a hairier Christmas than usual, but at least I’ll have another layer of warmth.
Have yourself a hairy little Christmas (Day 277)…
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Way to go! Just be wary around men. I’ve found that most are sickeningly attached to perfectly smooth bare freak baby legs. Damn media.
ps. Not just a “card-carrying hippy” move, but a “male-bashing feminist” move! Two birds with one stone?
(Poor birds)
Good for you! It’s only for a month, too!
Men and women are weird about it, so let’s not just bash the men! I didn’t shave my legs for a couple years during college and maybe a year after. Girls and boys stared and said things. I don’t know why I started shaving again, but I now only do once a week (below the knee and sloppily). My husband doesn’t mind, but he’s not an American boy.
I was wondering, a lot of us are going to miss reading your blog. Will you continue? I think it would be fun to see you slowly put things back into your life. Like, would you start with the small bothers like asking for no receipt, or would you immediately plug in your fridge (even though you have a cold enough climate now to not do that…) or will you add back everything you miss all at once?
Yeah, “shavin’ season” has been over for a while here. Once you’re married, all these gross things just don’t bother you as much anymore. And besides, it DOES help to keep you warmer!
Heh, call me a bastard if you must, but when I first saw this post I thought it was going to be a different, yet nearby, area not getting shaved
Anyways…
Yea, it is one of those things that our society has all kinds of issues with. To provide my male perspective here; I’m a seasonal man. I could care less if legs are shaved in the winter. But in the summer I think they look nice. I still don’t really “care” but I think I find them more attractive in the summer. If that makes sense.
Haha, no, actually Shawn, I have *that* area taken care of with the laser hair removal… far better than sticking a sharp blade anywhere near there I think. My legs are the only place I haven’t used that system. And definitely, in the summer, I’ll be shaving again.
Hey, not shaving is the lazy woman’s friend. I figured if I wasn’t going to dye my hair anymore (and I’m developing a cute little white streak), then why bother shaving. Sure saves money on razors, water, and gas to heat the shower water!
I hate shaving. I love the way smooth legs feel, but I hate bending over to do it, and I invariably nick myself. And the nicks are not the fault of the antique safety razor I use to avoid plastic; they’re the result of me being in a hurry to get the job done.
My husband, like most men, likes smooth legs, but he doesn’t insist on them. In fact, he feels it’s not his place to tell me what to do with my own legs (and at the risk of sharing too much, got kinda peeved when I insisted he should let me shave him in a certain place just for fun one time.) Anyway, the few times I shave are a special treat, for both of us, and those special treats are becoming scarcer and scarcer these days.
Hey, let’s be friendly now. Most women (not all of course) expect men to shave their faces too, especially in professional environments.
Toby, do you look at a man’s face (and food on his beard, or hair getting stuck on lips, in some unusual and unfortunate cases) when you talk to him? Do you look at a woman’s legs when you talk to her?
I stopped shaving my legs (in wintertime) in high school, and entirely once I was in college. It was the topic of “is that okay?” discussions the way that a man’s having a beard would NEVER be. I remember having a plan for when a hypothetical boyfriend would ask me to shave: I’d say, “sure, if you shave your legs, too!”
Luckily, I didn’t fall in love with a North American. When I warned him that I didn’t shave, he asked (honestly shocked): “are there men who care?” I said “yes”. And he answered “American men… no! American BOYS.” I think he looks good with a 3-days’ beard, though, so…
heh. I like the way my legs feel when they’re fuzzy. And I hate the way they feel when they’re stubbly. So not shaving is a no-brainer for me. But yeah, a lot of american boys prefer otherwise. That’s okay — I like my boys unshaven and without hair product, so I guess we all have visual/physical preferences. But then my preference makes so much more sense, takes a lot less time, $, effort, and resources.
I’m one of those girls that thinks not shaving is gross. However, I’m also one of those girls who once in a while, I go a week without doing it because I often err on the side of lazy. My boyfriend is deployed, so he won’t be back for a year, thereby encouraging my laziness.
If I had the money, I’d totally invest in the laser hair removal. It’s really worth the investment if you are like me and your legs are hairy 12 hours after shaving. Unfortunately, I didn’t take after my mom and grandma; niether of them have ever needed to shave thier legs because they’ve never been able to grow hair on thier legs. Thanks dad.
My thinking is this: if people can see the hairs on my legs, I’ll shave them. If they can’t (which is 99% of the time because I do love my pants and long skirts), then I’m not going to bother. My boyfriend has been rather good about accepting that as just the way it is. It works well!
What? No pictures?
Thanks for addressing this subject. I prefer depilatory, but it also comes in something like a toothpaste tube and must be thrown in the dump. I remove leg hair maybe once/month (only below the knee) in warm weather and then let the hair grow out during the cold months of the year. We have 9 months of warm weather, though. My body hair is pretty fine and light-colored, so it’s not terribly obvious. Underarm hair is removed once/week or so all year around. Our bodies get less hairy as we age, so I have the old lady thing going for me on this one.
Isn’t it NICE to not have to shave? I quit shaving anything about 3 years ago and have had no complaints. Now, on special occasions such as weddings and/or funerals, I will shave below my knees but thankfully those don’t occur often.
Molly
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I have to agree that it is amazing the amount of negative attention women receive when they do not shave their legs (or under their arms). What a bizzarre double standard. Why, Green Thistle, will you be shaving your legs in the summer if your hair is so fine that people can hardly see it? Just keep thinking of all the clean water that is spent shaving legs! It’s silly!
Just my 2 cents. I’ve enjoyed reading your blog and am impressed with many of your steps to reduce your impact.
It’s so funny that people think this is an issue. Leg hair? WTF???
I quit wasting my time, water and razor blades on leg shaving many years ago, and have yet to get a complaint.. man, boy, girl or otherwise. Some men, boys and girls even like it BETTER… whoa!
I use to shave my legs and hated the way it felt when they were hairy. 3 years ago, I stopped shaving. 2 years ago we made a trip to Hawaii and I felt self conscious for having hairy armpits and legs, so I shaved. I was so greatful when we got home and I was able to let it all grow out again. I haven’t shaved since and if we go to Hawaii or some other vacation again, I will not be shaving. I prefer it how it is and that’s that!
I don’t shave my legs and my husband doesn’t even notice. I shave the underarms, just because I find it more comfortable- but that’s it. If you wear tights or darker coloured pantyhose nobody can see anyhow. I’ve always felt that if you’re not hairy as an bear, why bother?
I don’t shave during the winter months either. It’s wonderful!! And WARM!! Which, for me, is a huge plus! I’m always freezing my rear off.
I do shave during the summer about once a week, but generally just below the knee. I shave above the knee about once a month, just because I have such dark hair and it grows so long! If it were lighter colored, I don’t think I’d ever bother with it.
I do shave my underarms, however. Usually no more than twice a week, but only if I’m wearing a sleeveless shirt! LOL!
And as for my hubby, it keeps me from using the bathroom for forever and it doesn’t bother him one way or another, so it’s all good for him too.
i have hairy nipples and im female
yeah, it’s winter and I don’t shave my legs for a couple of months now although I feel pretty freaked out by that fact… but I just can’t strip myself and go with shaved legs – I get really cold without my leg hair (it ain’t that huge, it just really helps to keep the warmth:P)
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