Leg shaving/waxing

[artemidorus]

I stand by it....

masseurs I see are happy to work on anyone, cyclists, footballers, athletes, strippers ...for them they say hair doesnt come into the equation other than it feels good if shaven and is a bit smoother for the first few massages, if you are hairy , you get use to it.....no THE REAL REASON is medical , acknowledged widely and established, ....and I quote from Washington University ....." surgeons are always concerned about a patient developing an infection after procedure. To reduce the risk of infection, surgeons shave the hair from (the procedure site) of patients. Surgeons know that bacteria may be transferred from the hair to an incision site."....this is the rationale followed by cyclists...reduce infection...shave.....

if you want to avoid infection and not shave then follow this proceedure...."wash all body hair with a 4% chlorhexidine shampoo 24 hours before injury and again immediately before injury, then take a full course of antibiotics after injury". so if you can plan your injury and know exactly when it is going to happen, by all means leave your hair where it is!

The surgical profession has shaved the surgical site, with the aim of reducing infection and wound complication rates, for over a century. Unfortunately, as with many aspects of medicine, this was done without any scientific basis. Many branches of surgery have not yet carried out any study of the benefits of surgical site shaving. Those that have (mainly neurosurgeons, facial surgeons and urologists) have found no benefit achieved through shaving in their various very small studies. Many reviewers feel that larger, more powerful studies would show an adverse effect of shaving, as it disrupts the skin barrier and brings bacteria and fungi from hair follicles and glands to the surface.

Please keep this debate within justifiable realms; there is no medical basis for the shaving of cyclists' limbs.

 

[Hasbeen]

Tradition, looks good (chicks love it!), feels good, is good.

 

[rooman]

Tradition, looks good (chicks love it!), feels good, is good.

yeaaahhhhhh !!!! the case rests!

 

[Courtancer]

yeaaahhhhhh !!!! the case rests!

Finally!!! A true admission. I have absolutely no problem with people who shave their legs. I, along with almost everyone I ride with, get annoyed with people who try to justify it with rediculous reasons and have a "snob" type attitude against those who don't see the need for shaving. Tradition and the personal reasons of the way it feels are perfectly acceptable. Its when people base their riding level and "commitment" level above others because of how they look that it becomes stupid. Its like comparing a shiny big exaust big stereo Lancer with a plain stock Evo.

 

[rooman]

Finally!!! A true admission. I have absolutely no problem with people who shave their legs. I, along with almost everyone I ride with, get annoyed with people who try to justify it with rediculous reasons and have a "snob" type attitude against those who don't see the need for shaving. Tradition and the personal reasons of the way it feels are perfectly acceptable. Its when people base their riding level and "commitment" level above others because of how they look that it becomes stupid. Its like comparing a shiny big exaust big stereo Lancer with a plain stock Evo.

well the case almost rests!

You must admit it is also a pain (locally and) in the butt pulling bandages and stuck wrappings off any wound, ( although methods of bandaging etc are improving) and as the statistical probability seems somewhat more obvious to a cyclist, anything that adds some comfort, if a graze occurs is a plus......

I agree with your assertion as well, but I guess we move in different circles as I havnt found any one "commitment snobbing" , just because they shave, I guess you have and you shared that experience in this forum with us, fine! ....its the performance that matters, not the fuzz or lack thereof, as to whether one is committed or not!!...., but as for shaving, if you like the way it feels or for whatever , yoo choose not to, that's it, the choice...make your own, & ride on !

 

[SomeGuy]

anything that adds some comfort, if a graze occurs is a plus

So you shave regularly just in case you might have to put a bandage on your legs? As someone else said, why not shave your arms too?

Personally I'd take the occasional extra pain over the annoyance of shaving.

 

[rooman]

So you shave regularly just in case you might have to put a bandage on your legs? As someone else said, why not shave your arms too?

Personally I'd take the occasional extra pain over the annoyance of shaving.

maybe you could get some hormones from the doc to fix that "annoyance" for yourself!

 

[SomeGuy]

maybe you could get some hormones from the doc to fix that "annoyance" for yourself!

So now I'm taking drugs so I don't have to worry about a band-aid pulling off some hair? Oh kay...

 

[coowoowoo]

I have to laugh every time I hear men give reasons for shaving their legs. It amazes me how people can rattle off any number of reasons without actually thinking about the reality of it. Very few people will admit that they only do it for aesthetic reasons.[/QUOTE]


Finally, at the end of all this waffle, is most likely the true answer...because it looks good.
Aids in healing...purlease... Here is one thought for you all. Hair is on the body for a reason. It regulates body temp, protects the skin and keeps germs out of places they shouldnt be. Think, head, eyes, armpits, legs, groins etc..
Non professional road cyclists only shave/wax legs because of peer pressure to "look the part".
Now i am not saying for a second that it doesnt look nice as it does but there is also something much sexier about a man who looks like a man and has some hair on his legs.

 

[pukka]

OK here goes my two pennies worth.

I am an ex-pro cyclist (Now 38) from the UK, and am a healthcare worker who spends my waking hours in an operating theatre. To clarify a few things raised here.
1. Whilst shaving doesn't prevent infection, it decreases the risk of contamination significantly. We may be wosses, but removing dressings from the effects of road rash and graizes can be substantially more painful when the area has significant hair. Note: If you ever see footy players with their boots or shirts off, you'll see those who get there shoulders and ankles strapped have had the hair removed.
2. Legs are the area of the body where over 85% of injuries of abrasion occur, those on the arms remove skin from areas usually very devoid of hair.
3. 0.04 seconds per km is the average speed gain from having smooth legs.
4. It is true that females seem to like the look of the shaved leg, and when on a well trained and developed cyclist the muscle is more cut, in the same way that some women like the look of the cut of a man's chest, not the masses of hair that some have. We are in a world of less hair, and either way ppl are allowed a preference.

This post started with the question on why we shave, and hopefully the poster has had that answered. There have been a number of respondents who have chosen to belittle the question and make personal attacks, and others who apparently have me baffled to why they even bother posting here, as they appear to have no interest in the ways of this sport.
My suggestion, for what it's worth, watch the TDF this year and get some prospective, or do us all a favour and 'make like a hooker'

 

[Don Shipp]

Is there a good reason for shaving my legs? Why do males do it apart from looking good?

In the "What do you guys look like" thread there is a picture of one cyclist who appears to wax his legs all the way up to his neck. Subsequent comments from the girls would indicate that they think that this looks good, at least for this particular example.

 

[artemidorus]

.
1. Whilst shaving doesn't prevent infection, it decreases the risk of contamination significantly.

This is unsubstantiated by the medical literature.

 

[pukka]

This is unsubstantiated by the medical literature.

What is? Do you think in the medicp legal world we practice in that we would do this for the hell of it?
I'd hate to bore you with literature on the subject, but let me know and I'll post it all here, just a few references to get you started

1. National Audit Office. Acute Infection Control in Acute Hospitals in England. Audit Commission , London 2000Cruse PJ, Foord R .
   
2. A five-year prospective study of 23,649 surgical wounds. Arch Surg 1973 ; 107: 206-10.
3. Thur de Koos P, McComas B. Shaving versus skin depilatory cream for preoperative skin preparation. A prospective study of wound infection rates. Am J Surg 1983 ; 145: 377-8.
4. Zentner J, Gilsbach J, Daschner F Incidence of wound infection in patients undergoing craniotomy: influence of type of shaving. Acta Neurochir Wien 1987; 86 : 79-82
5. Seropian R, Reynolds BM. Wound infections after preoperative depilatory versus razor preparation. Am J Surg 1971; 121: 251-4.
6. S, Kamiya A. Microbial contamination of brushes used for preoperative shaving J Hosp Infect 1992; 21: 103-10.

 

[rooman]

What is? Do you think in the medicp legal world we practice in that we would do this for the hell of it?
I'd hate to bore you with literature on the subject, but let me know and I'll post it all here, just a few references to get you started

1. National Audit Office. Acute Infection Control in Acute Hospitals in England. Audit Commission , London 2000Cruse PJ, Foord R .
   
2. A five-year prospective study of 23,649 surgical wounds. Arch Surg 1973 ; 107: 206-10.
3. Thur de Koos P, McComas B. Shaving versus skin depilatory cream for preoperative skin preparation. A prospective study of wound infection rates. Am J Surg 1983 ; 145: 377-8.
4. Zentner J, Gilsbach J, Daschner F Incidence of wound infection in patients undergoing craniotomy: influence of type of shaving. Acta Neurochir Wien 1987; 86 : 79-82
5. Seropian R, Reynolds BM. Wound infections after preoperative depilatory versus razor preparation. Am J Surg 1971; 121: 251-4.
6. S, Kamiya A. Microbial contamination of brushes used for preoperative shaving J Hosp Infect 1992; 21: 103-10.

thanks Pukka....there's plenty more as well.....just a few posters seem to think their gene count is threatened by it!

cheers

roo

 

[Don Shipp]

thanks Pukka....there's plenty more as well.....just a few posters seem to think their gene count is threatened by it!

cheers

roo

What would you recomend for preventing the infections that cause saddle sores?

 

[rooman]

What would you recomend for preventing the infections that cause saddle sores?

see a Doctor, if you have an infection, don't muck around...if you just have a saddle sore ( they come before the infection ), there are varying degrees of soreness from tenderness through to broken skin, to full nasty weeping badness........ keep area scrupulously clean, use a chamois cream, wash your knicks after every ride, and wear double knicks if its too uncomfortable for a while...(also if you have repeated discomfort), think about getting knicks with better chamois, especially reduce the edges near the threads by trimming them at an angle with scissors if that can be done, and/or get a better contoured pad type that fits your anatomy, its often trial and error, and when you find a chamois that fits , woohoo, lucky days...or look at the top end of the range where the science is in chamois research and design, pay the bucks and get the best...your butt will thank you!

We are now way off the original thread.

Time for a beer!

 

[artemidorus]

What is? Do you think in the medicp legal world we practice in that we would do this for the hell of it?
I'd hate to bore you with literature on the subject, but let me know and I'll post it all here, just a few references to get you started

I could take you on a tour of any hospital ward and show you ten things that were simply a waste of money and another ten things that actually increase patient risk.
The current medicolegal climate leads to a lot of money wasting, but certainly doesn't prevent things being done for the hell of it. Trying to break down unnecessary, or even deleterious, tradition in the medical (especially the surgical!) and nursing professions can be very unrewarding, as many bright young interns and residents learn.

I think it is questionable whether papers pertaining to elective deep surgery at pre-prepared sites are translatable to unexpected, road-contaminated skin grazes, but let us assume that they are; I'll argue my case on your grounds.
Now, to address your citations:
I am unable to find your first on Medline.
Your second and fifth are there, but are too old to contain cited abstracts.
Your third is irrelevant to your argument, as it fails to compare outcomes of wounds at shaved sites versus unshaved sites in any way, let alone in randomised fashion. The same is also true, unfortunately, for your fourth and sixth citations.

Now, to return the favour:

1.Kjonniksen I. Andersen BM. Sondenaa VG. Segadal L.,Preoperative hair removal--a systematic literature review.,AORN Journal. 75(5):928-38, 940, 2002 May.
I'll paraphrase this for you: no strong evidence for or against pre-op hair removal, but if you do it, it shouldn't be by shaving! (This seems to be the only attempt at metaanalysis in the literature).

2.Winston KR.,Hair and neurosurgery,Neurosurgery. 31(2):320-9, 1992 Aug.
Shaving does not reduce infection rates and may increase them.

3.Menendez V et al, Is it necessary to shave the pubic and genital regions of patients undergoing endoscopic urological surgery?,Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. 25(6):519-21, 2004 Jun.
Shaving doesn't change infection rates.

Even giving you the benefit of the doubt for your citations that I could not check, your choice of the others leads me to believe either that you did not read them or else that you lack a basic understanding of medical literature and scientific method. Were you simply trying to seem clever, in a blustering way?

I've said it before and I'll say it again:
please keep this debate within justifiable realms; there is no medical basis for the shaving of cyclists' limbs.

 

[artemidorus]

What would you recomend for preventing the infections that cause saddle sores?

On a long tour some years ago, my girlfriend and I started to get quite painful saddle sores, so we used a powder called Curash that you just throw onto them before putting your knicks on. It may have been coincidence, but we both got better within a day or two.