2nd Amendment

June 15, 2007 9:17 AM

I'm hairy but work around food. How weird would it be if I shaved my forearms?

While I know the constitution grants me the right to bear arms, I'd rather not pack these shaggy guns. I'm male and not a competitive swimmer. It's too hot to wear long sleeves all summer. Okay or bad idea?

posted by anonymous to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (27 answers total)

You might try sugaring as a depiliation method, rather than shaving. Supposedly less painful than waxing, and there won't be the prickly stubble that shaving will promote.

I think it is admirable that you'd go to such lengths to promote sanitary food preparation for your customers. Assuming you're prepared for the upkeep, which would probably be less with sugaring or other depiliation processes than with shaving, I don't see any problems. However, if you don't keep up with grooming, and expose your arms, there is likely to be some gross looking stubble a week or so after the last time you shaved.
posted by paulsc at 9:34 AM on June 15, 2007

Bad Idea. It sounds like you don't really want to do this, so why are you thinking about it? Is your arm hair shedding enough to necessitate its full removal? Is your boss/coworker encouraging you to shave your arms b/c of hair in the food incidents? If not, I don't think you should do it. If the hair is long enough, perhaps you could trim it.
posted by djuna at 9:36 AM on June 15, 2007

Do you have complaints of hairs in the food? I work in the kitchen, and in short sleeves, and my hirsute arms have never been a source of strays.

If you do go ahead with it, maybe wax instead of shaving?
posted by glip at 9:36 AM on June 15, 2007

Getting a beard trimmer and trimming your arm hair at its lowest setting would be easy, painless and relatively quick, and would keep your arms from being super-hairy without looking as strange as totally shaven arms would.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 9:40 AM on June 15, 2007

I don't think arm hair sheds like the hair on your head. If I grab a clump of hair on my head and pull, inevitably at least one hair will come out in my hand, whereas doing the same thing on my arm (a couple of times just now) yields nada. So, unless your arms shed more than my (female, but of Eastern European descent and on the hairy side) arms, I'd avoid shaving them. It would be weird.
posted by amro at 9:42 AM on June 15, 2007

Do not shave. If you do, the hair will return with a vengeance rivaling a fat guy at an all you can eat burger buffet. If you want to remove the fur, wax. If totally bare arms scares you, use scissors or a hair trimmer and buzz cut your arms. You don't want to shave though or else you will be shaving your arms for the rest of your life.
posted by Stynxno at 9:45 AM on June 15, 2007

Um, ok, I'm admittedly admitting something I'd rather not, but here I go. I'm a woman and I actually trim my arm hair. I've always been the hairiest woman I know, ever since childhood (*that* was fun), and I always toyed with the idea of shaving my arms. Alas, I knew it just wouldn't look natural. So a few years ago I got myself an electric trimmer. I use the #1 attachment and keep the hair very short, and the way mine grows, it looks great this way. Natural hair, but not all long and scraggly.

So, you could try that. You'd still have the same number of hairs, but you'd lose the long scraggly aspect, if you have it. (This method might not work as well with very dark hair. Anyway, I'd recommend at least the #2 attachment for a guy.)

OR, maybe you're a self assured dude, and you're willing to shave it all off and tell your friends and family, "I gotta keep this shag out of my work, ya know!" Or if you're NOT that dude, maybe this is your opportunity to start!

To directly answer your question, it'll be noticeable, and it's not usual, so while I won't say for a second that it's a "bad idea", it won't go unobserved. I have a friend who I swear shaves his hands only and ... it catches my eye. :) I don't think any less of the guy for it, though! So I mean yeah, if the hair affects your work, then sure it's okay to shave it off. :) Just be the self assured dude about it.
posted by iguanapolitico at 9:45 AM on June 15, 2007

Trim with a beard trimmer to keep the fur to a manageable level. Alternatively, find some extra cool (silk?) long sleeves. I think this question is admirable and kind of cute by the way, but as a regular food customer, I've never noticed an arm-type hair in my food, just plenty of head hairs!
posted by crabintheocean at 9:48 AM on June 15, 2007

I think it would be kinda weird. I've known people who shaved their arms and since they didn't do it EVERY morning, the stubble always looked nast. Plus, they would get ingrown hairs that were pretty disgusting.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 9:48 AM on June 15, 2007

Thirding the beard trimmer. It lets you take it from gorilla to normal without going to lady-like.
posted by smackfu at 10:01 AM on June 15, 2007 [1 favorite]

You don't want to shave though or else you will be shaving your arms for the rest of your life.

This is so not true. I am a swimmer, and thus shave my arms like twice a year. Then it grows back in, and looks the same! You sound like you might be happier trimming, though.
posted by dame at 10:01 AM on June 15, 2007

this won't be fun, but you might try waxing your arms. because regrowth is new hair, not cut hair, it'll be soft and fine. you'll only have to do it every 6-8 weeks, and after a few times it won't hurt as much.
posted by thinkingwoman at 10:09 AM on June 15, 2007

Agree with the trimming, not shaving. Remember to start longer then you think you'll actually want it.

If you have dark hair (just a guess) bleaching it can make it look thinner, too, especially in combination with a trim. (So can getting a tan, for the same reasons.)
posted by anaelith at 10:27 AM on June 15, 2007

Shaving leading to monstrous pilosity is a myth, it seems, so it shouldn't stop you from shaving your arms. I like the beard trimmer idea, since you don't really need a close shave.
posted by bluefrog at 10:36 AM on June 15, 2007

Maybe I'm crazy, but.... long sleeve shirts?
posted by sdrawkcab at 10:37 AM on June 15, 2007

I wax my arms and I don't feel bad about it. I had extremely dark hair on my arms and felt INCREDIBLY self-conscious about it. I also worked in a restaurant and would feel so embarrassed setting people's food down in front of them with my gorilla-like arms showing. My waxer says that it is quite a common procedure. This is why they have quotes for "arms" on their price list.
posted by triggerfinger at 10:49 AM on June 15, 2007

I recently found out that a surprising number of my friends shave their arms.

The discourse went like this:
guy1: yeah, I had to shave my arms
me: YOU SHAVE YOUR ARMS?!
guys1,2&3: yeah. fuck you.
me: /*goes back to drinking my beer

So I don't think its that uncommon, but we're also ummm... shave friendly. The only time I tease is when they shave their chest. But in general, I recommend trimmers first. If that looks silly, then shave.
posted by kookywon at 10:57 AM on June 15, 2007

How weird would it be if I shaved my forearms?

If you shave just the forearms but your upper arms are also hairy (which seems likely), this is going to look really weird. Whatever you do, do it to the entire arm.
posted by probablysteve at 11:08 AM on June 15, 2007

Suddenly I find myself self conscious about my hairy forearms for the first time in 36 years.

Dammit.
posted by davejay at 11:23 AM on June 15, 2007

Definitely trim vs shave. My bro-in-law has to do this because he's a mechanic, and grease + hair = nasty mess. But shaving leads to stubble, which itches at the 5-day mark.
posted by notsnot at 12:04 PM on June 15, 2007

My fiance started shaving his arms after he got a 3/4 sleeve tattoo. Everytime he got there, the artist would shave his arm from shoulder to forearm, leaving him with what we like to affectionately call the "fur gauntlet." Since his third or fourth sitting, he just shaved that whole arm before he got there. Then, he thought shaving one arm was wonky, so she shaved the other, and ultimately his chest.

When he keeps it up (which it requires a fair amount of up keep...) it looks hot, and I much prefer hairless fiance to sasquatch fiance. Trimming would probably work well for you as well.

Norelco has these trimmers, which I believe are sold at Best Buy (where you can get rewarded for shaving your hairy self with free reward zone points!). Also, because this is f'ing hilarious, view on.
posted by santojulieta at 12:10 PM on June 15, 2007

Suddenly I find myself self conscious about my hairy forearms for the first time in 36 years.

Dammit.
posted by davejay at 11:23 AM on June 15 [+] [!]

Actually, davejay, this whole post is just a ruse to confront you about those furry limbs of yours. We've been meaning to say something . . .

Kidding! Nobody notices, nobody cares, and you shouldn't care about those who do care about your allegedly hairy forearms.
posted by Kibbutz at 12:38 PM on June 15, 2007

Cross dresser here with lots of experience with shaving body parts. Everyone is different but for me, shaving my arms is by far the easiest body shaving I do. However, I have dark arm hair and pale skin so it looks odd as stubble. Waxing and sugaring are both kinda painful and I wouldn't recommend it given your motivations.

Generally, people will notice (especially if they already know you) but probably won't comment. I'd say go for it. It'll grow back eventually if you don't like it.
posted by chairface at 12:48 PM on June 15, 2007

Just want to let iguanapolitico know that she's not alone....
posted by pyjammy at 1:15 PM on June 15, 2007

I'd recommend the trimmer method first no matter what, because even if you decide you want to go all the way, the shorter hair will be easier to shave and less painful to wax/sugar. (You want your hair to be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch long when you wax - shorter and it won't get gripped well, and longer and it will hurt.)

Another advantage of trimming is that if you decide to regrow it off-season, you won't have to deal with stubble or uneven patches.

One disadvantage of trimming vs waxing is that you'll definitely have to do it more often. But it will probably give you the most "natural" looking results.
posted by sourlime at 1:39 PM on June 15, 2007

Oh iguanapolitico and pyjammy, third here. The boys in my 6th grade PE class called me "Werewolf".

I tried bleaching when I was little to stop the kids teasing me. I don't know if it was because I was 6 or something, but the 3 minutes I left that bleach on were the longest three minutes of my life. It hurt and itched and generally felt terrible. I'm fair with dark hair and I would laugh so, so hard if someone asked me to shave my arms. Stubble! I think waxing is the way to go, like many others here.
posted by crinklebat at 1:41 PM on June 15, 2007

i once worked with a guy who shaved his forearms because he felt disgusting handing over plates of food while his hairy arms were on display.

for what it's worth, when he left the restaurant business, the hair grew back and looked normal (i.e. didn't grow in "thicker") and he hasn't shaved them since.

i think it's a very considerate thing to do. i don't really care if men have arm hair, in a restaurant setting or not, but i know some people find it repulsive.
posted by gursky at 3:14 PM on June 16, 2007