How do swimmers remove hair

While the body is constantly shedding its top layer of dead skin cells anyway, the use of a razor speeds up the process and removes cells all at once, not a few at a time. Fares has been testing out their Essential Acne Kit, and his whole routine takes less than 5 minutes!

And that sensation translates to the water, too! When you remove your body hair and that layer of dead skin, you unlock a new feel of the water. For the ultimate compounding effect, add a taper to your shave! The better you trim, the easier the actual shaving will be. Set aside enough time to do a thorough job. Rushing yourself could result in lots of cuts! Holding those positions for too long could negatively impact your taper, so make sure you have a chair and do your best to be as comfortable as possible.

Chances are, most swimmers have helped someone shave at some point! Have you shaved for a swimming competition? How did it feel on race day? These are the same ones you would see in a hair salon. The hair gets clipped as close to the skin as possible and the swimmer then gets into a warm bathtub. After the hair has been trimmed down and the swimmer is in the tub, he then lathers up some shaving cream on his arms, legs or chest.

He then takes the blade and runs it back and forth against the grain and then back down the grain. Any hard-to-reach areas such as the back and behind the knees are often done with the help of a teammate.

The reason for being in the tub is so the swimmer can be relaxed. After all the main areas are hit, the swimmer will also target unlikely areas like the bottom of the feet, the palms and even the eyebrows. This removes dead skin cells and helps with the feel and sensation of the water when she is stroking and kicking. After all the shaving is done, she takes a lukewarm shower and does some light stretches to loosen up any muscles that got tight from shaving.

After the shower, the swimmer will apply rubbing alcohol to his skin. This helps to refresh open pores and to avoid getting ingrown hairs that can result from any clogged pores or cuts that took place during shaving. A moisturizing cream or baby oil is then applied to the skin to keep it from getting dry. Swimming is then avoided until the next day's warm-ups to avoid drying of the skin cells.

It may seem hard to believe that something as menial as arm or leg hair can slow you down in the water. Is this simply the stuff of superstition? Or is there something to this ritual?

Many argue that, even if shaving doesn't help reduce drag, it gives swimmers a psychological boost because swimmers feel invigorated in the water after shaving.

It's certainly understandable, because razors strip dead skin cells off the body in addition to hair, exposing a fresh layer of sensitive skin cells. This results in hypersensitivity to the water. Olympic swimmer Janet Evans, for instance, has said that her team would agree not to shave at all until the night before a competition.

The next day, the water would feel "exhilarating" [source: Evans]. But in an attempt to settle the issue, researchers have investigated if a shaved body actually glides through the water faster. A study found that it does, and the authors concluded that it's because shaving does indeed reduce drag [source: Sharp ].

Swimmers usually refer to "taper and shave," which is a strategy used in the days immediately preceding a big competition. Tapering refers to rest from training, and coaches still disagree about how effective this is. And although shaving is more or less scientifically proven to be effective, it isn't without controversy. Some argue that youth shouldn't shave, because they aren't mature enough to handle the disappointment when their performance suffers in subsequent races.

It's also true that first-time shaves can have disastrous results if you aren't careful. Before you take a razor to your skin, look over our shaving tips on the next page. Body shaving can be especially intimidating for males who have extensive and thick body hair. If this is the case for you, it's best to start the shave with electric clippers to easily trim the longer hair before you start a closer shave.

Keep in mind that you only need to shave the areas of your skin that won't be covered by your suit.