Swim Moms: Do your dc shave their arms?

[Jackie in NE]

Why or why not?

 

Dd has a big meet coming up, and wants to shave her arms. I'm afraid that if she does, the hair will come back in coarser. She already has a LOT of dark hair over her fair skin....

 

Any advice?

 

And no, she is not an olympic swimmer. She wants to qualify for our state meet, and is trying to gain every possible advantage.

 

Thanks, Jackie

[Unicorn.]

No. Nor have I ever met a swimmer who did. Shaving her arms is not going to help her take time off, sorry. Tell her good luck though!

[BikeBookBread]

I'm not a swimmer, but I do shave my arms. The hair does not come back in courser or any darker. My hair is medium/dark brown, and very noticeable on my arms, hence the shaving. It does, however, feel a bit stubbly when it grows back, no, it doesn't grow back any darker or thicker.

Edited October 19, 2009 by BikeBookBread

[Kalypso]

It seems that the girls around here will do this, but I don't allow mine to do it. I don't think the speed advantage (if there even is one) is worth having thick dark hair on their arms later.

[Guest RecumbentHeart]

I'm not a swimmer, but I do shave my arms. The hair does not come back in courser or any darker. My hair is medium/dark brown, and very noticeable on my arms, hence the shaving. It does, however, feel a bit stubbly when it grows back, no, it doesn't grow back any darker or thicker.

 

:iagree:

 

 

I did as kind of an experiment 15 years ago and just never stopped and not because of any regrowth issues .. I just prefer it and it's so quick to do when you're in the habit. I've been doing it so long that I totally forget it's not normal. :lol:

[Desert Rat]

I just asked my dh, who was a competitive swimmer in all four years of high school. He said, yes, he shaved his arms and yes, the girls shaved theirs as well.

My dh is naturally blond and has blond arm hair as well. It gets even lighter in the summer.

HTH

[In The Great White North]

I shaved (arms and legs) in high school and college, and none of it grew back any darker or thicker than it was before.

 

Shaving will help take time off, but not huge amounts. It reduces the drag from the hair and gives you a better feel for the water because your skin is more sensitive right after you shave. It's most effective if she doesn't shave her legs for awhile (ie. the rest of the season) before shaving for the big meet either.

 

It certainly won't hurt.

[abbeyej]

The hair does not come back in courser or any darker.

 

:iagree:

 

If she shaves, the worst that will happen is that it will be slightly stubbly for a short period of time while the hairs are growing back in. Then it will be totally back to normal. Or she'll decide she prefers shaving her arms, and she'll continue.

 

(That said, I think it unlikely that it will make any real difference in her time. But even if it's just like Dumbo's Feather and makes her *feel* faster, maybe it's worth it?)

[swimmermom3]

:iagree:

 

If she shaves, the worst that will happen is that it will be slightly stubbly for a short period of time while the hairs are growing back in. Then it will be totally back to normal. Or she'll decide she prefers shaving her arms, and she'll continue.

 

(That said, I think it unlikely that it will make any real difference in her time. But even if it's just like Dumbo's Feather and makes her *feel* faster, maybe it's worth it?)

 

:iagree:Working on her technique, taking care of herself physically, and following her coach's instructions will get her closer to that state qualifying time than shaving will. Good luck to you daughter. May she have her best season ever, with or without arm hair.:D

[KidsHappen]

My oldest dd shaves her arms because she has really dark arm hair. She never lets it go even though she rarely shaves her legs. My second dd was on swim team and none of the girls did this but I have known a few male swimmers who shaved all visable parts, bikers too come to think of it. I understand the physics of it but I don't think it really makes much difference.

[Mesa]

I started shaving my arms after having my 1st baby. Having the hair ripped out by the tape from my IV's was horrible! I let the hair "grow out" occasionally on accident. It's no thicker, darker, or coarser than it used to be.

I prefer my arms shaved.

[Bokons]

I had a friend in high school who was on the swim team, and she used to shave her arms and legs before swim meets. She said it did take some time off.

[Lolly]

Mine have. Their coach told them to shave everything not covered by their suit for their biggest meet last year. He even wanted their backs shaved. He admitted to the parents that it doesn't really make that big a difference on drag or anything, but that it makes you feel faster. That mental difference can make you swim faster. Of course, he also did NOT allow/want them shaving anywhere until that big meet. (Mine complied with the exception of the bikini area.)

 

Now, from me, if she really wants to shave some time off, what I have seen make a big difference in times is in the suit. Of course, they have outlawed the really fast ones. (And I for one am glad!) But, even just switching to a knee skin can make a difference, especially for a girl who has bits and pieces (as an embarrassed coach said) that aren't completely contained in a traditional suit. The knee skin makes them much more streamlined and compact. It doesn't make as much difference on a really tight, lean body without bOOks, although you do still get a little lift in the rear (literally) that can help cut time in fly and breast especially.

 

Not sure if it was the shaving, new suits, or all that hard work; but they did cut lots of time!!!

[abbeyej]

I don't think the speed advantage (if there even is one) is worth having thick dark hair on their arms later.

 

But that's simply not true. Shaving can't effect the thickness, coarseness or quantity of hair. It does *temporarily* cut off the wispy ends of each strand, so that for those particular, individual hairs, the ends are sharper. But each of those hairs will fall out and be replaced by new hairs with thin, wispy tops when they grow in (assuming their tops aren't shaved off as well). The idea that shaving causes thicker, coarser hair on any part of the body is a temporary illusion. It's true that if you start shaving at a time when hair is just beginning to grow thicker or fuller (on a young teen's legs, or an adolescent boy's face, or as some culture's do with a baby's head), that the hair will continue to grow in thicker and fuller (as it would have anyway), and it could *seem* to be related to the shaving. But that's just coincidental.

 

Shaving arms will do nothing at all long term.

[asta]

Competitive swimmers have always done body shaves. My dad went to the olympic trials and my mom shaved him from head to toe. :eek:

 

 

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[Kalypso]

But that's simply not true. Shaving can't effect the thickness, coarseness or quantity of hair. It does *temporarily* cut off the wispy ends of each strand, so that for those particular, individual hairs, the ends are sharper. But each of those hairs will fall out and be replaced by new hairs with thin, wispy tops when they grow in (assuming their tops aren't shaved off as well). The idea that shaving causes thicker, coarser hair on any part of the body is a temporary illusion. It's true that if you start shaving at a time when hair is just beginning to grow thicker or fuller (on a young teen's legs, or an adolescent boy's face, or as some culture's do with a baby's head), that the hair will continue to grow in thicker and fuller (as it would have anyway), and it could *seem* to be related to the shaving. But that's just coincidental.

 

Shaving arms will do nothing at all long term.

 

This is good to know. Thanks.:)