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Shave & Taper
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I have been asked tons of questions about shaving down, so I thought that I would address it here.
Shaving down may be new to those of you coming from summer league, but in
higher levels of competitive swimming it has been done for decades. The
basic idea is this: by shaving your body you are doing two things. First,
you are removing the hair form you body and therefore reducing overall
drag as you swim. Secondly, (and in my opinion, more importantly) you are
also removing the top, or dead, layer of skin off of your body, exposing
millions of nerve endings to the water. This creates a heightened feel for
the water and awareness of body position. Many swimmers say they feel
“slippery”, “slimy”, or “electric” after shaving down. While
most swimmers will admit some of the benefits are mental, all will say
that there is certainly a physical benefit as well.
In order to create this benefit, it is necessary to
stop shaving for a while in order to build up that layer of skin and
sensitize those nerve endings. This is why at the beginning of the season
I ask girls to stop shaving their legs until the end of the season. In
college and national/international levels, it is very common to see men
stop all hair cutting all together until the big meet. By the end of the
season they have long hair and big bushy beards. Then the day before the
meet they take a razor to all of it and show up bald, with not a hair to
be found on their body. Now for those that are new to this level of
swimming this may seem a bit crazy and extreme, for those experienced in
the sport understand it and find it not that big of a deal.
I would also like to take a second to dispel some
rumors. First, shaving your arms, legs, back, etc. will not cause it to
grow back faster and thicker. Also, the pigment of your hair will not
change by shaving your body. Both of these factors are genetic and decided
long before you are born. These are simply old-wives-tales and just not
true.
How to shave down:
There are a number of do’s and don’ts when it
comes to shaving down. I thought I would cover a few of them here:
Clip first. Remove of the bulk of hair with clippers
before you break out the razors. This shaves time and prevents cuts.
Use double bladed razors. Do not use: Wax, Epilady,
Nair, Electric razors. Remember, we are not just removing the hair, but
the top, dead, layer of skin. Only a razor blade accomplishes
this.
Use many, many razors. Don’t ever shave with a
dull razor. It will cut you and will not take of f the hair/skin
effectively. 4 at a minimum.
Shave against the grain of the hair. Get your skin
as smooth as possible.
Take your time.
Rushing will get you cut.
Do not use menthol
shaving cream. It desensitizes the nerves.
Do not cut yourself.
When you cut yourself and then jump into the water that is the only thing
you will feel and the only thing you will think about. This detracts from
that “shaved feeling” and will detract from your race.
Do not use Lotion
afterwards. This fills your pores and covers your nerve endings, thus
defeating the purpose.
Do use warm water. It
relaxes the skin and allows for a closer shave.
Do wear warm clothes
afterwards. Try to prevent chilling and getting goose bumps.
Do use astringent if
you need to. This will burn some, but it will clean the pores and help to
prevent razor burn or rash.
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Water Polo
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