“Sorry, I Forgot To Shave My Legs!”
By Krista Jones, LMT
The session is flowing nicely. The client is melting into their relaxation space. Their breathing is more steady and relaxed. “Did I hear a little snore? Yay! They’re relaxed!”. I drape the back as I move to begin massaging the legs. As I start to undrape the first leg I hear the client suddenly say ‘Oh Sorry! I forgot to shave my legs! It’s so embarrassing!”. An all too common phrase I hear in all my years of being a massage therapist.
The client has just exited their relaxation state (parasympathetic) and jumped into Fight or Flight (sympathetic) mode out of instinctual concern that the massage therapist might be judging the hair growth happening on their legs. Oftentimes this has simply become a habitual response in a host of situations where our legs or armpits become exposed when we realize we ‘forget to shave our legs’.
I would like to clarify and ease any concern over this topic by saying massage therapists, and pedicurists, aren’t judging a client’s state of hair growth anywhere on their bodies/legs (unless we notice ingrown hairs that might be looking irritated or infected in which case we may speak up for your awareness). We are more concerned with addressing and assisting the clients’ need for relaxation, stress relief or the therapeutic work required for the given areas of focus for the session. We want the client to feel heard, accepted, embodied and empowered with their sessions. In a world with so much going on, massage therapists devote themselves to helping create a safe relaxing space to decompress and temporarily step away from the outside noises, stresses, concerns, and obligations our daily lives consist of at times.
In fact, we actually prefer that you do not shave prior to your massage session, especially the day of. While most people may not have issues getting a massage after freshly shaving, some people may have minor skin irritation. A few reasons to pass on shaving the morning of a session:
-Shaving takes off the top layer(s) of the dermis tissues which opens the pores and exposes them. When the skin is then massaged in session it creates a friction which can irritate the freshly opened pores potentially resulting in minor skin irritations such as rash or burning sensation. Especially if a foot/body scrub is incorporated into your session.
-If there are scents in the lotions the skin may have minor irritation to these aromas when normally the person’s skin wouldn’t.
-Razor cuts! Some razor cuts are not noticeable. Open skin is both a cause of health safety concern for the client and the massage therapist (especially if the therapist cannot see the cuts to avoid them nor if the client is aware they even had a cut). Razor cuts can be painful when massaged or exposed to lotions/scents as well as exposing the open skin to potential bacterias.
So where and when did modern day leg shaving originate anyways? There are a few theories that range from the collective desire in women to have freedom of body choices and smoother, more sleek looking skin, while other avenues say the Beauty Industry sparked the standard for shaving slowly beginning in the early to mid 1900’s. Shaving can also be traced back as early as the Egyptian era. Modern day, unwanted facial hair can be seen in advertisements in the early 1900’s but slowly migrating to other body regions. Harpers Baazar is one of the first known magazines to advertise a woman with shaved armpits in 1922 with the quote ““The Woman of Fashion Says the underarm must be as smooth as the face” [1]. Slowly over time leg shaving was added in as a staple to modern beauty and care as clothing styles began to expose bare legs.
Today, we often don’t think twice about our shaving routines but we do feel the pressure and fear of judgment if we forget to shave as we put on that beautiful knee high dress, shorts or capris with stubble or growth on our legs. I am here to at least ease any worry or concern when it comes to your massage or pedicure sessions. It is totally ok and actually preferred if you show up without freshly shaved legs. Your massage therapist and/or pedicurist isn’t judging you and we are just happy you have chosen self-care in the form of a massage or pedicure to assist in your journey for health and wellbeing.
We look forward to seeing you just as you are at your next massage or pedicure session here at KLorraine!
Resource 1: https://www.vox.com/2015/5/22/8640457/leg-shaving-history
Additional resources if you feel like reading into the history of this topic:
https://wowskinscience.com/blogs/news/when-did-women-start-shaving-a-brief-history
