Why Do Soccer Players Shave Their Legs?

In the fast-paced world of soccer, where every fraction of a second matters, athletes are always finding ways to enhance their performance. One such little trick they do is shaving their legs.

Have you ever seen a soccer player, runner, or cyclist with hairy legs? Have you ever wondered why their legs are shaved? Hairy legs are believed to reduce players’ speed and even interfere with their treatment. Here’s why it is important to shave legs in sports!

Reasons Why Soccer Players Shave Their Legs

Enhanced Performance

It is believed that the hair on the legs causes increased resistance, which slows down athletes’ performance. Therefore, soccer players and other athletes, such as swimmers, runners, and cyclists, prefer to shave their legs.

By shaving leg hair, resistance is reduced, and athletes can streamline their bodies to perform with maximum efficiency. In 1987, Chester Kyle conducted an experiment [1], which was later published in Bicycling Magazine, in which shaving legs improved the performance of athletes by 5 seconds.

Then Mark Cote and Chris Yu conducted a similar experiment in which several cyclists were able to save 50-80 seconds after shaving their legs.  Therefore, many players believe that the results are similar for their games too. Being faster than others even by a few seconds makes a lot of difference.

Easier Treatment

During soccer, it is common for the athletes to bump into each other and fall. Even while slide tackles, athletes can easily get injured. These injuries are most common in the legs. Removing the leg hair can make the application of ointments and bandages easier.

Even injuries can be located more quickly on shaved legs. Also, the hair can prove as a hindrance in the absorption of topical medications. Thus, shaving the hair improves percutaneous penetration for many products [2], which results in better product absorption and, eventually, faster healing.

Prevention of Infections

You might have never thought, but shaving the legs can reduce the risk of skin infections. It is common for soccer players to sweat excessively during the game. Hair can trap dirt, sweat, and bacteria for longer periods. This increases the risk of developing bacterial infections.

Additionally, if there are already wounds on the player’s leg, the trapped sweat can irritate the wound and give bacteria a chance to invade it. So, removing hair will minimize the possibility of skin infections and irritation.

Better Application of Athletic Tape

In soccer, the players quickly need to change directions to keep the ball in their control. This constant and quick changing of directions puts pressure on the players’ muscles, ligaments, and bones. Therefore, players usually tape their ankles to achieve ankle stability.

The ankle tape is applied directly on the skin to get maximum support. Even though applying the tape on hairy skin is easy, removing it can be quite a task. The tape is strong enough to pull your hair during removal which can cause pain. Therefore, athletes prefer to go hairless to prevent this pain.

Massages

Due to continuous running and kicking the ball with power, players’ muscles tighten, which can also cause cramps. Deep tissue massages can help relax the muscles and get rid of cramps. But if the legs are hairy, the massage session will be a bit uncomfortable for both the players and the masseuse.

There are also chances of hair pulling during the massage, which will only add to the player’s pain. On the other hand, massage on smooth, hairless legs will require less force and be more comfortable.

Comfort

The players wear socks and shin guards as part of their soccer uniforms. Hairy legs trap sweat, which can flow into the socks, making them uncomfortable. Even if sweat is not the problem, the hair is resistant to the socks.

The continuous resistance will only make the player’s skin feel itchy and hence distract him from the game. This can affect his performance. So, it will be more comfortable to wear socks on hairless legs.

Better Slide Tackles

Although there is little proof of a relation between slide tackles and leg hairs, it is believed that there are fewer chances of turf burns or grass burns if the legs are hairless.

Men have thicker, longer, and more hair on their legs than women. During the slide tackle, when the legs rub against the ground, there will be an increased resistance due to this hair. This will make the player more prone to grass burn. Shaving reduces resistance and makes the slide tackles smoother.

Personal Preferences

The most important factor determining whether or not men should shave is their personal preferences. These preferences are greatly influenced by players’ mindsets or religious or cultural beliefs.

Professional players have toned and muscular legs that are developed due to leg exercises and frequent kicking. Therefore, most players prefer to shave their legs, as it allows them to look good and flaunt their muscular legs. Pictures with shaved legs also look good compared to pictures with sweaty and bushy legs.

How to Shave Legs in Men?

Interested in soccer and ready to shave your legs for the sake of your comfort and better performance but do not know how to shave legs? Here is an easy guide for men to shave their legs effortlessly!

Find the Right Products

Before shaving the legs, you must have the right products and tools to ensure that the hair removal goes as smoothly as possible. For this, you must have:

• A Sharp Shaving Razor: Your shaving razor must be sharp enough to cut the hair in one stroke. If you are using an old and dull blade, it will only increase resistance and give you cuts and nicks
• The Right Shaving Product: You must use a lubricant like shaving cream or gel before directly using a razor on the skin. This reduces the friction and lets the blade run more smoothly on the skin surface. For legs, a gel works better as it is more useful against thick hair

How to Shave Legs

Once you have secured the right shaving products, follow these steps:

• Soak your legs in warm water for a few minutes for the hair and skin to be softer
• Then take a small amount of shaving gel and apply it on the legs
• Now take the razor and start shaving the less hairy areas of your leg. While shaving, rinse the blade after every 2 strokes as it will prevent the blade from clogging
• Then move towards the hairy areas. Remember that you need to shave against the direction of your natural hair growth while using short and gentle strokes
• Once all hair are removed, rinse the blade and legs

Tips for Shaving Legs in Men

Here are some tips for men that everyone should know before shaving their legs:

• To find the direction of hair growth, run your hand through the leg hair. If they look messy and move in different directions, it means you are moving your hand against the direction of hair growth [3]
• Exfoliating before shaving is recommended as it makes your skin smooth and reduces the resistance between the skin and the blade
• Once the skin is dry, apply a gentle moisturizer to keep the skin soft and smooth
• Exfoliating the skin regularly and applying moisturizer can help prevent the ingrown hair. This usually occurs when there is a buildup of dead cells above the skin surface and the new hair cannot find a way to pop out
• Shaving every day can be hectic, so you can also achieve long-lasting smooth skin with Ulike Air 10 IPL hair removal

Conclusion

Shaving is common in many sports, especially soccer, football, racing, and swimming, as it can help enhance athletes’ performance. The product absorption rate is also higher on shaved legs, which can help injuries heal faster.

Moreover, hair can trap sweat, thus causing itching and infections on the skin. Therefore, most soccer players prefer to remove leg hair not only for their performance but also to prevent skin problems. Additionally, it also depends upon the personal preferences of the players.

So, shaving is not a must for every soccer player. Every player has the right to make their own decision depending upon the benefits they are getting from shaving.

References

[1] Piyush Patel (2019, September). Why Do Athletes Like Cyclists And Swimmers Shave Their Legs?, ScienceABC. https://www.scienceabc.com/sports/athletes-like-cyclists-swimmers-shave-legs.html

[2] Hamza M, Tohid H, Maibach H. Shaving effects on percutaneous penetration: clinical implications. Cutan Ocul Toxicol. 2015;34(4):335-43. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25363065/

[3] Marygrace Taylor and Alexis Bennett (2022, January). How to Shave Your Legs for the Smoothest Skin, According to Dermatologists, SELF Magazine. https://www.self.com/story/how-to-shave-your-legs