Aesthetics, hygiene… why have you never seen a hairy swimmer or disheveled cyclist's legs ?

Why do athletes remove their hair ?

If you've never seen a hairy swimmer or disheveled cyclist's legs, there's a reason. Because among athletes, the objective of hair removal is far from being purely aesthetic, for both women and men. Here are 4 reasons that push top athletes to remove hair.

For performance. Bristles have an impact on aerodynamics, or hydrodynamics for swimmers and waterpolo players, as well as resistance to effort. This is why waxing can save a few hundredths of a second on the athlete’s timer. Among cyclists, the absence of hair could even save 20 seconds on a 40 km race!

For comfort. "Jumpsuits, shorts, swimsuits, tights… All these close-fitting clothes are often difficult to remove and require good hair removal before wearing them, we can read on the website of the Heusy polyclinic in Belgium. Not to mention that hair can also cause tightness, irritation and blisters. This is why most athletes sacrifice all body hair.

For massages. Athletes often need to be massaged. This helps wake up their muscles by preparing them for exercise. "However, hair can be a problem because it gets tangled and prevents massage products from penetrating properly into the skin", underlines the polyclinic.

But also…

For hygiene. Injuries are common in sports. They must be treated quickly and well. After a fall, for example, the wound will be easier to treat if the hairs do not get involved. In addition, hair removal reduces the risk of infection on a wound and accelerates healing. Without forgetting that the dressings can be removed without pain.

Note: of course, in many sports, hair removal remains an aesthetic imperative. This is the case with figure skating, in particular.