Friday, February 12, 2021

Get Off My Back

I have hair everywhere! Hair removal is my biggest hurdle when I prepare to femulate. For my legs, arms and chest, I use Nair. It works fast and usually one application does the trick.

Your mileage may vary, but Nair does not irritate my skin or cause a rash as long as I steer clear of the genital area when I do my legs and my armpits when I do my arms.

My chest is another story. Surprisingly, my breasts are OK with Nair, but occasionally my upper chest turns red after using Nair. For that reason, I keep a bottle of witch hazel handy. If my chest begins to flare up, I use a washcloth to apply witch hazel to the troubled area and that usually cools things down.

Normally, I don’t wear clothing that exposes my back, so I don’t bother removing the hair there. It is impossible to reach all my back hair with a razor or with Nair. I could get it waxed, but that is a little expensive for this frugal gal. So, to avoid back hair removal, I avoid clothing that reveals my back.

However, the dress I planned to wear to the Avon Christmas party (see previous post) exposed the upper half of my back and chest, so I had to deal with my hairy problem.

The first time I was faced with this problem, I thought, why not try Nair. If it works on my legs, arms and chest, it should work on my back, too.

To test my idea, one morning I dabbed a little bit of Nair on a corner of my natural mohair sweater, waited the requisite four minutes, then took a shower. After exiting the shower, I saw something I had not seen in nearly 40 years: a spot of bare skin on my back! And it was not turning red.

Evidently, Nair would do the trick for my back hair, but how could I apply it to the far-reaches of my back. I doubted that I could do a thorough job applying it manually and I could not find a volunteer to apply the Nair for me, so I put on my thinking wig cap to find a solution.

A day or two later, I thought that a small paintbrush might do the trick. Nair had the same consistency as paint and a paintbrush’s handle would give me a little extra reach to get to those out of the way places on my back. Then, I thought a paint pad (also known as a “poly foam brush”) would work, too.

I headed to the hardware department of my favorite boutique (Walmart) to look for a paint pad. Walmart had a good selection. For my application, I chose a 2-inch wide pad with a wooden handle that cost under $1.

I was ready and when the big day finally arrived, I poured some Nair into a small disposable Styrofoam bowl. In order to get a feeling for how the foam pad would work, I did my legs first. I immediately discovered that the Nair went on faster and with better coverage with the paint pad than when I applied it by hand. In fact, it went on so fast that I did my arms and chest before tackling my back.

Since I would be working in the blind, I decided to attack my back from different directions to try and achieve full coverage. So I applied it over my left and right shoulders and around my left and right sides.

After four minutes were up, I entered the shower and used a washcloth to remove the Naired hair (the force of the shower is not adequate enough to remove the hair). To remove the Naired back hair, I wrapped the washcloth around the head of a long-handled shower brush (I learned the hard way not to use a shower brush solo to remove Naired hair. The bristles of the brush can irritate the skin that has been sensitized by the Nair).

I exited the shower and looked in the mirror to discover that I had missed a spot on my lower back. That was no surprise as that was the hardest spot to reach. So, I applied some more Nair to that area and completed the job.

In conclusion, I discovered that the paint pad not only allowed me to remove the hair on my back, but it was also a more efficient way of applying Nair in general. Using the paint pad was a lot faster and neater than doing it manually and I also used a lot less Nair. Typically, I use one and one-half bottles of Nair to do my legs and arms (I don't always do my chest). Using the paint pad, I did my legs, arms, chest, and back and only used slightly more than one bottle of Nair. As a result, a paint pad is now a permanent part of my beauty tool collection.



Wearing Venus
Wearing Venus


A blushing bride femulation by Arthur Grayson in 1909
A blushing bride femulation by Arthur Grayson in 1909

23 comments:

  1. Robin S in Nova ScotiaFebruary 12, 2021

    Hi Stana .... just finished reading "Get Off My Back" I thought I would make you jealous and tell you that the older I get the less body hair I have ..... I haven't had to shave my legs in about 10 years now and my arms are very lightly coverred but clippers takes it right off. Now if only I didn't have to scrape my face .... my back and chest are almost totally hair free. I think my type 2 diabetes may have something to do with it and I am now 76.... Gotta find some benefit to Old Age .... 73 es 88

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  2. I must be one lucky person then the only 2 places on my body that have hair, my head and the genital areas. My whole life I have never had chest or back hair and very sparse arm hair and leg hair is pretty much non existant! I'm definitely like other guys that's for sure

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    Replies
    1. Using Nair for so long killed most of the hair on my legs! Yay!

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  3. Thank you for the tip. I am on my way to buy a paint pad!

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    Replies
    1. Yes Mae you are right , It's very hard for us to outrun natural affinity for our natural femininity .

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  4. Stana you are always a wealth of information. I go to your blog every morning. Thank you for being you. Alicia Madison

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  5. What a WONDERFUL Life Hack! I also have that "de-forestation" problem, but this solution sounds do-able. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. This was very informative. However, what is a paint pad?

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  7. This was very informative. However, what is a paint pad

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    Replies
    1. AKA "Poly Foam Brush" https://tinyurl.com/59t4ndvu

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  8. Brilliant solution to a a problem.

    I haven't had much success with Nair. I think I'm part boar. The bristles growing on me laugh at the pink bottle so I use the tried and true clippers and razor. When my back needs attention, my wife obliges.

    I have a bottle of Nair in the vanity, ready for my next attempt to see if there's any chance that it'll be effective.

    Heather

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  9. Thank you for sharing this fantastic info in such a fun and candid way! Oh the things we do to be beautiful...

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    Replies
    1. And to add , so wonderful to be sooo clean shaven and slip into a nylons and a pretty dress  etc .

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  10. Suggestion to GREATLY reduce body hair and increase hair on the head as well as to take on a more feminine appearance: Go on estrogen and reduce testosterone by taking an inhibitor such as spironolactone. That is what I have done and continue to do so. I used to have hairy legs and thinning spots on my head. I am a lot calmer and am no longer suicidal. And yet I retain my masculine identity along with my voice.

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  11. I'm surprised you don't use Avon Skin So Soft hair removal cream. I find it to be just as effective as Nair, but much more gentle to my skin. Also, Nair should be applied evenly, taking care not to go over any already-applied areas (or, at least it used to be). Avon does not require the same caution.

    Whichever depilatory one uses, care should be taken to not leave it on the skin for too long. I would think you'd have to be fast with the brush when applying it to so much body area, as the recommended waiting time for the first applied area would be up by the time the rest was done - and then, of course, one would have to wait for the last area treated to have its waiting period. Avon recommends eight minutes, but I've found I can wait another five minutes safely. Nair used to start burning my skin much sooner than that.

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  12. PLAN "B"---
    If you still need to shave before the depilatory, and cannot reach the far spots--
    do as persons with orthopedic disabilities do-- adapt the razor by inserting the handle into a 1/2" ID length of pvc plumbing pipe of sufficient length.

    Plan "C"--
    If you need to shave the nape of the neck up to the hairline, do as the guys in the military do-- use a standard 'webbed belt', and wrap it around the head, from base of neck around the forehead and shave/or use a (haircutter) below the beltline.

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  13. As a rookie crossdresser 30 years ago I was both inexperienced and dumb. Before one of our gender club meetings I thought I would try Nair on my face to see if it would be an improvement over shaving a heavy black beard. I spread the Nair all over my face and felt the burn. Needless to say it was a disaster. Sores all over my face. I went to the meeting anyway and to this day I won't touch Nair with a ten foot pole.
    Thirty years later my beard is 50 shades of grey. The stubble can pop thru the make-up and not be noticeable. Thank God.
    Angel Amore

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  14. Nice beauty hack...being of Cherokee heritage and OLD, I have very little body hair. The hair on my legs seems to have regressed over the years. I have a little patch just below my knee caps and some near my groin. I have read that this is akin to losing scalp hair and is genetic. My son is 30 years younger than me and his legs are devoid of hair 6-8" above his ankles. I use thin latex gloves when I apply Nail. It seldom damages my legs and arms but it causes all kind of bad reactions to my hands. I think I will look in my garage for a foam brush.

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  15. Dear Stana, is Naired an Avon product? I do not have a hair problem on the body, but yes on the chin. I would like to remove it when I am in femulate. Do you think it will work for me?

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    Replies
    1. Nair is not an Avon product. Also it is not intended for facial hair. It is too strong.

      Avon does sell a product for facial hair removal. It is called Skin So Soft Fresh & Smooth Sensitive Skin Facial Hair Removal Cream. Here is the link: https://www.avon.com/product/skin-so-soft-fresh-smooth-sensitive-skin-facial-hair-removal-cream-56286

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  16. Velma Asks....February 12, 2021

    ???????????????????????
    Has anyone out there used the "Magic Shaving Powder"?
    This is a product marketed to black men as an alternative to blade shaving-- which is a cause of skin breakouts and shaving bumps.

    https://www.houseofbeautyworld.com/mashshpopl4.html?cmp=googleproducts&kw=mashshpopl4&gclid=CjwKCAiA65iBBhB-EiwAW253W24MzjX6X6qbGxGwB5wbmbgQKG-I4pqTG_VTfyY6gHzkZKtnUjsMuxoCL7gQAvD_BwE

    https://www.amazon.com/Carson-Magic-Fragrant-Shaving-Powder/product-reviews/B0048ZIFA0
    Velma

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  17. WOW I am so surprised at number of responses to hair removal It's amazing what we come up with to solve our unique problems

    However my eye caught the picture of Arthur Grayson in 1909 what the heck! This in no half hearted femualtion, it wasn't theater, it was a joke.

    Wish I knew the back story after all a lot of time and money went into this

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    Replies
    1. The actor dressed as a bride for "The Jollity Boys”, a group of British entertainers, who performed at Herne Bay between 1910 and 1914.

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