Leg hair and footwear.

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ultrabumbly 16 May 2016
I know a few people experience this sort of thing with ski boots. The hair on their shins gets tender and falls out after a few days. I've always been able to live with that as it is minor tenderness.

I also get a similar problem with alpine/winter footwear. I think what happens is the hairs around the talus and very bottom of my shin get impacted back into their root causing irritation and pushing body grime into where it shouldn't live so minor infections flair up. It can be _extremely_ painful each time pressure is applied and released via the boot.

I seem to get it once around the 3rd or 4th day out. It flairs up, gets sore and heals with all the hair being gone for a good few weeks after and so the problem doesn't repeat itself.

Work permitting I'm hoping to get two 2 week trips out to the alps over the Summer. I'd rather not lose a day, or whimper with each foot placement, each trip if a bad follicle day coincides with a good weather day.

I tried shaving the area once and this seemed to make it worse as the stubble impacted more easily even before the hairs had pushed out. With great trepidation I am considering having the missus wax strip the area, she seems far too eager and I don't think it has much to do with fixing the issue at hand . Has anyone tried this? My understanding is the hair grows back in a more tapered manner rather than there being a square razor cut end to the hair and so might cause less irritation.

I'm going to be getting new boots next week too so if anyone has suffered from this and has found an alpine boot that doesn't cause this issue as much as others then I'd welcome adding them to my list of ones to try.
 blurty 16 May 2016
In reply to ultrabumbly:

No tried it myself, but you can get a sort of compeed for the shins, for skiing. Try Lockwoods.

 cathsullivan 16 May 2016
In reply to ultrabumbly:

I've never had this problem but I can tell you from experience that removing hairs by the root (by epilating or waxing) makes ingrowing hairs more likely. So, if your problem is in any way related to ingrowing hairs then waxing might not help.
 ben b 16 May 2016
In reply to ultrabumbly:

We have talked about this before in living memory. Have a search for "plastic boot ankle" aka "koflach ankle".

B
ultrabumbly 16 May 2016
In reply to ben b:

cheers! I read through the threads you pointed me towards.

I sometimes get the shin splints side of it too as a separate issue but the major concern for me is definitely hair root related. I know this because as a, grotty, impoverished youth I used to while away campsite hours in the aftermath by squeezing the gunk out of the follicles (disposable income, poorer eyesight, decreased flexibility, family, and grudgingly improved manners make this a less attractive off day pastime ).

It seems the best course of action is probably to stock up on gel/compeed patches for that initial irritation until the hair falls out. I've had little success with this in the past as, being on the missing link side of hairy, means there is little skin to which I can attach them.

I'm tempted to have a go the first trip out with removing the hair on one side and seeing how I get on. As Cath mentioned I might get the same or worse problems with unsurfaced hairs but I am unsure how much of it is due to the hair pulling and pushing against the skin and/or if the hair is a pathway towards stuff getting under the skin as much as it is pressure on the hair root alone causing a problem. Either way once the hair root gets angry a major component in the pain might be the hair pulling at it until it falls out. It probably all sounds like a small issue but the only way I can describe it is like a cross between pulling out a nostril hair and a paper cut times by how ever many angry spots there are.
 marsbar 16 May 2016
In reply to ultrabumbly:

I would recommend using veet a few days in advance rather than shaving or waxing. Less likely to get inflammed. Do a patch test first to make sure you aren't allergic.
Jim C 17 May 2016
In reply to ultrabumbly:

With great trepidation I am considering having the missus wax strip the area.

I have a vision of your 'ring barked' legs

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