Why Do Soccer Players Shave Their Leg Hair?

Have you observed how in addition to those magnificent muscular builds and androgen-pumping bodies, soccer players tend to have cleanly shaved legs? Most women would agree that body hair makes men look more muscular and attractive. In fact, an athlete with body hair like a bear would most likely hit a high point on women`s radar, instantly.

Despite this, most soccer players prefer to go hairless on their legs, regardless of the players’ gender. Could this be a professional thing?

Well, most athletes shave their legs before any major competition or training for several reasons. Every sport may have its unique reason for requiring players to shave their legs.

In soccer, players shave their legs for several reasons that you might never have thought of. Read on as we explore the reasons behind the hairlessness of soccer players` legs.

10 Reasons Soccer Players Shave Their Legs

Here are the reasons why soccer players shave their legs always;

1.    For Easier Tapping and Removal.

As soccer players run around the fields kicking balls, putting lots of strain on their ligaments. If left unchecked, the strains can damage the ligaments, bones, and muscles. This is why soccer players tape their legs, to provide firm support to their ligaments, bones, and muscles as they go into action on the field.

Tapping a hairy leg can get very uncomfortable, especially when you want to remove the tape. As you pull the tape, it will surely pull strands of hair with it and this can be very painful. To avoid this, soccer players tend to take their leg grooming very seriously.

2.    For Increased Speed   Aerodynamics

Okay, you must be thinking, soccer players do not swim so no water resistance. But the same way swimmers move through water, that’s how soccer players run around, pushing their bodies through air resistance. The hair on their legs may produce a little resistance to the air, which will in turn slow down the player.

The resistance may not be as high as it is with the swimmers but soccer players are not sitting around, guessing how much resistance the hair on their legs can generate, they get rid of the hair instead. 

3.    Psychological reasons

Some players feel faster when they shave their legs compared to when they do not. Just because research has shown that athletes like cyclists tend to go faster when they go hairless.

It could be that the whole idea of body hair reducing an athlete's performance is living rent-free in their head. If such a player does not shave their legs and other body parts, they may not feel very agile on the field. So when next you hear a soccer player associating their speed with body hair such as leg hair, don’t be too quick to dismiss them.

4.    For Easier and Faster Body Massage

Soccer players need more massages than you can imagine. This helps their muscles to relax for a little while especially during a match break, after the first half. They are sometimes caught on camera receiving massages before going back to the field.

A massage is meant to be a pleasant experience for everyone, but have you tried to get a massage on a hairy part of your body? It can get pretty uncomfortable for your skin and the same goes for the soccer players. Some shave their legs to make the massage sessions more comfortable for themselves.

Another reason to have cleanly shaved legs before massage is to make the application of any massage oil or ointment easier. 

5.    For Easy Treatment and Healing of an Injury

Soccer may not be classified as a violent game but players get injured on the field always. Soccer is a contact game, so the players sometimes grab each other by the hand or shirt, especially during free kicks, corner kicks, penalties, or dribbling. This may cause the players to fall and sustain injuries. 

This is why a team of medics is always on standby to assist players who may get injured. If the injury is bleeding, the medics can determine the depth of the injury with ease if it's not covered by heavy hair. Also, when treating an injury, the part of the skin has to be as hair-free as possible to make treatment easier.

Hair can cause lots of sweating, and when the sweat gathers around an injury, it slows down the healing process. Accumulated sweat can lead to bacterial infection on injuries. But when the leg is shaved, the sweat will trickle down as there is no hair barrier to hold and cause it to accumulate.

6.    It makes it Easier to Wear Shin Guards and Socks

Soccer players are often seen wearing shin guards/shin pads and socks during matches and training sessions. One of the things that you do not want as a soccer player is for your leg hair to get caught in either of them. After wearing those socks and shin pads for a prolonged time, they tend to get itchy if you have leg hair underneath them.

Also, they might start pulling on your leg hair as you keep running around the field. This can get very uncomfortable for a soccer player who might not be able to pull them off till the match is over. As a result, it may affect their performance on the field.

Also, the friction between a player's leg hair and the socks can generate static electricity. For a player who needs to pay 100% attention to the game, this is just not good as the discomfort on the legs may be difficult to ignore. So, instead of taking chances on their profession with something as little as leg hair, soccer players tend to shave their legs.

7.    It Keeps the Players` Legs Cooler

As you already know, body hair can elevate body temperature and cause more sweating. To keep their legs cool and prevent unnecessary sweating, soccer players tend to remove their leg hairs. To ensure more results, they even go as far as cutting their socks.

Since soccer players do most of the work with their legs, keeping their legs cool can contribute greatly to their performance. Unfortunately, their legs are usually covered with socks and shin pads. So the best they can do is to ensure that leg hair does not raise the temperature of their legs or cause unnecessary sweating.

8.    Reduce Friction between Leg Hair and Turf

Soccer players often apply the tactics of a slide tackle during matches and this can cause friction between the turf and their legs.  The friction tends to be less if the legs are hairless but increases greatly with the presence of hair. This can increase a player`s chance of getting injured on the field.

To make their slide tackles smoother, soccer players try to reduce the possible friction between their legs and the turf by shaving their legs.

9.    Better Looks

Just the way other celebrities take their time to look their best on camera, the same way soccer stars also try to look their best. Most of the matches are always on camera, and some of them are streamed live or watched by rebroadcast worldwide. Thus, soccer players try their best to look good on the field by appearing well-groomed on their legs.

Cleanly shaved legs also help soccer players to showcase their toned muscles which lots of people find very fascinating. Famous soccer players are known to have well-toned muscles, which they always showcase through cleanly shaved legs. Leg hairs may hide these muscles, or make them less visible on the camera.

Some people believe that the huge amount of money Cristiano Ronaldo makes per post on his social media is all thanks to his physique. And thanks to how hairless he goes, his attractive physique is always visible on his post.

10. Personal preference

Despite all the fuse and booze about body hair and how it can make someone more muscular and attractive. There are people that you can never catch with a single strand of hair on them. This set of people always cut their hair no matter their profession. So, if such people find themselves on a soccer field, remove all the benefits of shaving legs, they would still go hairless.

It could be for religious or other reasons best known to them.

How Should Footballers Remove Leg Hair?

Besides shaving, which most players and everyone knows as one of the oldest hair removal methods, other options exist that can even give a better result. Shaving is fast, cheap in the short-term, and easy to carry out. However, its result is temporary and it comes with the risk of bumps and cuts. Some other less risky and long-term options are:

This process involves using waxing strips or gel, also called wax, to remove hairs from their roots. It involves spreading the gel on the hair and removing it once it has solidified or got attached to the strands. While it guarantees a longer break from hair than shaving, it is painful and can cause hyper-pigmentation.

This method requires flashing lights of diverse wavelengths through the skin. These lights reach the follicles and disrupt the hair growth cycle of the body. Ulike 10 Hair Removal Device   is arguably the best IPL device you can purchase in the market in 2024. It has modern features like SHR mode for stubborn hair, double light source, and an energy output that most other brands do not have.

For a permanent hair removal result, electrolysis is the only regulated method approved by the FDA. And as the name implies, it involves using weak electricity to permanently destroy hair follicles. Once destroyed, hair cannot regrow. The downside is that the procedure is expensive and requires several sessions

Final Say

Wrapping up, soccer players shave their legs for the above reasons, primarily to make the best of their time on the field. They do this by eliminating discomfort or distraction from leg hair and optimizing their performance. It’s also worth noting that there is no rule that says “a soccer player must shave their legs.”