Ways to tackle a hairy issue

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Blame it on the bodybald Tobey Maguires, the sinewy Calvin Klein models, the cute gay guys, the smooth-like-a-mannequin metrosexuals. These men will not clog the shower drain, and we love them for that.

But man, do they make life rough for a hairy guy. Especially in summer. Especially if he’s fuzzy on his back.

Chest hair experienced a brief period of machismo’d glamour, and neck hair is easy enough to scrape off. Fuzzy arms and legs are to be expected, and receding hairlines even have some dignity.

But a thatch of back hair?

“I don’t know how women can’t stand it.” So says Twitch, one of the morningdrive DJs on WXZZ-103.3 FM in Lexington. He is notoriously hairy, a real Missing Link type. He has tried to get rid of it, usually at the urging of others.

And yet, a small wave of back-hair love has been rippling through pop culture lately.

The burly male star of “Knocked Up” defended his hirsute self. “They shaved my back, which I was against,” Seth Rogen told People magazine. “I felt as though people with hairy backs have been grossly underrepresented in movies. I’m comfortable with my back hair.”

A short discussion of back hair and manscaping took place in the 2006 book “Why Do Men Fall Asleep After Sex?: More Questions You’d Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Whiskey Sour” by Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg, M.D.

Some women — cute, successful women, even — might actually like schlumpy men with a tangled rear-facing forest.

By Twitch’s count, those women are rare. Every few months, his girlfriend helps him tame his bristly wilds. She does it because she cares, he said, but mostly because she hates it.

“Ten percent of women think it’s incredibly cute, or at least say they do. The rest are utterly disgusted by it,” said Twitch, who swears he dated a woman who touched it, played with it, cuddled with it, would throw herself between a razor and his back if the blade came too near. “I’ve always kind of embraced it. When it’s as thick as mine, you really don’t have a choice.”

Oh, but he does.

Alex Bhattacharji, an editor for Details magazine, said companies are marketing to men the way they used to sell to women: by zeroing in on their greatest insecurities and offering solutions that will hide the problem and alter the look.

“Male vanity is a powerful economic and consumer force,” Bhattacharji said. “Men really are as interested in women as looking good.”

He said men ought to consider their entire look before they go through a traumatic wax. “They’re very brave if they’re doing it just for a wife or girlfriend,” said esthetician Rachel Hamilton.

If you have a scruffy look, you probably should have some hair. If you’re a cleancut guy, maybe not. Consider your complexion, facial fur, fashion sense and chest hair, and then decide how best to proceed.

“Well groomed, well trimmed, without having to affect an extreme, possibly unnatural dolphinlike appearance,” Bhattacharji said. “You want to be well-groomed. That doesn’t mean you want to apply Agent Orange-like defoliant to yourself.”Here are several manscaping options that could cool the summer down.

SHAVING

Pros: It works, and it’s quick, easy and cheap to do at home. Some companies are making grooming tools just for hard-toreach places like the back.

Cons: The hair will grow back just as quickly, and you’re prone to razor burn and ingrown hairs. If you’re set on it, invest in a good razor, and shaving cream or lotion.

DEPILATORIES

Pros: Products like Nair for Men are easy to find and inexpensive. Spread it on, rinse it off and go.

Cons: Depilatories aren’t as effective at removing hair as shaving, waxing or lasering, and they don’t necessarily keep hair off longer. They can be smelly and might irritate skin.

WAXING

Pros: It’s complete, immediate hair removal, and lasts three to six weeks. It requires only one visit, and is more expensive than a razor, but cheaper than a laser.

Cons: It’s the most painful of the hair-removal options. (Take an aspirin before your appointment.) Unless you have good skills and equipment, it requires a trip to a salon or dermatologist, so the price is higher than at-home options.

LASERING

Pros: It’s near-complete removal of hair, and you can expect it to last a lifetime.

Cons: It requires several visits and a lot of time on a table while your hair follicles are zapped. It’s significantly more expensive than other options and it’s permanent.