Pectus Excavatum and Chest Hair [2024]: Pros & Cons + Tips

If you have mild pectus excavatum, chest hair can help you completely hide the deformity. However, if the cavity is severe, people can notice it no matter if you have a very hairy chest.

However, recently, having a hairy chest can draw more attention to you than having a concave chest.

The combination of muscle mass and chest hair can do the best job of hiding the deformity. Many people with pectus excavatum have hairy chests on purpose, so people can't recognize the deformity without being told about it.

Chest Hair Hides Surgery Scars

Chest hair can hide surgery scars on the chest, notably the ugly scar caused by the Ravitch procedure. Many people who underwent Ravitch are more self-conscious about the scar than the previous indentation.

In this case, chest hair helps a ton.

Chest Hair & Vacuum Bell

Suppose you plan to improve your deformity with a vacuum bell or a brace. In that case, I recommend shaving, waxing, or shortening your chest hair as much as possible.

I've also had issues with pressure loss during vacuum bell treatment, and the first thing that helped me was shaving my chest hair.

Even though you don't have a lot of chest hair, it can cause air leaks. You will have to pump very frequently, every fifteen minutes, to maintain the negative pressure.

Many people with hairy chests have this problem and think something is wrong with the vacuum bell.

Try shaving your chest, and you'll notice an instant difference while using the vacuum bell. The hair can interfere with the device, and you won't get a good enough vacuum.

Also, if you don't have chest hair, you can apply moisturizers and creams on your chest if skin rashes occur. I have plenty of chest hair, and I shave it regularly because it causes itching, which I hate.

Makes You Look Less Muscular

Having no hair on your chest can make you more muscular, but only if you have some muscle mass already. But, please don't think it will magically make your muscles appear.

First and foremost, you need to have a muscular definition rather. Shaving and having a smooth chest will make a huge difference when you want to showcase your new muscular physique.

How to Remove It

If you're interested in body shaving, let's talk bout it. There are several options.

Blade

The first thing people think of is a blade. However, that is not the first best option.

Clippers

An electric clipper will be the best option if you don't like being perfectly smooth. The reason is that ingrown hairs are your enemy.

If you keep your hair short, at first, you will probably have ingrown hairs that look like acne, which can look unpleasant. Waxing can also cause that.

Don't Use Chemical Creams

I have tried chemical creams, and my hair is very coarse. Despite what they say they will work on, they don't work on chest hair. Even if you leave it longer than it says, it makes it limp and won't come off.

Skip the chemicals. They're nasty and can burn your skin, and they don't work.

Waxing

Waxing hurts. I am not a massive fan of it. You can do it yourself, but it hurt even more.

Laser Removal

Laser hair removal can be costly and permanent, a problem if you change your mind and want to have hair later.

My Best Tips for You

An electric clipper and blade are the best combination. If you decide you want to use the blade, you will need to start with the clipper first.

Blade shaving doesn't take forever. I can do my whole body in less than 5 minutes. Don't let the hair get long. You can do it twice a week for five minutes. After a few weeks, it can take hours if your hair is too long.

You must use electric clippers the first time to get the hair short. If you like the look only by using clippers, even better. You won't need to use razors. Any place you want to shave, start with the clippers. Next, go with the blades.

How I shave

1. Clipper Shaving

First, with the clippers, make sure the lower lever is adjusted to cut as close as possible. See how going against the grain goes. Lift the hairs and clip them off. Look closely at the swirl pattern and go against the grain.

Look how smoothly it looks just with the clippers. Often, you don't even need to shave afterward. Clipping is enough. If you have big muscular pecs, you need to pull the skin to get the hair under the pecs.

Otherwise, you will end up with hair under your pecs. You must also move the skin with your fingers on your sunken chest to ensure no hair is left in the cavity area.

You don't want to shave off the nipple. Put the finger above it to make sure you don't damage it.

2. Razor Shaving

The first important step is to stay in hot water until you don't have goosebumps anymore. If you cut the hair while you have goosebumps, you will have ugly ingrown hairs. Get your shaving cream on and get a new sharp blade.

The best thing to do is to go 90 degrees across the grain. If you're inexperienced in shaving and this is your first time using razors, you'll probably get razor burns if you go against the grain from the start.

The blade clogs easier with hairs than shaving your face when shaving your chest. Ensure you rinse the edge often, so it doesn't get clogged with hairs. Lift the arm to shave the hair underneath your pectorals muscles easier.

In comparison to the chest, arms are not prone to ingrown hairs. It is recommended to shave in the direction of the hair grain compared to against the grain.

Where I Stop

When the chest is shaven, where do you stop shaving? Some people want hair left on the forearms, which is excellent, but you don't need to stop at the shoulders because that looks stupid to have a clean chest and hairy shoulders.

There are two possibilities. You can shave the upper arm and stop at the elbow, which looks natural, or shave down to the wrist as I usually do. It's going to depend on how hairy you are.

It might look funny to have hair on your forearms and not on your upper arms and torso if you're hairy. You will have to make the decision there.

Armpits

Shaving your armpits makes your lats spread look wider. The second reason it does wonder is to reduce the body odor from the armpits. If you're going to shave them, first clip them with clippers, then use a shaver.

There are certain places at the armpits that make this more challenging. For example, if you have a muscular chest.