Shaving Legs - Minneapolis,MN

My belief is that the appropriate age for a girl to begin shaving is when she is self-conscious of her leg/arm hair or when it gets out of control and her mother notices. It doesn't matter if she is 8 or 16, she should shave when it makes her uncomfortable. Good luck.

I agree with PPs who said that if her leg hair is making her self-conscious then it's the right time to address it. Have you considered something other than shaving that might require less upkeep? Nair or even waxing (she might be to sensitive for wax, although it wouldn't require much more than once a month) don't have the daily maintenance needs of shaving.

Whatever you choose to do, make sure she knows she has nothing to be embarrassed about :-) She's lucky to have such a good mama.

:-)

my daughter is almost 8. she "had" super hairy legs and was self concious about it. i started doing nair on her legs about a month ago. it made her sooooooooo happy. who cares about age. it all depends on her self esteem in my opinion.

If it is bad enough that she feels self conscious and does not want to wear a bathing suit or shorts.. Please consider allowing her to shave.

I have always had dark hairy legs and I hated them..Some kids made comments and I so wish my mom would have let me start earlier.. She did not allow till I was in 6th grade and trying out for Cheerleader..

She is young enough in the beginning it will not grow back very fast, but do explain to her eventually it will..

And by the way, those rub off shaves do not work for dark hair.. It gives you kind on a wind burn feeling.. And they are not very thorough..

If she is self conscious about it now, it will effect her self esteem.

I would let her shave.

Glad you are considering an electric razor, not a blade razor---the first time I shaved I used a blade and scraped a chunk of skin off of my shin! Bloody--very scary.
Age is not important---if she has dark hair and feels bad about it, let her get rid of it (safely). =) Help her at least once.

She's ready. It's not about age, it's about maturity (both mentally and phyisically). A few weeks ago there were 2 posts on this subject with a lot of great replys, you may want to do a search.

If it bothers her then let her. There is nothing wrong with it. My daughter is 9 and I am gonna let her try the Smooth Away this summer.

I gave my daughter an electric razor when she was 11 and starting 6th grade. That held her off for a few months, then she wanted to use a razor. 8 seems really young to start. I have friends whose daughters started as early as 10, but not earlier that I know of. (My 9 year old wants to be like her big sister, so she's tried the razor out on her legs - yikes!! Had to have a little talk about that one!) :)

My rule of thumb - if she is consistant in asking me for something, then I give it my consideration. For example, my then 5 year old talked about piercing her ears for about a month. I told her to ask again on her birthday. She is now 6 and her birthday has come and gone, no mention of ear piercing - obviously she was not ready to take care of her ears or earrings, so I am glad I didn't give in right away.

Is her hair very dark? I think 8 is young, but it is what you feel comfortable with, what if you tried bleaching it? Or try the As seen on TV thing that rubs the hair off? (I have NEVER used it).. Good Luck!!

I am Italian, ie thick black hair that grows back in hours, LOL! I started shaving when I was about 10, but I had been begging for a couple years before I finally got permission. It's just embarassing when you are a little kid. If my daughter ends up with dark, thick leg and armpit hair I will let her do at soon as I feel like she can handle whatever instrument I give her to get rid of it. An electric razor is a good idea, I cut myself to ribbons the first time using a big pink lady schik razor in the 70's!

I "let" my daughter at 10 - because otherwise she would take my razor. We found a cheaper electric razor - so she wouldn't cut herself, kind of a compromise because I felt she was a little young. However I didn't want her to be self conscious either. Once she had it she could shave when she wanted and honestly it hasn't been that much. Now that short summer is here again we'll see.

that is way to young. i say wait till at least 10 -11 years old.

My daughter is 10 and going thru the same thing. I told her, once she starts, she has to keep it up! So far, she hasn't started! But she is shaving under her arms with the electric razor so we'll see how long it is before she starts on her legs. I don't think there is a "time", just when the girl understands and can do it on her own. Good luck!