My daughter is 8 almost 9 (in the third grade)and has very very hairy legs. I mean the long,dark and very noticeable type. The boys at school have been teasing her about it since the start of the second grade. She no longer will wear dresses, skorts or shorts to school b/c of the leg hair. My DH thinks that she is too young to try different ways to remove the hair and I think that while yes she is young she feels embaresed (sp?) about it and I think that it would give her a boost in spirit if we did something about it. I thought that we could use a product like Nare that removes the hair w/o the use of a razor or maybe she could start using my electric trimmer. What do you mamma's think? I do not want her to grow up too fast but she has consistantly asked to help her get rid of the unwanted leg hair. TIA for the advice.
Well I know for sure that she wants the hair gone so we are going to try the veet stuff and the bladeless razor and go from there. Most of all I want to see her happy with herself and comfortable with her body and seeing her in a skirt or a beautiful dress that she has in her closet would be a nice change from pants and sweats. Thanks for all the advice. I was prepared to charge ahead with the removal of the wolf skin and now I feel like I am not alone in my situation. Thanks a million! Well we used the Nair and it works great! She is in a skirt today:)!
B.,
If you don't give her some guidance she will come out of the bathroom some day with her legs wrapped in toilet paper, not understanding why they are bleeding!!
B.,
I think that you really need to let her go ahead and shave her legs... There are razors that dont have blades (dont remember the exact names) but im sure if you go to the store you will find some that will work! Kids are so cruel these days, and even though shes only 9, the things kids say to her will really effect her self esteem, and by getting that leg hair off, that will help her out! ;) You need to go with your gut instinct and who cares what anyone else thinks about it! BELIEVE ME.. i know how she feels... i was about that age and i have verrrry dark hair and i had lots of leg hair, and i specifically remember a boy teasing me calling me "Hairy Wolf legs!" haha.. i laugh about it now, but then i was sooo upset and finally my mom let me shave! I hope i could help :)
My daughter is eleven and though she is fair haired, is also very hairy. When kids take notice of the teasing and feel a lack of confidence because of it, something needs to be done. First of all, the boys will forget it about later and she needs to know that they don't matter. After you've told her this, tell her that her confidence matters most and ask her what she WANTS.
At this point my daughter said, "I want the hair to go away so i don't have to think about it (yes the teasing got to her)." We use VEET. It stinks and it needs to sit for 8 minutes on the skin (do a sensitivity test on a small area first) but we do it once every two weeks or so. I used to break out with Nair so we chose Veet since her skin is similar and i can use it. If you follow all the instructions, it gets enough of the hair to eliminate the notice of carpet legs.
i started shaving in the sixth grade and found that the razor burn and cuts were far more embarassing then the hair itself (and it hurt). I explained this to my daughter and told her it would be best to avoid that as long as possible (as you know... it never ends unless you have the money for lazor hair removal).
While using veet, you can turn that 8 minutes time into "spa time" and sit in the bathroom doing hair, nails, or a mud mask to take the mind off the stinky stuff(this may just be my sensitive nose). I hope that works for you. Girls are so sensitive to what other people think so make sure the focus is on her comfort and not their teasing! good luck
My mom would not let me shave my legs until I was 16. I was very harry and horribly embarressed by it.( i never understood it) I understand being nervous about her using a razor right now I wouldnt want to go that route yet, but I would certanily consider using nair. (doing it for her of course) If it is dark but not yet course it may not grow back for a while. ( it could be baby hair)If that is the case what a great fix. Good luck!!
Kids can be very cruel when they are at that age. I understand your concern with a razor but they have bladeless razors she could use. I'm not sure if they work or not but it's worth a shot. I would go ahead and let her shave. She's at an awkard age anyways and I'm sure she just wants to fit in. If you do decide to let her shave, you might want to be prepared for the aftermath though. Shaving may remove her hair, but the kids who made fun of her will still remember it was there so shaving it off may bring on other was of making fun of her. Kids at that age will set their minds on not liking somebody or making fun of somebody and they will find one way or another to do it. If this happens, maybe you could find a way to do something that would get her positive attention at school such as buying her something that the other children would think was really cool. Working at a school and being young myself I know how much pressure is on kids. Eventually, it will get better. I hope this helps!
I have a 13 yr old and she was shaving by 10. I see no problem with it, especially when it is a self esteem issue.
Kids are cruel and that is one thing she can do to make herself feel better.
i think you should let her shave, honestly i remember being embarrassed by this at that age & really its better if you teach her than for her to find a way to do it herself!(which is what i did) you could try nair but i have never liked it, it made me break out & didnt get rid of the hair, just go ahead & teach her how to use a razor & help her boost her self esteem a little at this awkward age! good luck!
I would let her shave. It's tough enough as a kid without feeling even more self-consious and uncomfortable.
I had a friend who was not allowed to wear a bra until she was 16, and she had huge boobs. Sometimes you have to give in when the time comes... not wait for a certain time.
IMHO If she is that self conscious about it, you need to go ahead and let her shave. I had the same battle with my mom when I was in 5th grade.
If you are just starting her, I would recommend the Shick Intuition. It’s the one that you don’t have to use shaving cream with and it would be a lot harder for her to nick herself.
Good Luck!
Hi there... I have to say that there are so many things to say NO to while our children are growing up... this is a small thing to boost her self esteem. I would give in and let her shave. I know she is young. But it is effecting how she sees herself. I have 6 daughters and a few of them have very hairy legs as well. We have been through the whole embarrassed thing and I have to say that once I agreed to let them shave, it wasnt such a big deal anymore. They stopped noticing the hair as much and didnt want to keep up with shaving. So it worked out for me just letting them have this small allowance of maturity. Make sense? Good luck!
Hugs,
Becki~
My daughter started shaving a year ago (she was 9 at the time). My parent's thought that it was way to soon but ended up buying her an electric razor. She has started wearing dresses, shorts and skirts again! We tried veet and it did not work for us (sensitve skin).
Hi B.,
Well I started to shave my legs when I was a teen yes I also had lots of hair but mom said no until we were teens but now days moms let there kids do so much in my opinion a 8,9 yr old is too young to shave her legs once she starts she is allways gonna have to shave and hair gets thicker with in time I would talk to your daughter and explain to her kids are allways gonna be rude but everyone deals with things like this sometime in there lifes but if you feel she really needs to shave her legs I would go with the creams that remove hair .Good LUCK
I have a 10 year old daughter and I just starting letting her shave for this same reason. It really isn't a big deal once you do it. She uses the Veet Rasera bladeless thing. It's much gentler than Nair. I tried Nair and it made my legs itch so bad I couldn't even stand to leave it on for the allotted time. But I tested the Veet Rasera out on myself first and had no problems. (It wasn't as smooth a shave as I'd like for myself personally, but I figure it would be fine for my daughter since there shouldn't be anybody touching her legs anyway! LOL) Plus my daughter has someone sensitive skin and eczema and she has no problems with the Veet Rasera either!
Only you know what is right for you and your family, but in my personal opinion, you have to choose your battles with your kids and this one wasn't one that was worth fighting for me anymore.
