Lady Gardening...

[toptopiary]

Any tips on keeping it tidy down there, without the raging shaving rash?
Not interested in professional waxing.

Yes I have that one too, it's the best one I've tried.

Reading this while I wait the 5 minutes for my Veet to work 🤣

I was a size 20 mother of two when I got mine lasered, zero embarrassment and I'm pretty self conscious generally. The lady who did mine was lovely.

Once a year maintenance (full body) for £80

I tried everything else, this is the only thing that has stopped me getting any type of rash or ingrown hairs.

Depends how much you want rid of I suppose but I just trim with scissors and keep it really short.

But short hairs still poke out of swimwear and your knickers. No probs of course if you’re happy with that.

Looking at myself in the mirror, l can’t remember what l looked like with pubic hair.

I use Nair wax strips. They are £2 in Poundland, get some of the facial ones too.
Trim short with an electric bikini line trimmer for women. Then go in with the wax strips. Start at the outside and work inwards. Use a bit of cornflour on the hair before using the strips. Each strip can be used loads of times. I'd watch a video of how to home wax. I would not use any of the hot or sticky waxes, they can be difficult to work with. You'll need to hold your labia out of the way whilst you place the strip and hold the skin taut when you pull it off.

This method costs me £3 a month and once done gets easier each time as long as you don't let the hair get too long.

Nb I have had professional salon waxes done and chatted about embarrassment etc and they've said they have seen all kinds of vulvas and nothing would shock them. So if you can deal with your worry, they will not be in the least bothered about the shape or size of your labia. They may ask you to put your hand over them whilst they apply wax but they do that for everyone who has "outie" labia.

I totally understand your anxiety about it, and if you cannot face professional wax but want the effects of waxing then give the Nair strips a try. There are some good videos on you tube on how to do it (no actual bodies- they "wax" a drawing on paper, but you can see the approach).

Whatever you choose, it's always going to come back unless you go for laser. At least with waxing it weakens the hair and it gets thinner and less wiry over time.

I use an epilator- it can be painful but I am used to it. More similar to waxing than shaving as it pulls hair out at the root

Nail scissors to trim it all reasonably short and hair removal cream on the bikini line if I'm going on holiday/going to be swimming.

I just use Veet or Immac. And scissors first!

I did miss it.

I also have this and have had hair laser removal after waxing for years.

You keep your pants on unless you want it all removed

I shave a tiny bit round the edges if needed, but I just don't wear particularly high cut swimwear or pants.

No?!?!

Another note vote for nail scissors.

I just use my partners beard trimmer and shave the bikini line.

Epilating armpits is up there with childbirth!

I'd go with lasering or epilating OP I don't get on with waxing, I hate having to wait for the regrowth to get long enough

If you're using a razor, shave with the grain – in the same direction that your hair grows – rather than against it

Did you just go once and it lasted the entire year or did you need to go multiple times?

So, set fire to my nether regions 😱 😂

Veet works for me (minimum of 20 minutes though) but by day three I have visible (very dark visible) regrowth. I don’t wear particularly brief swim cossies but I seem to be very hairy down there. Thanks to underactive thyroid my legs are hairless, my pits get a few hairs so need to shave once a month but my “bikin” line is part way down my thighs! I never go to public pools any more as a result and I only join my family in the hot tub for the first couple of days after veet.

I used to have Hollywood waxing but that didn’t last a whole week either. I tried Phillips Lumea but it honestly had no effect so I’m loathe to try professional lasering…

@Choochoo21 I had a course of 6, but could have done 5 I think, then yearly as occasionally a few pop back up.

Like Hide the croissant I'm a hairy Mary too with those super strength hairs that nothing really gets rid of. I'd have to wear shorts to swim in if I wanted to just trim it and nobody see it!

I tried IPL with minimal results (no hair falling out just a little thinning, was supposed to all fall out by week 4) and I googled the safety of using it more often ie keeping with every 2 weeks instead of moving to monthly maintenance after 8 weeks like the instructions said. I'd been doing it for 6 months with slower growing thinner hair but still all very much there, so I was concerned it wouldn't ever work. I found anecdotes online from people who'd had the same thought to keep going and it seems it can cause a problem, with the hairs becoming thinner over time, until they're so thin they can't push through the skin but still haven't fallen out yet. Some people had pimples, cysts, boils etc all over the IPL'd area from the hair still growing but underneath the skin. I've stopped using it now so that doesn't happen to me. I'm the target person they say it'll work best on too, pale skin and dark hair, but nope, expensive waste of money.

Sugaring isn't too much faff and is effective. Hurts a little but lasts a few weeks because the hair has to be long enough to re-do it. I've never waxed so can't compare but it's meant to be less painful. The sugaring solution isn't hot. I don't do it any more but I used to get it from Body Shop. You just paint it on, press the fabric strips down, hold skin taught and pull it off quickly (definitely don't do it slowly!) like ripping off a plaster.

i promise you they are. I have a very good friend who offers laser treatments and recently did an Instagram post showing drawings of all the variations she sees, big, small, lopsided, tidy, big and flappy lol, and said many of her clients worry but she doesn’t think anything of it at all and is just focused on the job in hand. But I appreciate you don’t want to go. I use an electric trimmer and just give myself a grade 1 down there , no more rashes.

I use an electric shaver - no rash not not perfectly smooth

Sudocrem after shaving sorts the rash out

I’ve got a Philips epilator that has a lady garden trimmer / shaver head too. It’s for wet or dry use but I find it works best dry.
and thanks for the reminder because the boyfriend is coming over tonight and it was a bit wild down there!