Two hairy daughters

[mummabear1]

Hi there, I have just spent a while reading through all the threads relating to this topic. Most of the threads seem to be able children born with excess hair. My two girls, 4 and nearly 7 have a lot of body hair :( Neither of them at body hair at birth. It has all grown in just after their 4th birthday. My 4yo is now starting to get dark hair growth down her neck, back and shoulders. Fluffy arms and legs too :( 6yo has the most amazing long blondish fluffy arms you have ever seen and dark hairy legs (thighs included). Her back has a touch of fluff top and bottom but nothing major and its light. A bit of hair thickening on the top lip and also would you believe a bit of longish hair growth on her nose tip of all places!!!! Blonde at this stage but the odd dark one sneaks in on occasion. Cripes, what to do!!! Has anyone else had a child who had hair grow in (as opposed to being born with it) that eventually diminished as they grew older or does it hang around for good? I cant help wondering what it will be like for them in a few years times - ie puberty if its growing thick and fast now? We have had masses of hormonal checks done on both girls and there is nothing medically wrong with them (thankfully). Hypertrichosis is the name for the condition. Nothing like this runs in our family on either side so I am a bit stumped as to why they are like this?!? I have slightly hairier arms then i would like but nothing to lose sleep over like theirs are. I already nair my 6yo's legs for her for swimming - I know some of you will be aghast by this but you really have to see them to believe it. Any one else with girls like this?? :) Many thanks for taking time to read through this speel ....

Sorry no personal experience. DD did have one friend who was incredibly hairy. She was virtually albino.
You sound as if you are on top of it though having had the hormone profiles done.
I doubt you are alone. Someone will come along soon and share their story.

You need specialist advice and treatment for this. Have you had any referrals or just been told that they have hypertrichosis? Do the girls show any of the other associated characteristics, eg teeth and gums? I would imagine they will need help in coping with this condition as they get older.

We have been to two endocronologists and a dermatologist. No other associated characteristics just hairy. My oldest has the most incredible eyeslashes - the upside to having this problem! I wish it was just limbs as that would be relatively easy to manage but when i look at my youngest's upper back hair starting to thicken Im really starting to worry. If it doesnt get any worse it will be okay but if it increases I really worry about how she will get on at school. I did enquire about laser and electrolysis but the dermatologist said it would just be too painful for children. Hair removal cream would be our best option for the next couple of years. I am reluctant to use it on the girls tho apart from my oldests legs as I really dont want to somehow make the situation worse (if possible!) plus its full of all sorts of poisons. I just hope and pray that the hair will lighten / thin at some stage for them.

And our 8 year old son is as hairless as can be apart from slightly hairy lower legs which isnt a problem at all :)

Do they mind it? I'd only use hair removal creams etc if they ask, not before, else it'll give them a complex.but I can see it's a tough decision.

I have an almost 8 year old (ds), he has a very hairy back, it is blonde so not that noticeable unless you are very close to him. He also has incredibly long eyelashes.

I can remember having very hairy legs (blonde hair) when I was younger and wanting to shave them. The strange thing is when I got older and started removing the hair it never really grew back and I can actually get away with just removing the hair off my legs once a year. It is very fine and slow growing.

My 6 yo is aware of it and kids at school love to point her forearms out to her. We have left her arms alone at this stage. Just fixed the legs which were worrying her more. I try to tell her that its not a big deal and that we think she is perfect which she is (she's absolutely gorgeous - everyone tells us how beautiful she is all the time). Just some excess hair to cause a bother. No one would notice the hair on the nose tip - just me with my "mothering eyes" is aware that it is a bit thicker then it was. Her face is fine at the moment but I just hope it doesnt get worse. She is a shy sensitive girl and Im quite worried that any comments will really affect her. Sigh

FWIW. i think you are doing the right thing with the hair removal. Children are cruel.
Can you still buy those sandpaper type gloves to rub the hair away? that may be a kinder option than the cream removers.

Being from an Arab background, I had this problem when I was younger, although I was at school with lots of children from Middle Eastern backgrounds so I wasn't alone and it sounds like your dds have it worse. lots of us were waxing or shaving or creaming from about 10 years old.

I think if you know that there is nothing medical that can be done I would leave those investigations for now, otherwise it will add to them thinking that there is something wrong with them. If you already using cream on your older dds legs then I'm sure you will have given them the confidence to know that they can ask you for help with hair removal if they are feeling uncomfortable.

You can make the creaming thing into a nice fun activity that you do with them, do yours at the same time and paint each others nails afterwards. I would use the sensitive, or bikini line formulations for children as they tend to be less harsh on the skin. It won't make the hair worse,it will just mean that you have to keep up with the routine of doing it. When they are older you can offer them waxing or laser for their bodies, or electrolysis for the smaller areas.

It really won't be long until other girls they are friends with want to do the same, and I can remember girls at my school being jealous of those of us that we're allowed to hair remove. Just keep doing what you are doing by building their confidence in other ways, like beautiful hair (on head) or eyes or eyelashes. But be sure to balance that with praise on things that are nothing to do with looks so that they learn to value things that are not about looks more than anything else.

Wasn't there something in the papers recently about children in America being taken for waxing/laser treatment from 7ish? I'm sure the parents were saying that by doing it early the girls would be hair free for life and they were doing them a favour.

Perhaps in your daughter's case its worth looking into?

Please don't do what rip suggested, although I'm sure it was suggested with the best intentions. I made the mistake of using those hair remover sandpaper glove thingums and it all seemed great.... until I got into a warm bath and then realised I'd taken off a good amount of skin along with the hair, my legs were BRIGHT red and the stinging pain was terrible! I can only imagine how it would damage a 6yo's delicate skin.

As a child I went through phases of being v hairy / not. I remember my back got v hairy at one stage and I was devestated but then it all kind of disappeared and seemed a lot more normal.

I highly recommend epilating as that has definitely slowed down the growth on my arms / legs. I had laser on my face as an adult and that also sorted out the top lip and now I don't do anything to it (used to was / bleach it very regularly).

Does it bother the girls?

Thank you for all your answers everyone. While they are still young it will be harder to manage I guess. When they are older the more permanent options will be available and hopefully better then they are now. We just have to get through the next couple of years as best we can. I still have my fingers crossed that a miracle will happen and they may "shed" a bit ;)

Sorry I can't help in your particular case, I'd try not to worry about it until they notice it.

I just wanted to say that my Dad wandered into the bathroom once when I was a teenager (free and open house :o ) and found me shaving my legs and begged me not to. To avoid the bristly stubble! He even paid for a wax every so often. That might sound controlling, but I'm pleased he mentioned it otherwise I would never have been brave enough!

When they are older there are also SilkEpil type hair removal systems so no ongoing cost.

I've had laser on legs (which has worked well; the hair now is very fine and none at all in places) and bikini (not so well as apparently it's more hormonal).

No way would I use those sand paper things or hair removal creme - both sting like mad!

Tbh I'm not sure I would be doing anything with kids this little, I think I would be encouraging them to deal with negative comments. By removing the hair to me it feels like you are re enforcing the idea there is something 'wrong' with them - and there's not, they are just a bit hairy.

I can understand it's hard though.