Waxing! Does never shaving mean less hair?

[CantThinkOfAName100]

A friend said she has always waxed, never shaved, and that’s why she isn’t very hairy. I am wondering if this is true and if I should encourage my daughter to go down that route when the time comes and never touch a razor. OR was the friend just not a hairy person and waxing isn’t the reason she’s never been very hairy?!
Also keen for any IPL reviews although I understand you have to wait until after puberty for that? Thanks!

It's true - eventually! I haven't shaved my legs since 1993, I have bare patches on my shins.

The good things about waxing:

• regrowth takes longer
• regrowth feels finer. (When you shave you cut the tops off the hair so you have a blunt end. When you wax you pull the hair out by the root, so regrown hair is tapered)

Downsides:

• cost
• having to wait for it to grow back long enough to wax again. Possibly more of an issue for dark hair, as it's more visible. I'm very fair (=no IPL for me) so I don't care

I personally found the opposite, though have to admit I never stuck at it for more than a few months.

If this was true I wouldn't have to get my eyebrows waxed every 5 weeks. I pluck the odd hair out. Never shaved them though. I've been having my brows waxed for 21 yrs and the growth has never changed

I’ve never waxed or shaved my legs - I have almost no hairs, and what I do have is fine and fair, but they were about 1.5-2cm long when I did have some you could see.

Whether I have no virtually hairs because I didn’t shave or wax or whether I didn’t need to shave or wax due to low number of hairs is debatable but I certainly had hairs in my teens to 40’s but, now in my mid 50’s, they’re hard to find!

Yes definitely for me, very dark hair and used to have lots of it. I’ve waxed for about 30 years and there’s far less of it than there used to be.

I bought a Lumea in lockdown but I’ve only used it once! Must try harder.

@DisplayPurposesOnly my.shins too! Weirdly still have hairy knees though
After waxing my underarm regularly for about 6 months I get literally 2 or 3 hairs each side now which I pluck. I wish I'd done that earlier rather than shaving daily/every other day for years
I won't let DD start shaving, she uses hair removal cream on her legs and I wax her underarm for holidays. I'll take her to get her legs and underarms waxed properly when she's brave enough

Partly true for me. I don't have much hair left on my ankles after waxing for years.

I don't think you need to never shave for this to be true, but yes, I do broadly agree from my experience. Also consider an epilator (this is what my teen DD uses) which has the same effect as waxing.

I’ve waxed for years and still have regrowth but I can tell when I’ve had a break the hair is much corser, I also have a fairly patchy bikini line because of it. I was waxing my underarms for a while and really started to notice a difference but I stopped in covid and haven’t restarted

I waxed my bikini line for years following shaving, and I can categorically say I was sadly very far from non-hairy there and waxing only meant great initial results followed by horrible hairy regrowth stage. I wondered if this was because I originally shaved and didn’t ALWAYS wax that area. I’m just non convinced her theory works for people with significant hair levels!

I usually wax my legs before my annual summer holiday! Regrowth takes a lot longer and my legs are so smooth! I love it!

But I don't wax any other time because you have to wait too long for the hair to grow long enough, and as I swim alot I dont much like attending the pool with hairy legs!!

Also - I am now trialling IPL and keeping everything crossed it works well for me! I just know they don’t recommend this for teens due to hormone levels or something. In theory I guess IF IPL works well, shaving initially is better as you want dark roots to target?!

Meant to say now trialling!!

Ooh you can edit posts now on mumsnet!😂

Totally worth investing in an at home IPL. I use Philips Lumea (I'm light skinned/dark hair) and would never be without one now! You have to be consistent and keep up with it though especially at first but it absolutely works.

Worth every penny!

No. I waxed for 30yrs (started at 15) and still had thick, black hair that would be prickling back a week after a leg wax. No PCOS or anything. Always had dreadful ingrown hairs.

Took about a year for a Philips Lumea to work in my late 40's. I have freaky smooth legs all year round now with only a quick zap a couple of times a month.

What’s a lumea ? What happens when you’re in your 50s? I’ve noticed older women don’t have much hair, does that mean the hair reduces as you get older?

Lumea is IPL hair removal - so like laser but not as strong as some salons. Works really well for a lot of people, reviews tell me?!

What happens when you’re in your 50s? I’ve noticed older women don’t have much hair, does that mean the hair reduces as you get older?

Hair thinning or hair loss can happen in menopause. Like all symptoms, it's not guaranteed. (I'm 57, still tonnes of hair albeit grey now 😄)

I’ve been using lumea. My arm pit hair has gone. Let’s nearly gone apart from patches, but that’s probably me missing them during treatment. Bikini hair a bit more stubborn but much reduced.

I do think shaving makes the regrowth seem thicker and waxing does eventually slow regrowth. I've been doing it for nearly 40 years now and my bikini line grows back patchy!

If you're going to wax do some research and use a salon that is a waxing salon rather than a Jack of all trades beauty salon. They do it all day long so they're better at it.

I do my own waxing, bought a Mylee salon kit in lockdown and have just carried on.

Or it just grows.in different places! My chin & top lip have never been hairier 😭