Daughter wants to shave lower arm hair

[Kittikat7]

My 12 year old is super sensitive about her hairy arms... refuses to wear anything short sleeved, even on super hot days.

I'm temped to let her shave/cream them, but I have flashbacks to my childhood when I shaved my hairy arms and my mum went ballistic...
What would you do? Did you shave your arms as a teen?

Definitely no shaving! Imagine how it will grow back.

Cream or waxing only!

If it’s causing her distress I’d let her cream them.

I shave mine and it didn’t actually take long before it stopped growing back much at all. I do it maybe once a fortnight now. This whole nonsense about stuff growing back more is so weird. New hair follicles don’t sprout cos you shave; the hairs don’t know 🤣

How about bleaching them?

Try bleaching first

I would allow her to remove her hair so that she can be free of thinking about her body hair.

No but I was very conscious of them, just stuck and uncertain what to do about them for ages. I started waxing them in my late teens with those cold gel strips. Very effective and forearms barely hurt compared to other body parts.

You could try the hair bleaching cream. (Patch test first!? As if they are lighter they might be nearly invisible. I wouldn't shave as it comes back quickly and feels prickly.

Bleach is a faff. Just wax it. I get mine done 2-3 times a year. I am happy with regrowth. Arms should have hair. I just don’t want grandpas comb over on my forearms 😂

I shave my forearms and when the hair grows back it is soft - not like having leg stubble. Try it and see. I’d certainly let her remove it if it is bothering her.

My 13 year old (very dark hair) shaves. She refuses to wax because she thinks it will hurt too much. We tried bleach cream and cream remover and she found them both too itchy when applying, so just shaves now.

Wax or epilate … personally think epilating is less painful than waxing as can do in smaller chunks rather than a big wax strip.

My 12yo does hers, her arm hair isn’t particularly dark either. I did say I wouldn’t do it but she has a razor so up to her I guess. What do you mean by let her - is she not allowed to shave otherwise? I struggle a bit to understand some parents attitude to body hair removal in younger adolescent girls but mine has been shaving underarms and legs since age 9/10 - I did it for her first time (and she had thick underarm hair for quite a while before she decided she wanted rid!). She has sensitive skin so I wouldn’t even dream of suggesting chemical creams or wax.

All this about bleaching! The hair will still be there. She doesn’t want to be hairy!
Let her remove it safely. You wouldn’t want gorilla arms neither. Nor would a self conscious young girl

Do not let her shave it. Nightmare regrowth.

Is it dark, long hair?

I would let her get rid of it. There is nothing to be gained by not letting her.

I’d let her. I’ve recently discovered IPL and that would be ideal - you shave then use IPL once a week for 8-10 weeks. Wish I’d done it years ago. Devices are pricey but something to consider.

It really doesn’t come back prickly.

id rather take one minute to shave than slather half my arms in bleach; that’s madness.

If she is that self conscious then I would let her remove the hair - but only by waxing. No way should she shave her arms!

Do you really believe more hair grows back?!

Wax is the way forward. You can buy a wax pot fairly cheaply and do this at home rather than forking out for a salon every few weeks.

It's obviously bothering her. You do not have the power to single handedly bring down the patriarchy and misogynistic beauty standards, but you can easily solve this problem for your daughter so that she can get on with being a kid and not worrying about it constantly.

No it’s the stubble regrowth.

Let her do it if their making her self conscious

Shaving takes one minute. The regrowth really isn’t noticeable - for me anyway.

I would go for some veet cream. Super easy and quick to do and the regrowth is soft. I just do mine every few weeks.

I've shaved my arms for years... mainly because, due to watersports, they turned into long, blonde pubic-like hair on my arms! School was not a very welcoming place for visibly hairy girls.

It has grown back since on occasion, but it was thin, so you don't have to worry about how it will grow back. Shaving them is a quick job.

If she's conscious about it, let her shave her arms, and tell your mum to scale down her reaction at once!

Ive shaved my arms since I was around that age, im 33 now and get hardly any regrowth now. It doesnt grow back thicker etc as some people say. I hardly have any hair regrowth on them now and im dark.