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?

I'd let her do it! It's horrible being a teen and this small thing can make her feel more confident xx

Let her. I shave my face hair with a tiny little Braun thing, like a man's electric shaver but gentler. She doesn't have to use a razor.

Isn’t it about how blunt and thick the ends of the hair is when it grows back rather than there being more? The hairs that grow back on my shaven legs are no where near as soft or wispy as the hairs on my unshaven arms, but I seem to remember them being when then they first started growing?

It will grow back in the exact way it is growing now.

Errrr. I have arms and legs that I have shaved. It feels prickly as it's growing back because the cut ends are sharp. Waxing doesn't have that problem and because it doesn't grow back all at once.

https://www.superdrug.com/toiletries/female-hair-removal/wipes-mitts/superdrug-legs-hair-removal-mitts/p/781287

review - My 10 year old is very conscious of the hair on arms. I didn't want her to shave or wax so this was a great way to remove the hair.

The PP means it grows back stubbly (blunt ends from shaving) which can look worse, and definitely feels worse.

I’d would wax it for preference and once she’s 18, if she has dark hair and fair skin then she can get it lasered.

I remember being the same age & having the same debate with my mum. Don't mess her about with bleaching, buy her some hair removal cream.

Making her wait until she's older only prolongs the inevitable and the teasing can be awful. Trying to teach body positivity while someone feels that self-conscious will not work.

Do let her get rid of it. When I last went my waxing lady said that arms are as common as leg waxes these days.

I would invest in an IPL machine. I’m 50+ and bought one last year. I regret not getting one years ago because it’s been amazing. I bought Phillips. They are expensive. I’ve used 6 times and no hair now, just needs done every 5 to 6 weeks.

I have arms like your daughter. Shaving led to prickly regrowth, bleach was ok, I reacted to creams and waxing looked a bit odd (no hair at all!). I now do a quick gentle once over with an epilator which thins it out enough that it looks 'normal'. The trick there is to skim lightly over so it catches every few hairs rather than all of them
Let her do it whichever way works.

I use an epilator on mine.

OP, when you shaved your arms, how was it for you afterwards? Did you regret it? I’ve never shaved my arms so I’ve no idea what it’s like but I’m guessing since you did it around her age your in a pretty good position to know if it’s a terrible idea.

Apparently, but I honestly don’t think it’s the case- I think we’ve all believed it for so long that it’s become gospel!

I shave my arms and my face and I don’t get stubble or thicker regrowth. It takes about one minute; I’m not dicking about slathering myself in chemicals for 15 minutes at a time when there’s no need.

Errr so do I and that’s not my experience 🤷‍♀️

I would be wary, my waxed legs are overgrown and I look like a yeti. I would think the same for arms. Maybe try bleach first?

I also recommend these mitts. It takes seconds and no chemicals involved.

I really wouldn't bleach them. I think bleach looks even more obvious.

I'd let her bleach it. I shaved mine as a kid and it grew back prickly and more visible.
I ended up bleaching it until I was in my 40's. The hair was too thick to risk waxing.

Same here. I think you can help guide her through safe options if that’s what she wants. It’s much better to support her and help her find safe ways to do it, rather than her feeling unsure and trying to figure it out herself. We are luna app has some great articles for teens. Dd 14 and I checked it out for underarm shaving tips, and she’s also used it to learn about period products. x

It must be awful for her staying covered up in hot weather. I shave my arms now and again. No prickly regrowth here, waxing hurts! I'd let her shave it off.

Completely agree it’s better to support them through it rather than leave them to figure it out alone. And thanks for the luna app recc – sounds like it covers loads of the things we’ve been chatting about lately in my household. Will have a proper look! x

Let her shave her arms! Let her shave her legs too if she wants to and anything else that isn't her head or eyebrows. Get her a proper razor like a Venus one with the soothing heads and tell her to moisturise afterwards to stop it from being irritated. She'll figure out how often she'll want to do it. Also, tell her to do it in the bath or shower and not when they are dry.

This might sound a bit mental but I am very furry on my lower arms and I just give them a cut with some hair clippers on a no1 or something. It doesn't get rid of the hair and look unnatural or make a rash but the hair is short and looks more sparse and I can see my lovely freckles.

If she's feeling sensitive about her arms, I would just let her remove the hair. Shaving doesn't actually cause darker regrowth it's just to do with how the hair is cut in the first place - but patch test some cream with her, if it works I've found (personally not on DDs) that it's the least irritable for that area and doesn't have to be done super often.

You can try reinforcing that arm hair is really normal, but also walk through her options so she can feel comfortable in her skin. It could also be good to explore where the insecurity came from if you think she'd be open to chatting!

I’ve shaved mine for years and the re-growth really isn’t bad at all. It’s not stubbly like leg hair. I just do them once a week or so.