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 would let her do it. I have fair skin and dark hair and have shaved my arms for over 25 years with no ill effects.

I shave mine, they look so hairy, like monkey arms otherwise and it just doesn't fit my look 😂 Let her get shave or cream it off - she can try both and see what she prefers. Ignore your mums outdated beliefs. This generation is so much different and like pp said, let her have one less thing to be self conscious about.

P.s If they are really hairy, I guarantee someone at school will tease her over it, if not now, then in year 8,9 etc.

I don’t understand all these dire warnings about re-growth… why would there need to be any re-growth?

Shaving both of my (large adult size) forearms takes under a minute and costs pennies - it’s about 4 quick swipes with a cheap razor on each side. I probably only have to do it once or twice a week, but even if I had to do it every day or every time I showered… again… it takes less than a minute. There’s really no reason there ever has to be any growth at all.

Also, it’s her body and if she’s old enough to ask she’s old enough to do it imo. There is no ‘let’ for me. I feel the same way about ear piercing.

Don’t let her shave. She won’t want stubble on her arms. Get her an epilator. I have very hairy arms and I do mine about once a month. It’s easy to do and doesn’t take long.

No but they also don’t stop growing because you shave them

This! I’m very dark haired and very pale, I have course chin/facial hair that is stubborn, laser couldn’t shift and I’m literally plucking out daily, yet when I was a teen I shaved my lower arms and the hair never really grew back much at all. I still shave them now, but nowhere near as much as I need to do my legs (I shave my legs on the morning and have a five o clock shadow by lunchtime, but that’s another thread 🙃) and they are lovely and smooth!

Can you use the IPL when you’re younger? My DD is too young to be fussed at the moment but that’ll change, so I’m thinking my IPL might work for her when she’s older.

I shaved my arms when I was a teen because I was super shy about arm hair and then when I was older did Lazer! It's becoming more accessible now so is definitely a future option (wouldn't suggest for now!)

I think there are always options and you just need to do what is right for you and your daughter now, ie if shaving feels easiest go for it. You don't have to stick with the same solution forever.

I was just on another thread talking about digital safety and an app got recommended to help teen girls navigate teenhood more broadly so body image, periods, friendships, body hair. I just downloaded it and will play around with it now but the website looked great, made for teenagers with medical experts. Very refreshing and teen appropriate. It's called the Luna app and maybe could be a nice positive resource for your daughter. Mine is 12 and I think I am going to get it for her to help with her confidence. Anyway thought I would share if helpful!

Shave it. It does not come back worse.
don't bleach it. Why would she want too bleach it?? She doesn’t want hair! She’ll just have lighter arm hair!
why do you need to let her, it’s her arm hair?
give her a razor, shave cream and show her how to do it.

Cream. It’s easiest for a 12 year old.

Weirdly it seems to be that way for me…I honestly have to do it much less frequently than when I started a year or two ago.

Let her shave them and make sure she has a thick moisturiser to put on to avoid the itchiness. Make sure she has a quality razor and not a little scratchy disposal kind to make it easier. If she wants to shave her arms, legs etc then she should be able to.