Visible hair follicles on my legs

[Innogen]

Ever since about 18, the hair on the lower part if my calves became very dark. I have mahogany coloured hair naturally, and very pale white skin, with bright blue eyes - a very English rose type completion (too bad the personality doesn't match, ey?)

It's not this dark anywhere else on my body.

When I shave, you can still see black dots where the hair grew. I think it is that the hair follicle is still visible through my pale skin - but they dots are still there when I wax or Veet too. My skin is completely hairless, and the dots are flat but visible. The only thing that masks them is fake tanning.. So making the skin darker.

Any idea what these dots are?

Will hair minimising cream help? Any other ideas? I don't really like being tanned but having my legs out with these dots looks bloody awful.

They look like this

s59.photobucket.com/user/michellehijar/media/LHR/Justshaved2.jpg.html

mine are like that with the same colouring as you so waiting to see if anyone has a magic solution

Marks place.

marks place, I get this too and don't know how to stop it

You need to wax, not shave. Better still, have your leg hair lasered.

Sorry - just saw that you waxed. Try lasering. I have a friend of Greek descent who is very hairy and has pale skin and it literally changed her life having all her body hair lasered.

Laser treatment isn't financially viable for me at the minute, and the dots are still there when I wax, as the OP states.

I have this unless I epilate, after the first few times my leg hair became finer too.

I think thinning the hair is the way to go. How does epilating work?

I had laser and the follicles are obvious

Epilating, definitely. Hurts like buggery.

Removing the hairs by waxing or epilating should leave less obvious dots, but they will still be there.

Don't know what the answer is, I'm similar colouring to you and have been waxing for more years than I care to remember, but they still grow thick and fast. The 'empty' hair follicles are still visible as purply-pink dots, probably full of scar tissue from years of ripping out in my case.

I find epilating causes dreadful ingrowing hairs which I'm then tempted to pick - legs look doubly lush after that!

Leggings are the answer I reckon.

I did try a hair minimising spray once, it left my leg skin in lovely condition but didn't seem to reduce any growth. I think it was Skin Doctors.

This stuff

It has urea in so good for softening hard skin and improving its appearance, and it smelled nice. It may work to reduce hair for some, but I can't say it did for me.

Laser will sort that out. Mine were the same - now they are fine. So much hair meant a lot of ingrown hairs so red spots too - lovely!

I got lasered which killed the hair, no red spots no obvious follicles either - can wear skirts in the summer no problem. If only I could sort out my cellulite there would be no stopping me,

Epilating does cause ingrown hairs at first if you don't exfoliate before and 2 days after, get a decent body brush before you start.

It takes a while and hurts a lot the first few times but for me, shaving caused ingrown hairs and hurt, waxing caused the most ingrown hairs and I am allergic to nair and the like. If you stick with it you really can get rid of the dotty leg look.

I found epilating my legs made this worse, like that action distorted the follicles exfoliating and shaving is the best option for me (unless I decide to go for laser treatment one day).

I got this only during my brief epilating career.

Saving up for laser it looks like then. Hair minimiser and fake tan in the meantime. (Only 6 more months left of being a self funded student and starting work, to suffer this 'cheap option' malarkey)

Thanks everyone!

I say laser as well. I still have some hair after 2.5 courses of treatment but hair is lovely and fine now - like arm hair where before it was thick and felt prickly a few hours after shaving.

Groupon often have offers for it in our area- may be worth a look?