Hair removal on girl aged 9

[googley2]

My daughter is totally wonderful, slim, kind and beautiful with a heart of gold BUT she was born hairy and it never fell out (she is mixed race so hair is very dark brown/black). I mean its everywhere, arms, legs, underneath, back you name it shes covered. The kids at school are now all commenting about it especially on sports lessons when they have to change clothes. On average her body hair is between 1 inch and 2 inches long. Shes even starting to get a moustache. Her report was really good all A's and B's but several teI feeachers have stated she lacks confidence. We often shower together as I like to wash her long hair every now and then and she knows I shave. Now she wants to shave as well because of the comments at school. I know she is really young BUT I also know its a problem that is not going to go away as I have been waiting 9 years for it to happen without any luck. I can only imagine that when the hormones kick in during the next couple of years the hair will grow like mad.

I have considered various methods but don't know what to do:

1. Shaving her myself - short lived and back with stubble within a few days
2. Shaving creams - think shes too sensitive and don't want to put chemicals on her skin as she has allergies as well
3. I have purchased a Rio IPL Laser Hair Removal machine for myself and tested it on one patch on her leg without any side effects (was on lightest setting).
4. Worried about approaching salons as don't know whether they will treat a small child or how good they are.

I am thinking the IPL laser removal would probably be best in the long run as with several treatments the hair will disappear together but not sure if there could be any side effects of using laser treatment on children. Has anyone any advice, experience or help to suggest on what path to follow. She has olive toned skin with black long body hair.

Have you spoken to your GP for advice?

Watching as my mixed race DD also has a little moustache age 3 and I'm dreading it when kids at school start noticing

My dd now 14 is very similar except she is not mixed race. She has seen an endocrinologist since she was 6 to rule out any medical issues.

I use a cream (Nairobi) on her arms and the one designed for upper lip.
Please allow your dd to make her own choice if she wants the hair removing as my poor dd has had one hell of a time with children (especially boys)commenting on her.

Your daughter sounds the perfect skin tone for laser removal.
I don't think age would be a barrier but it is essential to get the correct laser and laser operator. Plastic/cosmetic surgeons often have their own operators attached to their clinics - I would be looking for one with a state of the art machine. It doesn't guarantee permanent removal but it would make a huge difference quite quickly. Your dd will possibly require further sessions when she has further hormonal spurts during puberty, pregnancy and menopause.
Good luck - your dd it lucky to have such a sensitive and caring mother.

Op, forgot to add laser treatment was so painful for my dd and tbh it doesn't remove all of it anyway.

Good luck

We have been having this conversations for the last 3 years but now I really do feel for her as she feels so bad about it. We cut her lovely hair last year as she wanted rid of her curls and 3 days later cried and wanted them back. They are all back now and she has a beautiful natural wringlet - even the hair of her body is starting to curl its getting so long.

I don't know whether the GP will take any notice as its only a "cosmetic" procedure and sure the NHS wont pay as its not life threatening but its definitely affecting her mentally. I agree laser is probably best and give the best results but where to go? Her dad tried a salon a few years ago for beard removal and it was terrible - burned his face every time that he didn't complete the course and now its all back anyway.

She definitely will not take any machine that is set on more than "low" and I set myself on the maximum (pale x-white skin, very sensitive normally) and feel nothing but she tested it once and said Mum how can you take that its burning like hell!! I know BUPA would probably be best to use (I think) but they will probably also be the most expensive and I cant afford too much. How do you find a good place as they seem so unregulated??

I have an eight year old mixed race dd and she has the same issue. A couple of times a year, we use the nair shower cream in her legs (the area that bothers her and she has been teased about). It doesn't upset her sensitive skin, is pretty easy and painless to do, and doing it, even this infrequently, keeps it in check. We did talk about how it would be better, but not perfect, and she is fine with that. I didn't want to wax, shave or epilate, for various reasons, and my understanding is that no salon will consider her for ipl and laser at her age.

It has made a huge difference to her confidence. Before she wouldn't wear summer dresses for school, or ankle socks, and now she doesn't worry about it.

OP, I was your daughter and I remember being teased about my body hair. Turns out I had PCOS.

I think nair is the best option - I started with it when I was about 10, but could have benefitted a few years before.

I also recommend getting her hormones checked, so recommend a trip to the GP.

Waxing at a salon would be both straightforward and reasonably long lasting.

I was reading a thread earlier this year, and I don't remember if it was on mumsnet, or a local parenting group I am a member of - but basically lots of parents were saying, waxing at an early age can prevent the hair growth getting worse - they were talking about 9/10yo girls, so a similar age to your DD, OP. They were really recommending it for a youngster who was being teased about the hairs on her legs although they were very light in colour. Now obviously you'd need to do your own research on this, but if I could save my DD a lifetime of hair removal even just on her legs by having it done at age 9/10, I'd definitely consider it.

I must say though, if one of my DDs had body hair on parts other than just her legs, that was over an inch long at the age of 9, I would be speaking to my GP to rule out any health concerns/hormone issues etc. Have you seen her doctor about it? I hope you manage to find a solution

I don't think you can do laser/IPL on mixed race skin anyway, as it risks burning the skin. It works best on pale skin with dark hair. Darker skin will absorb the light/laser hence the burning.

I guess it depends on the skin/hair colour combo, disco. My dds have my dark hair but skin that is much fairer than mine so they may well be good candidates in the future.

My DD also had sensitive skin and body hair issues, she was becoming self conscious and started using Boots own sensitive hair removal cream in yr 6. We did a patch test first and she didn't react badly to it fortunately.

Being able to remove some of the hair has given her a sense of control and restored some of her confidence I think.

One of my DTDs (age 10) has just this summer used the Nair sensitive on her leg hair (well I did it). She had spent the last 2 summers not not wanting to wear skirts for school in the summer. She has now very happily worn skirts this summer.

Again, she wasn't bothered at home, it is being aware of other girls at school and although the they all have hair she felt very self-conscious about how dark her hair is/was. Not helped by her twin having much much fairer body hair and so happy to leave it.