Hair removal - 7 yr old *sensitive*

[0AliasGrace0]

7yr old DD has premature adrenarche - the symptoms of puberty but not real puberty, in essence. She developed pubic hair age 5 which doesn't bother her, but now has tufts of thick arm pit hair, which do. It's not all over the armpit, just patches about the size of a 5p. Obviously this is more difficult for her to hide than the pubic hair, and she's conscious during dance, swimming and gymnastics classes. Any ideas on the best way to remove?

My dd1 is the same. I bought her a leotard for dancing and gym with three quarter length sleeves which she likes and has stopped her worrying. She doesn't seem bothered when she is swimming as yet

Hair removal cream?! 7 is probably too young to shave and waxing would hurt... whereas with Veet it’s just pop the cream on, wait a few mins then rinse in the shower.

I am sure shaving would be less bad for her skin than hair removal cream. I got terrible chemical burns as a student when I didn’t wash it off properly

A sleeved outfit is the solution. No way should you be chucking hair removal chemical creams on etc. Fiddling with it will just make it worse and she has her whole life ahead of her as a woman having to remove unwanted hair. I wouldn't start now if you can help it! I feel for her though.

There is a great hair removing cream that goes on for a couple of minutes and rinses off in the shower. I used it on my DD9 when her very hairy legs were attracting some unkind words. She’s back to not caring anymore.

It’s veet in shower. She has sensitive skin and fine on her legs

Or maybe you should teach her to accept her body for what it is? No one should ever feel ashamed for having a natural body. It's unfortunate in that this has happened earlier than it has for her peers but she should not feel like there is something wrong with her. Maybe she would be more comfortable is you showed her pictures of women with arm pit hair. Maybe you could find one of a celebrity she looks up to for example.

Absolutely have worked with her about accepting it, but I am a poor role model in this regard so it's very hypocritical of me. It's more about being different to her peers that she finds difficult, she just wants to be like her friends. Poor kid has spots, greasy hair, mood swings and body odour too, it's tough for her. Anything that could minimise these differences is helpful to her at this point. I'll be relieved when her peers catch up so she doesn't feel so different.

She has some long sleeve leotards but she gets too hot - I'll have a look for some with little cap sleeves I think, good idea! I'll have a gander at hair removal creams too, thanks for the suggestions, there isn't much out there about the bed way to manage these things.

Nevercan - it's difficult isn't it? I'm torn as to what is best. There's only so much I can do with her symptoms to help. I don't know anyone in rl who has a child with it so hello!

Oh FFS I’ve never met an adult woman in real life that walks around with hairy armpits. This is a little kid that’s super self conscious and not enjoying her gymnastics any more because she’s worried about her friends seeing. Telling her to cover up or showing her pictures of Julia Roberts’ hairy pit phase from the 90s is really cruel in my opinion. Of course no one should feel pressured into removing body hair, but the vast majority of older girls and women choose to do so. Also the OP has asked for advice on hair removal methods, not for opinions on whether she should ‘allow’ her DD to do so.

I shaved my DDs armpits once a week, no fuss or mess and it was all part of the routine. Recommend dry shampoo for the greasy hair- really does soak it up, and Simple face care range has been great for oily skin for my DD. She's now 8 and a couple of kids are starting to show some early signs signs too, so she is feeling less and less bothered by it all. I'm sure your DD will too.
I also gave up trying to use all-natural products for the BO and just went with dove deodorant-also using a bar of soap to wash rather than shower gel has helped massively.

What @TroubledLichen said.

I agree with Troubled. It's completely ok to help her remove the hair. I don't understand this idea that she should be taught to cover up with long sleeved clothing when you can just get rid of the hair. Why is it unacceptable to shave armpits at 7? My mum taught me aged 10 circa 1991.

Get her a short sleeve rash vest for swimming. There is no way I would use Veet etc on a 7 year old, too likely to hurt/damage her skin. Get her one with her favourite Disney character or something similar with the focus being on getting a cool top rather than something to cover her up.

Dairyisclosed re teaching her to not be ashamed - the child is 7! It's totally unfair to expect a 7 year old to be the cheer leader for acceptance of female underarm hair. She has enough to deal with coping with premature changes to her body. Exercise is essential for children with premature adrenarche as the evidence shows they find it hard to keep their weight down and girls with this diagnosis and more prone to development of PCOS in their teens and 20's. The important thing is to help the child be active and exercise is a great way to feel good about your body. If you want to change attitudes towards female underarm hair then start a campaign to get adult women to go swimming with hairy armpits not 7 year olds who are coping with body changes that they shouldn't have to be dealing with for a few years yet.

I didn't have this issue but was super hairy from about 9. My mum was great and bought me an electric lady shaver I could use as and when necessary as there was no risk of cutting myself and no chemicals on my skin. I wanted to wear a normal swimming costume, vest tops and skirts, not cover up, and would have hated that as a solution. I don't think teaching her to just accept it is a realistic solution, especially when it's so easy to remove! I gradually started using proper razors/waxing when I was old enough and could do it myself. Also if she has any noticeable upper lip hair make sure to use cream facial bleach, never remove. A purifying shampoo and use conditioner on just the very ends, followed by a good spritz of Batiste dry shampoo for her hair, wash with simple soap followed by Mitchum deodorant for her BO and a face wash containing zinc and a clean towel each day should help with the rest. Poor thing having all this so young.

BTDT, Grace. I'm all for flashing my own hairy pits, but it's hard enough for a small kid to cope with this at 4/5/6/7 without wanting them to fly the flag - because it's NOT in line with what their peers are experiencing. Once my DD expressed unease, I shaved it for her once a week. I wasn't keen on a 5 year old wielding a razor, so I did it for her for several years, and a couple of years later moved onto helping her shave her 'bikini' line - not all off, just the bits that poked out of her costume. I even let her choose a pink razor, so shoot me. I think you are doing exactly the right thing to help her get it off if she wants to - and yes, it became much easier when everyone else caught up - and funnily enough, she then became an advocate for body hair being normal and was one of the few teens I knew who wasn't bothered by it. But it's not normal for a 5 year old, and I can well understand why she wanted it gone. It's tough though, I shed many tears about it at the time.

My skin is tough as old boots, but hair removal cream is very toxic and brings me out in a really painful rash. Longer sleeves is the way to go for the next few years.

Oh bless her heart :( no advice on this but I have oily skin and the best thing I've found is Lush fresh pharmacy soap, good for face and spots on back as well.

I’d just shave it.

My DD had a few hairs by age 9 and we just whipped them off in the shower with a razor.

I bought her the Gillette Venus ones with the large soap block thing attached so they are very gentle. A couple of strokes in the shower every couple of days and it's dealt with.

I'd rather do that than use creams and chemicals.

Electric shaver, razor or trim really sort with nail scissors? I had hairy armpits in primary school, I found it very embarrassing. My mum let me shave and I was very grateful.

Why should she be badgered into accepting it? I don’t want my underarm hair so would would I expect someone else to ‘accept’ theirs?

At that age I would shave it for her if she wants to get rid of it.

When my child started to get hairy pits at 11yo they wanted it gone. I wax mine at home and told them I’d prefer that than faffing around otherwise and they agreed so I’ve been doing hers ever since.

Shave them! Definitely switch to bar soap for washing pits.

Buy an olay venus razor and shave a couple of times a week.

Thanks for all the suggestions, it looks like shaving is the way to go, and on reflection that makes the most sense as she's seen me doing it in the shower many a time. It is difficult because I've had to spend a lot of time reassuring her that the changes she's experiencing are all normal but she's experiencing them earlier than her peers. So I do then feel slightly conflicted as I'm telling her it's fine, but on the other hand I'm saying let's get rid of it. However, shaving is totally normal so I'll introduce this to her (me doing it mind!). Her happiness is the most important thing above anything else. She unfortunately does have a collection of diagnoses and this is just one of them so she has an awful lot to contend with.

Lovely to hear from others with children who have this. I know it's benign but it does present challenges and it's a lonely experience when you don't know anyone else who has been through it so thank you for sharing, I appreciate it.

I would shave it for her- you’ll probably find it takes a while to grow back so won’t be a regular affair like for us adults.

OP it’s clear you know it needs to be removed but please don’t be swayed by stroopy posters who have no idea what her life is like telling you to teach her to accept her body- she’s 7 FFS clearly the early puberty symptoms are going to be distressing enough for her without forcing her to have hair she’s uncomfortable with. It will make her stick out amongst her friends and children and cruel, as you know. You sound great to support her through this.
My mum didn’t let me shave and it was a source of distress for me for years until she gave in. What a waste of all our times.

I'm always dubious about the advice to wait to assist until the child brings the issue to the parent. I can't have been the only kid who would have miserably kept my unhappiness about something like this to myself, feeling rightly or wrongly that I would be told not to be silly.

I'd definitely shave for her using plenty of lubricating shaving gel and a round-cornered floating-blade Venus-style razor, and not relying on that little soap strip as pps have said. Definitely patch test Veet if you do decide to use it... I'm not allergic to anything else but seriously would be in bits after Veet.