Page 3 | Best way to remove underarm hair for a nine-year-old?

Snackdealer · 2026-04-19T19:55:39+00:00

My dd is 9 and half and has started growing hair under her arms, she is getting grief at school and during netball games (wears a sleeveless dress) from other children and wants to get rid of it. I am wondering what is the best method to remove it. Hair removal cream or Shaving?

selffellatingouroborosofhate · 21/04/2026 23:33

purpleme12 · 21/04/2026 23:31

@TheKittenswithMittens I don't think so, no.

My child didn't get underarm hair till later but at 10 she started shaving her legs sometimes.

One boy had made 2 comments on 2 different occasions about her legs being hairy. After that it made her self conscious. I really wish it didn't but it did. Then she started not wanting to have bare legs because of it. Well I'd sure as hell rather her shave her legs than avoid wearing shorts all the time. So I got her a shaver and explained but obviously it's up to her.

So I can certainly imagine someone want to shave their underarm hair too

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One boy had made 2 comments on 2 different occasions about her legs being hairy.

I wonder what he'd say if I told him to shave his legs? Sexism is grim, no matter the age.

tellmesomethingtrue · 21/04/2026 23:36

Why are children being made to feel ashamed of their natural normal body hair?!? Madness. Why aren’t boys being told off for making comments??

Beachforever · 21/04/2026 23:40

selffellatingouroborosofhate · 21/04/2026 23:33

One boy had made 2 comments on 2 different occasions about her legs being hairy.

I wonder what he'd say if I told him to shave his legs? Sexism is grim, no matter the age.

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Yes, it is. But it happens the other way too. DS got made fun of because of his little moustache growing by some girls. Another boy was laughed at by the whole glass when his voice kept breaking. DS got very self conscious when his voice went from the beautiful sweet little voice into a baritone practically overnight. People were visibly shocked. Some teachers even mentioned it which I was fuming about.

Puberty is awful, and embarrassing at a time when kids just want to fit in. And to go through puberty earlier than your peers is heartbreaking.

nevernotmaybe · 21/04/2026 23:51

BoredZelda · 20/04/2026 08:51

I agree. My daughter was 16 before she decided she wanted to shave her armpits. Like everything else in her life she was taught to do it when she wanted and not because others thought she should. Girls only have a short time in their life when they can avoid all those things that men never have to deal with. I preferred she made her own decisions and did it when she was ready. If at 9 year old she was so impacted by peer pressure she was starting to think of beauty standards, I’d have been having a whole different conversation with her than how to shave her armpits.

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Men famously never shave of course.

SwatForce · 22/04/2026 05:16

selffellatingouroborosofhate · 21/04/2026 23:33

One boy had made 2 comments on 2 different occasions about her legs being hairy.

I wonder what he'd say if I told him to shave his legs? Sexism is grim, no matter the age.

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I got made fun of at school for having bushy eyebrows and hairy legs. One particular boy got teased constantly over his fluffy moustache and “beard” growing.

I agree it’s worse for girls a lot of the time. But I don’t think we can say it never happens to boys. Kids are just horrible to each other generally a lot of the time.

I also remember how the mean girls at school used to laugh at me for not wearing make up when I was about 14. One day I put mascara on and they laughed at me for that. You can’t win sometimes.

I will say though that most of the bullying/teasing I experienced at school was by other girls 90% of the time. Rarely boys.

ForCosyLion · 22/04/2026 06:12

ticketwoes · 21/04/2026 16:20

Hi OP
my daughter is 11, so a little older than yours.
i have waxed her arms pits twice now, each time she’s come to ask me.
theres only a small patch, so one of the small wax strips is all it takes. She’s been fine with the pain, but obviously everyone is different.
we’ve not yet touched her leg hair, although I have said we will sort it for the summer.

also, to the comments above clutching their pearls at the mention of a bikini line at this age, some children are very much bothered by the appearance of pubic hair, and do want to lessen it as much as age appropriate.
I’ve helped my child with this a handful of times, at her request, and each time she’s come to me again after to say how much happier in herself she feels.

It's so sad that am 11-year-old feels they have to remove leg hair. I can understand not wanting to show any bikini line if they are getting hair around the edges of their swimsuit at that age, and removing armpit hair if they are being teased, but leg hair?? I didn't shave my legs until I was 20. It was normal for children to have leg hair. We all did.

I only started shaving my legs when I was an adult and had a boyfriend and a sex life, at which time I was an adult woman who wanted to look smooth instead of presenting gorilla legs to my lover.

IMO children should not be thinking about removing leg hair. I can understand the bikini line for privacy reasons, and that having underarm hair might be weird for a child, especially if they're getting teased. But there are no privacy issues with leg hair, and eleven-year-olds should not be thinking about being attractive. Shaving legs is adult-woman territory, imo. What a world we live in. I didn't even know what leg-shaving was at 11.

ticketwoes · 22/04/2026 06:36

ForCosyLion · 22/04/2026 06:12

It's so sad that am 11-year-old feels they have to remove leg hair. I can understand not wanting to show any bikini line if they are getting hair around the edges of their swimsuit at that age, and removing armpit hair if they are being teased, but leg hair?? I didn't shave my legs until I was 20. It was normal for children to have leg hair. We all did.

I only started shaving my legs when I was an adult and had a boyfriend and a sex life, at which time I was an adult woman who wanted to look smooth instead of presenting gorilla legs to my lover.

IMO children should not be thinking about removing leg hair. I can understand the bikini line for privacy reasons, and that having underarm hair might be weird for a child, especially if they're getting teased. But there are no privacy issues with leg hair, and eleven-year-olds should not be thinking about being attractive. Shaving legs is adult-woman territory, imo. What a world we live in. I didn't even know what leg-shaving was at 11.

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How bizarre that you take my child’s dislike for her leg hair and instantly link it with a need for being attractive.
you do realise that everyone is different, we all have different preferences?

as a side note, even though this part made me feel
quite icky, I’d much rather my daughter made any decision about any part of her body in her own time and not when she thinks a sexual partner will benefit from it too.

LinktoPink · 22/04/2026 06:56

On this topic, dd 14 has a leg wax every 6 weeks or so - she prefers it to shaving. It's not expensive and it's quick, her choice. We have Italian ancestry so fairly dark hair but pale skin.

Anyhow, dd has started talking about waxing upper legs. I have never done this myself and hate the idea. It's because her friends all have near zero hair growth on their legs.

Do many women remove upper leg hair? It's barely visible with dd but as always at this age, they can get a bit fixated on things they hate about themselves.

LinktoPink · 22/04/2026 07:11

@Snackdealer Shaving is best for under arms, waxing is too painful at that age in that sensitive region. At your dd's age, I'd just help her shave over the sink.

Body hair is a personal choice. Not wanting it has nothing to do with wanting to be attractive, as we comb and cut our hair and take showers, clip or file our nails it's just part of personal grooming. Some like body hair some don't.

StressedLP1 · 22/04/2026 09:22

please don’t inflict painful waxing on a 9 year old girl.

you have a bullying problem, not a body hair problem.