Painfully coarse leg hair and constant irritation

[noramoo]

Sorry for TMI but my leg hair grows so fast, and comes through extremely dark and coarse. In the summer I feel like I am constantly shaving, as my skin is really fair and after 24-48 hours I have visible stubble.

My main issue is, the hair is so coarse it's itchy and sore as it grows, and sometimes leads to ingrown hairs and rashes. I feel like I have tried everything!! I do gentle exfoliation, always use shaving gel, always use a clean sharp razor, moisturize, the works!

I just bought an at-home IPL (the Foreo Peach) on sale as a last resort - I have done my first session. Not holding my breath though...

Has anyone got any tips?! It sounds trivial but it really gets me down 😔

Keep at it with the IPL. It takes a while and it’s not a miracle, but it does thin it down eventually.

Follow the full suggested program for your IPL device, it works but is a commitment for that first month or so.

Shave 24 hours before treatment so there is enough hair in the follicles to be zapped and keep with it, it's a slog but so worth it.

I had the exact same issue and the only thing that worked was laser treatment. It was expensive but the best thing I ever did. It completely changed my life. It’s not trivial OP! I get it!

Thank you all for the encouragement, I will be really diligent with the IPL! I just don't want to get my hopes up in case it doesn't work! At this point I am not even looking for total smoothness, even 50% reduction would be a gamechanger!

I had the exact same problem and bought the Philips Lumea a few year ago - it's has been life changing. For about the first 9 months I was totally diligent with it and it's reduced my leg hair by about 80%. I barely use it at all anymore - the few hairs that are remaining are easily dealt with without any skin irritation at all. I wish I'd been able to do it when I was a teenager!

My IPL is wonderful, don't remember the name, sorry. (Will look when I'm at home). Anyway, yes it cleared up about 80% now there's hardly any to see, even if I run my hand up my leg and it's spiky. I'm paler than milk with very dark leg hair.
Shaving has become easier, no rashes.
I even use it on bikini area (total Australian bush, how lucky am I?) and the same results. Not all hair-free, but makes general management so much bloody easier.
I used it every fortnight for 6 months, then once a month. It's been 5 years, still using it - just in case the hairs rebel and come back with a vengeance!!

But I feel you. It's been a miserable 30+ years.

If not that machine then save up to get laser professionally. It’s a game changer on the legs

My legs were the same. Painful and bumpy when waxed, and when shaved thick regrowth and really obvious if I had missed a tiny bit. Had 6 sessions of laser about 8 years ago, the hair has never come back. Try your IPL as you have it now but do try laser if it doesn’t do the job. Best beauty related thing I’ve ever done!

A uric acid cream will soften your hair, moisturise skin and help with bumps.

in the long term- laser.

I know you have to grow the hair but have you tried waxing?

Or, just don't shave them. It's just leg hair, nothing bad.

After a few weeks, you'll realise that no-one really cares and after a few months, you will forget about it altogether.

The middle length, where you are visibly trying to shave them, but not managing is the most annoying, most uncomfortable and most visible stage.

I feel your pain 😢 I've just had my legs waxed today and have so many ingrown hairs that haven't come through.

I am wanting to get laser hair removal after the summer. Perhaps look into that for a more long-term solution

Many moons ago in my late teens I ended up with infected hair follicles all over my legs. Covered in red spots. Like really bad acne, but on my legs.

I saw a GP about it who'd never seen anything like it but pragmatically gave the advice she would give to a man in a similar situation with facial hair, which was: grow a beard. Luckily I was off to a cold country for several months over the winter. I basically didn't shave my legs for five months or so. It all calmed down and went away!

I always struggled with leg hair too and would shave daily. I found a men's electric razor to be the best, just used dry. I never found a great solution for the bikini line. Everything irritated and the regrowth was so uncomfortable and would go red.

Professional laser removal has changed my life. I actually looked into it when I turned 18 in 1996 and it was £4k - my life savings. I eventually had it done in 2019 for a fraction of the cost (legs and bikini) and I'm now back again for underarms and a bit more bikini (didn't go high enough first time plus the hairs were the worst there and it wasn't as effective.) I only wish I could have had it sooner.

There is no chance I would have ‘forgotten’ about my leg hair if I’d let it grow. I have very fine blonde hair on my head. My leg hair was black, long, coarse and abundant and generally looked like a man’s leg hair.

My DM on the other hand has a light scattering of fair leg hair she could easily get away with not shaving. Laser is amazing, and now affordable, no need for people to live with unwanted hair if they don’t want to.

The IPL may actually help if you stay consistent, especially since dark hair on fair skin tends to respond best. It just takes time because hair grows in cycles, so most people don’t see improvement for several sessions. In the meantime, focus on calming the follicles. Ingredients like urea, lactic acid, colloidal oatmeal, panthenol, or salicylic acid a few times weekly can help soften regrowth & reduce ingrowns.

An epilator can also help, as it removes the hair for a good few weeks, and used with an IPL device is very effective. You just need to manage the pain of the first few times you use it.

Do you have really thick, dense leg hair? Has a waxing professional ever looked at your legs in disbelief? I used to find epilators really unbearable on my legs and totally unusable on the bikini line. Now I've been professionally lasered, epilating the regrowth is fine - still painful, but bearable. I think some women don't appreciate how thick and dense leg hair can be and I don't think epilators are a viable solution for such women. Ditto home waxing or sugaring! Need someone to whip it off quick! Having my bikini line waxed pre-laser would bring me to tears

Definitely keep at it with the IPL.

I used to be similar to you describe but now only shave every few weeks - and even at that it’s much finer. Granted I had laser hair removal in a salon but it was pricey (100% worth it if you can afford it) but since you’ve bought the IPL it’s worth a try first

I had the exact same - 5 o'clock shadow by the next day if I'd shaved my legs in the previous morning and rashes all the time from it. Tried coconut oil and conditioner to shave, tried a brand new razor each time, tried letting it grow back a lot between, nothing helped...

My at-home IPL (the Philips one) absolutely changed the game - keep at it, it will make such a difference. I've fallen out of the habit but for about 4 years I barely had to touch it with a razor, and even now (a good 10 years after I first properly did the whole rigmarole every week or 2 weeks - whatever it was - and kept up the routine of it) it's nowhere near what it was.

I had the same issue and used to scratch my legs endlessly, I’ve actually got scars from it.

IPL sorted it completely. I have very little hair on my legs now and I don’t use it anymore.

Thank you all so much, that's very encouraging to hear that home IPL worked for many of you! I am definitely going to commit to it and see what happens. Waxing brings me to tears (and I don't have a particularly low pain threshold!) because the hair is so coarse it resists being pulled out. I can just about tolerate a bikini wax before a holiday but legs have always been unbearable. As for the PP suggesting growing it out, I don't personally like the look of that on myself, and the hair is so so itchy when allowed to get too long so it's not an option.