anyone else never wear skirts/dresses because they're too hairy?

[Meglet]

Am I the only woman who almost never gets her legs out? I own one dress for weddings/ christenings and wearing that requires a military operation to get my legs waxed and looking half decent in time for the big day. I rarely go swimming either, i just go to the gym as I can cover up

Body shape is fine, but despite waxing for 20 years I have too much hair to ever bother showing any skin. Its quite depressing when I think about it. Anyone else 'suffer' like me?!

[TheMysticMasseuse]

thanks Heated. i feel a bit less hairy now :-)

[Heated]

IPL with pictures

[Lmccrean]

Im very hairy too Can see the roots under my skin after shaving, and within hours of shaving I can feel the hairs on my legs again. Shaving every day leaves my legs very red and sore.

Waxing leaves me non-prickly for 3 days or so, but lots of ingrown hair, so not worth it. And Ive taken a bad reaction to veet and the like.

I would love to get the laser treatment done, but reckon saving for a mortgage deposit should take priority Though Im starting to reconsider!

[TheMysticMasseuse]

is IPL different than laser? does it hurt?

[Heated]

The only answer is IPL, especially if hair is dark. It can be much cheaper abroad - friend came back from India hairless - but that's long way to go! She has PCOS & was very hirsute but now is very smooth.

I rarely get my legs out because once I go through the faff of epilating, exfoliating and using bit of fake-tan so drivers aren't blinded by white glare, I still have a varicose vein, just below where most floaty skirts stop.

I wonder how much it would cost to sort out?

[BitOfFun]

That IPL sounds great < also baboon emoticon >

[TheMysticMasseuse]

OP i am the same.

i think all of you who say "just wax and they'll get finer etc" are missing the point. with all due respect, you just don't know what proper hairy, scary legs are like. i am sure your comments are meant nicely but we (OP, i am there with you!) are just in a different league of hairiness...

i have been waxing my legs religiously since i was 12, every 4-6 weeks for 21 years. i exfoliate twice a week and moisturise every day. i still have the ingrown hair problem from hell, and my hair hasn't got any thinner or scarcer. my legs look awful, no matter what i do.

i have just started laser treatment, whcih hurts like hell and costs a fortune, but if it works, it'll have been worth it...

[subtlemouse]

You all must get up terribly early in the morning for all this body hair removal process!

[hobbgoblin]

This summer it's trousers only as varicose vein is so bad it makes people retch. Should be removed by Xmas I hope. I have worn trousers more and more since the vein got bad over last couple of years but last summer was still in 'sod it' mode and wore mini skirts regardless.

Could you not wax once and then start shaving DAILY just as hair grows through?

I shave daily, lady garden, legs and underarms. Is tedious, admittedly.

[muffle]

I wax lower legs once a month, summer only - less faff than shaving every day methinks. It takes about 20 minutes with at-home waxing strips and I do it while watching telly. The more you wax, the finer the hairs get so now after many years I don't look too hairy when they grow back.

But OP, maybe you should also consider the dress-over-jeans look - which means you can wear all kinds of nice dresses - informal/floaty and over-the-knee dresses work best.

[MrsMattie]

Waxing your legs is such an unbelievable faff! How can anyone be bothered with it? Don;'t you have to let the hair grow back qute long in order to have it waxed, too?

Just shave them every other day and moisturise them as often as you can be bothered.

My legs always look like two furry milk bottles at the beginning of the summer, but after a week or two of religious shaving/creaming and a bit of fake tan, they are respectable.

[June2009]

Do you wax regularly or just when you want to wear a dress?
I have the same problems with all the things you mentionned but I try and go regularly every 5 weeks to the salon for underarm, bikini & full leg, it has really made a difference.
I was complaining to the beautician that I didn't think it was making the hair finer or that there was less of it in my case but she pointed out how patchy it has now become.

[OrmIrian]

No I don't wear hairy dresses. Too itchy.

You could try sellotape.

[YanknCock]

I'm with coco. My barely used epilator is on ebay because I couldn't take the pain, even with the 'starter' attachment. Just too hairy.

Shaving leaves me rough, waxing doesn't last long, so I tend to wear trousers year round. Meglet, you are not alone!

[tothesea]

exfoliation and then applying tea tree oil cream is excellent for preventing in-growing hairs... every summer I say right this year I am going to wear a skirt but then I look at my stubbly legs and think... no

[cocolepew]

Proper hairy people can't use an epilator it hurts. I'm half a chimp and shave my legs but they never look really smooth. I've discovered make up for legs which gives a better coverage than fake tan. Fake tan sit in my pores .

[madrush]

IPL is for you. Start saving now!!! I used to feel the same but I didn't wax, just shaved, every day in summer (sometimes twice if I was going out eve as well).

But last year I went for IPL on legs, bikini line and underarm and while I still have some hair it's soo much finer and large areas are totally hair free. When the weather's really nice and I think I'll wear a skirt more than once in the week I shave once a week, but really I could go a month or more and no one would know! And I go swimming now without even thinking about it.

IPL is best for pale skin/dark hairs. It stings a bit and is incredibly expensive (I paid £2k) but sooooo worth it!

[Meglet]

cote I do still wax, it just hasn't made the hairs any weaker or finer. I started at 15.

[Meglet]

I wax under my arms and bikini line, but its easier getting the salon to do my legs as the backs are tricky. I'm having a wax today so ill be softy softy for a few days.

Its so alien to me even thinking about skirts, I don't even own one! If I ever become rich the first thing ill do is get lasered from head to toe!

[BonsoirAnna]

I rub an exfoliating mitt over my legs in the bath every day to prevent ingrowing hairs and never get any. Also moisturise my legs (with an extra strong moisturiser) every day.

[HolidaysQueen]

meglet - what razors did you try? my life was revolutionised when i tried the Venus one. I do get through quite a lot of blades, but never get cut.

[CoteDAzur]

If you waxed for 20 years, why did you stop?

Surely you know by now that you need to wax body hair for it to go away.

[HolidaysQueen]

i have the same problem with my legs, plus i am lazy when it comes to depilation . I gave up on waxing because there was too short a period of hair-freeness and too long a period with stubble while you wait for it to get long enough. i just shave below the knee in the morning whenever i plan to wear a dress - can now do this really quickly - and then do the upper part of my leg every so often when i have more time. given up worrying about swimming as i'm in the water most of the time and then just wrap a towel round me as soon as i get out so nobody sees much anyway!

also agree with anna on the tights thing - a nice pair of patterned tights can hide a reasonable amount of stubble while still making your legs look nice!

[Meglet]

Oooh, the epilator gave me epic ingrowing hairs. I spent weeks getting them out and ended up with scars. Even electrolysis didn't work! I'm just half woman / half werewolf .