shaving or...?

Hair Removal Methods Shaving/Trimming
#1

Hi I’m an 15-year old Asian-American girl and I don’t know if I can grin and “bare” it so much anymore. Very helpful forum by the way! =) So here’s my hair history…
eyebrows: plucked and still plucking
legs: waxed, cream depilatoried, now shaving
upper lip: waxed, trimmed (w/ small scissors), cream depilatoried, and now plucking it once in a while after I waxed it
fingers: trimmed, waxed
feet/toes: trimmed
sideburn: trimmed (bad idea =), now doing nothing
arms: shaved, depilatoried, trimmed, waxed
back/chest/tummy/neck: untouched
my hair texture: it’s not that thick but it’s noticeable enough. i have fair skin color too.
I don’t know what to do with some of the hair anymore and I feel like just shaving off all body hair. But I don’t think it’s a very good idea so I’m asking for people’s suggestions. =) Well I know I will continue to just pluck eyebrows and shave my legs, but everything else is uncertain for me. For upper lip hair, do you think I should just continue to pluck it when needed? Since only the fine hair below my sideburns are bothering me, I might just pluck some of it. What is best for finger/toe hair anyways? Trimming seemed to make it worse, even though it probably didn’t. Yes, and I’m really stuck on what to do with my arms… they’re not thin or thick (leaning more close to thick though =)and they’re so close to each other it looks bad. I don’t want to wax it anymore, so I might go onto shaving. I’m so scared though because even though shaving doesn’t affect the hair growth/texture as now said, I still fear it’ll affect it (why do men’s beard/mustache become thicker after so many years of shaving or does it only seem that way?). The pattern became weird when I first shaved it and after that, problems arised. I have no idea what to do! I guess for back/tummy/chest/neck, I can hold on for a while since I can cover it. However, do you know any temp ways for now? I want to put up my hair or wear tank tops once in a while. =) I’m probably not going to do any permanent removing, but perhaps in the future. I just have so much school things going on and plus money is a problem. Should I get it professional waxed (home waxing is too tiring and time-consuming for me) or just shave it for now? =\ Or those things where they just cut to a length you want (ex: norelco pro-cut)? Or rotary epilators (which I have never tried)? Know any good brand names? Basically, I’m confused and I have many questions (many apologies!). I appreciate any help at all, it means so much to me. It’s so hard to handle school and these issues at the same time, but right now I’m have HOPE that I will find some solutions, whether temporary or not. Again, many thanks!! =)

[ September 22, 2002, 11:58 PM: Message edited by: browneyes ]

#2

We know how it is, browneyes! :frowning:

OK, lots of questions, so let’s do it this way. If you hope for a permanent result, you’ll need to look into electrolysis or laser since you’re light-skinned and dark-haired. Since you’re under 18, your parents may need to give the OK in your state. If I were you, I might try laser on a small inconspicous area like armpits of feet and see how that goes. That way you’re not into a lot of money, and if your skin doesn’t respond well, it’s easy to hide while you heal. It may hurt A LOT on your feet, so look into EMLA or ELA-Max is you decide to do this area.

For arms and legs, you might consider a rotary epilator, especially if you responded well to waxing (i.e., no ingrowns). I use one of these on my hands and feet, too. Very easy. In fact, I just looked at my hands and it’s time to do them again (I do it almost exactly every four weeks). Trimming htese makes them look stubbly. Take 'em out root and all.

Sideburns-- I usually suggest getting this done by a pro waxer at a good salon, but if you can’t afford it, the main thing is to do it evenly, which requires a lot of skill. You might find the rotary epilator works for this if you’re CAREFUL!

Chest skin tends to be more sensitive, so waxing and epilators may cause more irritation. Do this when you won’t be exposing this skin for a while. I’d try the rotary epilator on your stomach before trying your chest. I use one on my “treasure trail,” the hair between my belly button and bikini area, but it hurts a LOT more than arms and legs. I don’t use it on my chest because of the pain and ingrowns. You might try electrolysis if it’s a few thicker hairs, or laser, if there are a lot of them.

Back will probably need to be done professionally-it’s hard to reach.

Finally, if you have a LOT more hair than anyone else in your family, or if you have had significant changes in weight recently, it’s possible that your have a hormonal imbalance. Although this is rare, I mention it bacause it’s somewhat unusual for women of Asian heritage to have a lot of hair. Again this is unusual, but I did want to mention it as something to consider if the problem seems to get worse as you get older. At your age, new hair growth is very common, so I’d try dealing with it cosmetically before seeing if you’re on of those rare people with a medical condition causeing your hair growth.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have follow-up questions.

#3

Don’t worry about shaving: men’s beard hair grows thick anyway. It would, even if they didn’t shave!

What shaving does is cut the hair off flat, so when it grows through the skin it looks thick, and feels rough.

When you pluck (or wax, or whatever), the hair grows back with a thin tapered tip, so it looks more fine.

Have you thought about bleaching your hair - I’m not sure how it would look, but if it did help, it might mean that you could let your hair grow a little longer ready to be waxed or rotary epilated.

#4

Wow thank you so very much Andrea and Toni for your replies! It made my day. =)

Oh thanks for the info about shaving, Toni! Well at one time I did think about bleaching, but then later I decided I didn’t want to apply it to my body. Thank you for that suggestion though! =)

One other thing, I’m kind of scared to wax the upper lip hair under my nose. I’ve waxed and plucked out the hair on the side, but I’m afraid that bacteria will get into my nose somehow. Do I need to worry or shall I just wax it away?

Well I’ve noticed that my hair pattern is similar to my mom’s and brother’s. My mom has the lightest, then my brother, and then me. =\ Yes, such hair growth like mine is rare among us Asians but there are a few like me. Yeah I’m one of the lucky few. Anyways, MUCH appreciation, guys! Keep up the excellent work and take care.

EDIT: I moved my rotary epilator questions to the rotary epilator forums. =)

[ October 03, 2002, 06:32 PM: Message edited by: browneyes ]

#5

Hi - glad we could help!! :grin:

I can’t really give you much advice on the rotary epliators as I’ve never used them.

I’ve never waxed my top lip, either, although I’m thinking about it.
Loads of professional salons do it, as does the one where I get my electrolysis - so I’m sure it’s quite safe. I guess that you should clean the area first with a cleanser?

#6

Hey Toni! =) Oh ok thank you for the tip!

Hmm and I just thought of a question, it’s about something that you get during shaving… uh and I guess waxing? Because my upper lip hair area is starting to get these ingrowns (from waxing and plucking in my case) and I don’t know what to with them. Can anyone suggest anything at all to treat it and how to prevent it? Thanks a lot! =D

#7

Hi Browneyes -

From reading this forum, the favorite thing for ingrows seems to be a product called Tend Skin.

I’ve not tried it myself, so I can’t comment. People here seem to rave about it, though! You could try a search on Tend Skin (or TendSkin??) and see what you find.

Good luck!

#8

Browneyes, I’d try some Tend Skin, but use it sparingly at first. Some people find it a bit irritating. Maybe you can do a test area away from your face before putting it on your upper lip. Try dabbing it on with a Q-tip cotton swab (works on pimples, too!).

One last tip-- when applying it on your upper lip, don’t breathe in through your nose, or you’ll get an eye-watering snootful of chemical fumes!

#9

Much appreciation goes to both of you! I’ll look into Tend Skin, thanks so much!

#10

hi, quick question. to anyone who has the experience of shaving their arms constantly for an year or so…has your arm hair changed…even a little bit? just wondering how much it changes because even though i have a rotary epilator i don’t have that much to use it and must go to my razor. i’m ok with it changing it a little since my arm hair has already been tapered with different methods. i just don’t want it to be too bad of long-term result. just checking, that’s all =) thank you!