I just wanted to say how glad I am that I found this forum. 
For years I have been embarrassed about the thick hair on my legs and bikini lines. Everything I’ve tried in the past results in little more than discomfort, irritation, and unsightly razor bumps. I am so tired of not being able to wear shorts or go to the beach. I just don’t understand how most women have these flawlessly smooth legs and no one else I know seems to have my problem. I am beginning to think that laser hair removal might be my only option.
Hi CE!
It’s kind of a deceptive thing-- always seeing women with smooth legs. Here’s what I mean:
Most women who have unwanted hair are less likely to wear clothes that show their legs. That means that even though there are a TON of women who have unwanted hair, you tend to see only the women with smooth legs exposed. This creates a sense that everyone but me has smooth legs.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
There are millions of women whose legs don’t match the airbrushed images we’re fed by the media. For many of us, getting close to that ideal is a difficult undertaking. Leg models in ads are almost invariable blondes in their teens and twenites, where what little hair they may have is blond to begin with. Think of them as beauty freaks of nature. Almost no one has the sort of legs idealized in our culture.
Whoa! It’s getting slippery up here on my soapbox! 
Anyway, welcome to the forum, and I think you’ll find a lot of support and answers to help you find a solution that’;s right for you. You are definitely not alone!
Hi, Andrea, I guess you’re right that not everyone has smooth legs, bikini lines, etc. I agree that the media pushes very unrealistic images of beauty upon us and photographs of models are probably almost always touched up. Maybe the fact that the models are young does play a part. I didn’t have that much of a problem with body hair until I was in my late teens or early twenties. I don’t know what happened. I guess my body just went through some kind of change and suddenly the thickness and amount of hair increased.
Another embarrassing problem for me is that the pores on the skin on my legs are very large. I can only describe it as looking like the skin of a plucked chicken. I am so ashamed of the way my legs look that I don’t even like to wear skirts unless I wear very dark stockings. I guess that is a separate issue from hair removal but does anyone else have this problem and if so, is there anything that can be done about it? Thanks in advance for any information.
Hmm, do you mean the places where hairs emerge from the skin? Generally speaking, pores for oil and sweat are only visible on the face. Unless you’re in a sauna, it’s usually difficult to see where the pores on your arms, legs, and elsewhere are. Some people prone to acne have pores that are visible on the chest, shoulders, and back, but even they rarely have the same thing on arms and legs.
Yes, they’re the places the hairs grow from. They’re very visible, mostly on my calves. I guess pore might not be the right word for them, but I don’t know what else to call them. I guess maybe I should just go to a dermatologist and ask if there’s anything that can be done about them. I’ve always been too embarrassed to do so. I guess I’ve always been afraid that they would just ridicule me for being concerned about something that isn’t a health problem. If I decide to go for laser hair removal I guess I might as well ask about that, too. I can’t really afford laser treatment right now, but I want to try to gather as much information as possible now so that when I have the money I’ll prepared. This forum is a great place for information.
CE-
I feel you on everything- I too suffer from the plucked chicken look, and also from the fact that none of my friends seem to have this problem (it doesn’t help that my best friend is virtually hairless). i think what you mean my pores are the follicles. when you have thick hair like ours, it is still visible just inside the follicle after shaving. wish i could give advice, but i am still searching too…right now i can only empathize. i’m seriously considering laser too, but it is so expensive. by the by, i tried something called epi-light, which is like laser but it is “pulsed light” of a shorter wavelength (so i’ve been told). i got it on my chest and lower abdomen and part of my bikini line. at first it worked like a charm and i was hair-free for nearly six months. then it all grew back. it has even gotten worse since then. i was about 17-18 when i got it. now i’m 21. from about 18-19 1/2, my hair problem got worse. hormones maybe? i don’t know. anyway, point is- reasearch thoroughly so you don’t waste $$ like i did
Flash lamps like EpiLight haven’t had the best track record, compared to lasers. 3-6 months clearance is typical with one laser treatment, and some consumers see permanent reduction. However, there are still a lot of factors with all these methods that haven’t been figured out completely.
Hi, Bestsy, thanks for your response. I’m glad someone else can identify with my “plucked chicken” problem. And, yes, you’re right, even right after I shave you can see the dark part of the hair left in the skin. I guess it’s because the hair on my legs is just so thick. I have a feeling that if I do get the laser treatment I will have to go back fairly often to stay hair free, and I just don’t have the money for any of that right now. I hope to be able to afford it eventually, though. I think it’s my only hope for smooth legs!
I just wanted to say I completely agree with you CE. I’m 23 and thought there was no one in the world w/ my problem. I have no idea when was the last time I actually wore or owned a pair of shorts. I have tried creams(my hair is way too thick and very black) and now I’m waxing my neck and arms. I to am thinking about laser hair removal. In October, I’m going to the Bahamas and I want to be hair free and a perfect fake tan for my fair skin. I just couldn’t believe there were other women out there w/ the same problem I have. I mean, I have looked and studied other people to catch a hairy neck, or hair on their arms or wonder why the women next to me is wearing long pants in the middle of August in Arizona. Thxs 
Although it is almost mandatory and expected that women will have hairless legs etc, even as a man, upon whom it might seem like vanity, I personally need to be smooth… it is just me… I know that everyone has their own threshold of hairiness, and it can be very frustrating looking for the right treatment to deal with our problems…
All I can do is sympathise with your plight, and ask you, have you ever tried waxing… it is not permanent, but it can gives you weeks of no maintenance, plus, most importantly, it will get rid of the shadow, or enlarged pore look… I think you may find it a pleasant change to shaving…
Good luck,
David