Still fighting

Start here! Share your feelings
#1

Hello everyone… am an italian super hairy guy living in London. I’m nearly 30 and since i was 14 or so i started noticing my awful hairyness. It compromised my confidence as a teenager…as still does now. Back then i started avoiding going to the beach, doing sport ect. I was different. It was an awful secret and i learn very early the art of “quick fixing” the situation…shaving, plucking, bleaching ect. I just couldn’t keep up though.
With time i only become hairier so in order to avoid the pressure of been asked to go to the beach in summer…i left everything and moved to London when i was 18-19. During that time i waisted an awful lot of money on lasers and tried electrolysis too. I then tried Sugaring until
i realised how impossible was my fight against hairs. In the last couple of years i sort of ignored the problem and finally tried to accept myself and my body. Not an easy task when you are reminded of it everyday. Nowadays what i hate the most is my back, shoulders and upper arms. The hair in the rest of the body is still thick and long but i wear t-shirts and shorts whether it was a no-no just a few years ago.
Luckily I’m not so bad looking so i still managed a few relationships with “understanding” parterns (men) although it’s always tricky when i meet someone new.
Comes summer and my desire to be less hairy comes back.
This summer i managed to go back to Italy for a week and escape on my own to a beautiful beach…making sure nobody was in sight for at least a mile! That is the painful part.
To hide. It has become normal witht the years …to refuse invitations to sexy holidays ect. But i’m still alive afterall. As a teenager the pain was so bad that i tried taking my life away twice. But i held on. I cried and i survived with the illusion that a miracle might happen with time…whether is a magic pill or something else.
I still believe in that something that may happen.
Hope is the major lesson i learnt from my hated hairyness and i apply it to the rest of my life whatever the need.
Although i have lost the determination to solve my hairy problem… few days ago i decided to try a popular Epilator. something i never managed to get before.
When i switched it on i just could not believe how that scary little loud machine was going to be of any help. My heart sunk… i was about to laugh, cry …i don’t know!
However i had the guts to pass the little monster on my shoulders and with some good gymnastic i managed to do my back too. I put loud music on in my room…but i still think my flatmate could hear the weird thing going on in my room. (totally embarassing).
I have to say …apart from the awful pain…that the epilator worked…although now i’m in this funny situation where my upper arm is suddenly smooth… and it not the case to epilate my full arms in this season as people don’t know me as a smooth guy. So it’s all hidden under my t-shirt. In vain. Still last night i felt pretty awful.
What is the point of me doing this to myself al over again?
My partner has been very surprised but supportive…although he finds strange to touch my smooth skin now. Oh well… give it a few days and we’ll both forget about my silky shoulders!
Then in depression, today i found this website and spent most of the day on it…reading about other people with the same problem. I searched desperately for something new i could have missed in the field of Hair removal in the last few years of my life.
mmm…i found soy milk, pumice stones and other interesting posts. I love you all, hairy people of this website. Luckier and unluckier ones. The truly desperate and the truly vain.
The fight continues…
Hairywolf

ps. pardon my poor english

#2

Your English is fine. As you have already read, there are many people who feel like you do on this forum. So you’re not alone.

In terms of solutions for your problem, here are some options:

  • Laser works great on dark coarse dense hair. If you have that, you can start doing research with the help of this site. Start by reading the FAQs at the link below. You can get a very good up to 90-95% reduction on dark coarse hair.

  • In terms of temporary methods, professional waxing is probably your best bet. Have you tried it? You didn’t mention it in your post. Many men get waxed regularly (every 6 weeks or so), especially in the summer during beach season. It’s not something out of the ordinary at all.

#3

thank you.
I did try Lasers and Sugar waxing before. I did my best but very little results on me considering the money and time spent. I guess is just my case. Going to experiment with pumice stones in the next days…just to see what happen…maybe my hairs will get thinner if a keep brushing the stone for sometime.

#4

Be careful with the pumice. I’ve seen people with some nasty abrasions from rubbing the stone too hard or too long.

#5

sure, thank you… will do it under the shower… a little bit everyday…

#6

The problem with not getting results with laser is usually because not enough research is done to find the right clinic with the right machine and an experienced person performing the treatment. There are tons of places operating out there with less than optimal machines and minimal training and experience. Laser works very well on the right type of hair when things are done correctly. Which is what we help with on this forum and why I wrote the FAQs. So don’t get discouraged. It’s likely that you didn’t get results due to lack of operator skill. If you’re truly interested in permanent removal, this is a great option for dark coarse hair.

Sugar waxing is messy and hard to do properly. I would strongly recommend to check out a proper salon with proper waxing once to see how it goes. Find someone who has specific experience in waxing large areas, especially on men.

If you want a temporary method that’s cheap and easy, then shaving is best. Any reason why you don’t go that route?

#7

The ‘fight’ thats exactly how i see it… Im constantly at battle with my hair follicles… my hair grows thick and fast, and unfortunately i cant pull of the ‘rough look’…

However ive developed my own grooming regime combined with LHR and waxing until i can get all areas treated… Its a real financial drain having to spend so much of my student allowance of hair care… when it should be going on booze. BUT i think its all starting to pay off!

#8

Are you male or female? I assume that you are in your early twenties, being a student? Your hair pattern is not fully established yet if you are a young male. You may develop more awakening hair well into your thirties, but I hope not. Just be prepared and be always ready to stay on top of this for the next several years so your developing hair patterns don’t get out of hand.

#9

Dee, Good call on the last thread. It is helpful knowiing the age and sex to properly answer the question.

The cost of Laser Hair removal is a big issue for most. When I begin treatments where cost is a factor, I section off areas of large surface area always keeping symmetry. The clients can shave in between.

tomorrow I will post a new thread on proper shaving techniques.
The first suggestion is to GET RID of the DISPOSIBLE RAZORS.

Janet

#10

I hope you’re not waxing and doing LHR on the same area, as that’s counterproductive.