As girls approach their teen years, they notice significant changes in their bodies. You may notice that the fine, pale hair on your legs becomes darker and thicker. Hair also begins to grow under your arms and around your genitals. Hair removal is an ongoing process, and knowing your various options can help you decide what method of hair removal works best for you.
Why Hair Grows
During puberty your brain will release hormones that cause your body to become more like that of an adult. These hormones are what causes the fine "vellus" hair on your legs to become more noticeable. It's also responsible for causing hair to grow in places that it never did before, such as under the arms and on the pubis.
Should You Shave?
Shaving is one of the most common ways for girls to remove body hair. Razors come in various models, from disposable-type razors with single or double blades to fancier, more durable razors that have replaceable cartridges. While boys usually have to shave their faces, girls shave their underarms, legs and sometimes the area around their bikini line. Shaving may seem simple, but to do it correctly, you must learn how to avoid nicking yourself with the razor. Teen Health advises softening your skin first by taking a shower or bath and applying a shaving gel to your skin to reduce the chances that you'll get nicks and razor bumps.
Most girls tend to shave against the growth of their body hair, but shaving in the direction your hair grows can help you avoid razor burn and ingrown hairs. After you shave, it may take a few days before your hair grows back, but sometimes hair begins to grow back in only a few hours. Also, if you have very dark hair on your legs, you might see a shadow of hair growth underneath your skin even right after you shave.
Cream Depilatories
Cream depilatories might seem like a better bet if you're afraid of cutting yourself with a razor or getting ingrown hairs. These creams work by chemically dissolving your hair down to the skin's surface. However, the hair on your legs or under your arms will grow back just as quickly as it would had you shaved.
Waxing
Shaving and cream depilatories remove hair right at the surface of your skin, which is it grows back so quickly. But a technique called waxing removes hair down to the root so that it takes much longer to grow back, sometimes as long as six weeks. A thin film of warm wax is applied to your skin, then a cloth or paper strip is firmly applied, after which it is quickly removed. Waxing is difficult to do yourself, which is why many women go to a beauty salon, where a trained cosmetologist performs this service. Hair needs to be around 1/4-inch in length to be waxed. Kidshealth.org points out that waxing is appropriate for the legs, bikini line and eyebrows.
Ask for Help
Too much hair growth can be embarrassing, especially when hair sprouts on parts of the body where boys only get hair, such as your upper lip and other parts of your face. Some girls even get hair on their chests, stomaches and backs. This condition is known as "hirsutism" and is actually fairly common. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic tell us that 10 percent of women suffer from hirsutism. Sometimes this condition is inherited from one of your parents, but it may also be caused by medical conditions for which you need treatment. If excessive, noticeable hair growth causes you embarrassment, talk to your doctor about your concerns.
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