Hair Removal at What Age??

At 8, I so wish my mom had allowed me to shave my legs. Bleach my arms and found a way for me to hide my upper lip.

I hated being so hairy.. At about 5th grade she took me to have electrolysis.. Painful and expensive, but I kept going.. In the long run, It did not help.

I started bleaching in high school and then discovered Waxing!!!
OMG, changed my life.

So I do not think age should be the factor, it should be when it begins to bother her.

Why would you wait until she's older, what does age have to do with it?
I would ask her pediatrician what would be the safest and most effective method and go from there.

My grandson is 5 and he is starting to pluck his hairs off. He is embarrassed by the amount of hair too.

I don't know what I'd do if he were a girl but I don't have any moral guidelines or "correct" answers for this. If they were starting to feel bad about themselves I imagine we might do some shaving in the public areas and leave the lower back area alone.

Shaving does not make anything grow courser or darker. Those things happen naturally over time whether a razor ever touches their skin or not. It does not stimulate it and change the structure of the hair.

I have shaved between my eyebrows for 50 years and I do not have a bushy huge bunch of wild hairs there that I battle each day. They are still the same as when I was in elementary school. Same with my legs and underarms. I do not see any difference in the hair on my legs if I let them grow out as to when I was much younger and not shaving at all.

AGE:
If this were my child (I have a 12 yr old boy and 8 yr old girl) I would shave them now, if it were such a big deal to them. I agree with Laurie A. below. I don't think there is a "magic age." I don't think you are a bad mom for waiting longer or starting now if you see fit. You are not doing this for your ego or fame (TV show). You would be doing this to help her feel more comfortable socially.

I'm sure she is perfect head to toe to you and any sane adult, but if she is feeling so self-conscious about it (and being teased and bothered about it, I'd help it out.
Or you can help build up her confidence. That's another way to go.

METHOD:
I never used Nair on myself and would not on a child.
I always shaved as a teen and still do sometimes because it's easier.
You can't escape in the infrequent cut. That will happen.

Waxing is awesome BUT it hurts a lot. I wouldn't subject a child to waxing unless they were 100% OK with that, and I would imagine that would be in teen years.

AVOID:
I would avoid Lasers. I had a sample done to my underarm in my early 20s and I felt it hurt a nerve that went to my nipple! It felt numb for a long while. Too freakin' risky. (There are horror stories online of laser removal.) If she's an adult and she wants to do that to herself, that's her choice, but I would not do that to someone under the age of 18.

I believe laser hair removal will work on kids 10 and older. I found great deals on groupon for this. Otherwise, start when she asks. Kids can be very cruel and there's no reason to have her endure teasing etc.

I would go with the laser removal when she is ready. There are a lot of places around here and they have some pretty good offers. Expensive, yes but it works.

My daughter is 17, she has not done it because she doesn't really need it but she does have friends who have for the last 3 yrs or so.

As for the age, whenever she is ready and the establishment deems it ok for her.

my niece began shaving/trimming it all off during her teen years. I've tried it & it works. :)

EDIT: electric beard trimmer worked well.

My niece was 8 when she started to get teased about her hairy legs. By 9, my sister helped her shave. My niece is now 10 and shaves by herself, and according to my sister, is much happier at school. Luckily, my daughter has more of my husband's genes, so she doesn't seem to have as much hair.

N.