Advice about Body Hair
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Advice about Body Hair
August 2006
My son has had a lot of hair on his legs since about 3rd grade,
or at least that's when other kids noticed and he became self-
conscious about it. Now he's a teenager (16) and is just
miserable about his abundant hair to the point where he won't go
to the pool with us or wear short pants.
I have to admit, he has a lot of hair. His father and I are not
particularly hairy, nor is anyone in our families. I have two
questions. 1. Is there any kind of disorder that could cause
excessive hair growth? (he also gets hot flashes). 2. What can
a young man do about excessive hair. I don't think he'd want to
get rid of all of it.
And while I'm asking...has anyone else's teenage boy complained
of getting hot flashes? I mentioned it to the doctor and she
dismissed it with a wave of the hand..
anon
You may want to get your son's hormones evaluated. If his ped is unwilling
to do that,
you can find a naturopath, osteopath, OMD or chiropractor to do a salivary
test. The
hot flashes he is experiencing seem unusual in my experience as a
nutrition
professional.
Nori H.
I'm sorry, I don't really any answer to your second question, but yes,
there is a
disorder which can cause children to (and adults) to grow excess body
hair. Perhaps
ask your son's doctor about it, if you haven't already.
Best,
Amy
I have two very hairy brothers. Starting in high school, they
began using clippers (like the kind barbers use to cut hair) to
trim the hairs on their arms, legs, back, chest, and stomach. I
believe that they used the clippers with the number one clip.
After clipping, they look much less hairy, and a lot neater. It
seems less drastic than shaving, and they were pleased with the
results. From what I could see, they didn't look unnatural or
anything, although I would try a small, unnoticable patch first
just in case he doesn't like the way it looks.
Sarah
Hi! Sorry that this is so late, but I had to share this with
you. If he only has lots of hair on his legs, tell him to feel
extremely lucky! That is an easy one to control. Shaving is not
good- it creates stubble and makes the hairs grow back thicker
and darker. Waxing is messy at home, or expensive and probably
embarrassing to him in a salon, and depilators (sp?) cause the
same problems as shaving. What I have found to be so awesome to
control unwanted hairs is an electric tweezer gadget made by
Emjoi. Check out the website www.emjoi.com and look for the hair
removers box to click on. They make some that are expensive and
portable and cordless but all you really need is the Gently Gold
Caress with the cord for about $60. I have had mine for 12
years, and its still going strong. It consists of 30 or so
quickly rotating tweezers that pull the hair out by the roots
the same as if you had waxed. He will probably want to trim the
hair a bit shorter with clippers before he uses it the first
time. And let him know that it is going to be kinda painful, but
less so than getting a tattoo (if that helps!) Then, it will
take maybe 20-30 min per leg to do the first time, and he might
have to stop and clean the tweezers out from time to time, and
he will wnat to do it over a sink or tub or cloth to catch the
hairs. But when he is done, besides having an irritated leg for
about 12 hours, he will have soft, smooth, hairless skin for 3-6
weeks. He also would not have to do every hair, but could just
lighten up the hairs that are there. The thing that I love about
this method is that over the years my underarm and leg and
bikini line hairs have gotten fewer and lighter and I only have
to use the tweezer thing 1x maybe 2x a month and it is very
quick and not painful since the hairs are not all coming out at
once. Good luck, and also, after he gets older the leg hairs may
become more endearing than annoying
No razors no wax no hairs
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