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Well - DD has opened up about a few boys asking why she has a moustache and some of the girls ask why she has hair there (she is dark skinned) and the hair above her lip IS quite dark.
She is only 8 and WAY too early to wax/nair but I feel for her :( She is quite good at standing up for herself in situations like that (sometimes)
Suggestions? Is there anything at all I could do?
Bleaching cream? I don't really know I'm very fair, so just a suggestion.
Would that be ok to use on the skin of an 8yo?
Can you tell her that everyone has hair all over their body including their face even those kids that were asking why she had hair there (I think it is everywhere except for the palms of your hair and the soles of your feet) but just some people the hair is darker than others. Not sure what you could physically do to remove it or lighten its appearance. :hug:
Naenae I don't think she is too young for waxing. I was a hairy kid (one eyebrow, moustache, even hair on the end of my NOSE!) and hated it.
Nair or bleaching cream will be too strong for her skin.
From my experience, if I had a daughter facing what yours is, I would get her straight to a salon and then pay for laser hair removal as soon as she could stand it. Yes, everyone has different hair thickness, people should not pick on others. But if it was my daughter I wouldn't hesitate. Ditto for underarm hair as soon as she's concerned.
If you do get her waxed, pay a bit more and go to a decent salon where they will use cool wax and be gentle with her. And get it done on a Friday night so she has 2 days before she has to got to school.
ETA: Although laser treatment is expensive, it is for life and the sooner you get it done the less the cost works out to be over a lifetime. I was waxing every 6 weeks from 14 to 35 yrs of age when I had laser treatment. I could have paid for it many times over....
From what age can laser be done?
Im a bit nervous about waxing her LOL the lip hair is a bit thick.
I just dont want her suffering at school because of other children teasing her :(
The hair has darkened over the past 2 years would that be normal? Is it a possibility it could be linked to her hormones? (thats the first thing I think when I see hair above the lip on any woman!)
I had children at school asking about my moustashe (the boys were just jealous, I reckon) and small children asked when I was an adult. One reason why I don't want to work with 5-year-olds.
8 years old is NOT too young for waxing if the alternative is bullying and rudeness. If your daughter is dark-skinned then laser treatment may not work brilliantly well, but regular waxing will make the hair appear finer. And give her some self-confidence.
It's all right you saying "stand up for yourself" and "everybody's different" but when all you want to do is look like a normal girl and fit in, it's hard having a moustashe. Should I have a daughter with a hair problem like mine then I will have no problem paying for waxing as soon as she requests it and laser when she's old enough (in the UK you need to be over 18).
I tell DD the boys r jealous too. But all in all - I know it is hard, especially these days, where image is basically everything, 'specially to the young ones.:
So Y'all dont think waxing an 8yo is too early? I did consider it but was a little unsure of whether it would be ok or not.
Thanks Ladies, I really appreciate the input :)
Just wonder how she'll go with the waxing part! Is there anything else I need to ask the beautician? Like do they use cool wax as rory said?
My DD is 7 and has dark skin and dark hair. Her hair is already dark on her legs and I am just waiting for the day she comes home and says someone said something about it. I will be taking her to have laser hair removal. I have done them all for 30 years - waxing, shaving, electrolysi, laser, depilatory creams and laser is the way to go. I did not find that laser was great for my upper lip but I don't think I went to the right person a she just used the same "wand" or whatever they call it as she did on my legs. I think you need something a bit smaller to put on the top lip to put it on the right angle to really get all the fine hairs so definitely make sure you go to someone who knows what they are doing.
I think waxing is too painful for an 8 year old but I found laser less painful so I think it would be OK.
I am not sure on the legal age for laser in Australia but I do know that it only works on fair skin, so it may not be appropriate for your DD. I found it to be magical :)
Aww poor lil girl :(
My DD has pale fair skin, and no visiable lip hair, but she has LOTS of back hair :( She does not notice but I do worry when swimming starts etc kids will tease, everyone said it would fall out but it never did :(
How much is laser? Is it painful?
I applied a bleach to my DD's upper lip from about age 9 it was all it took for it to virtually disappear. It took 5 mins once a week or so. She is Anglo with only a light tan so it worked well. Sometimes though we would mix it too strong and it would sting a bit but she was fairly resilient LOL she does it herself now (she's 15yo). She has also always gone to girls' only schools and i found the teasing less than what I experienced when i was at school.
If your DD has dark skin though bleaching might not look right... maybe do a Nair patch test somewhere less sensitive like on her arm to see how that goes? I don't think 8 is too young if she is being teased.
I had problems when I was a kid but never told my family i was being teased at school. It was only when a visiting cousin loudly vocalised her disgust I mentioned my problem to my mother. To which she basically told me to get over it. All my teen years I avoided swimming, wearing costumes in school plays/dances and wearing dresses because i was very ashamed. I also wore jumpers and trousers in 30+ degree heat to cover myself. It was only until I moved out of home I learnt how to "deal" with my problem.
So it's great to hear of mothers that are aware their daughters may have problems with this. My Mother had no idea as my hairy gene came from my Father's family.
Awww :hug: Kaydee I had a similar experience... my mother also just told me not to be so self conscious :( But I know it has made me into a much more compassionate mum so all's not lost. It WAS a horrible time though and my relationship with my mother has been quite damaged because of it. I am so happy that my DD can simply ask for some bleach at the supermarket like it's the most normal thing in the world :)
Done Deal - I've told DD I will take her to have it waxed. She was so excited :) she ran up and down through the house shouting 'YEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH' lol poor thing.
Thanks Ladies :) I really wasnt too sure if it was too early to wax, but now i know otherwise :)
Y'all made me feel better :)
I done it:-) i went down and bought some nads. I got to count to 5 and i ripped it off at 3 :-) dd said it didnt hurt as much as she thought.
When i look at her now she seems so much more grown up. Hopefully now her confidence will lift up :-) i told her that because she dealt with the pain so well next time i will take her when i get my eyebrows done :-)
Sounds strange, but im looking forward to the girlie days we can have at the salon:-)
I'm glad you took the advice of the ladies here naenae. I wish I had done it earlier (waxing) b/c I remember when I did have it done a guy at school commented and I was soooo embarassed. I think I was in about year nine then :S
I am too RhiChiChi :) How embarrassing for you! :hug:
DD is most certainly grateful for me doing it too.
DP wanted to come in and watch but I shooed him away and said 'Sorry Hun - this is girl time :)'
I am a bit afraid of the other kids noticing now cos there certainly is a difference. I didn't realise how much hair she actually had above her lip. I had to use 4 strips and they were full! (the little white ones you get in the pack) I did tell her to ignore the kids if they ask where the hair has gone. I did also tell her if she starts being teased again about it I will have another talk with the teacher. Her teacher is pretty good and will deal with the situation as soon as he is aware of it.
Gee Naenae sounds like she has as much as I did, poor love! Seriously, you have done her a big favour :) I would seriously think about laser as soon as it is considered safe - add up how many six-weekly salon visits she'll need in her life and it'll be worth it. It used to cost me $80 for underarm and lip treatment and I needed 4-6. So yes, expensive as hell but worth it if you can afford it.
THanks Rory - I will get laser done for her as soon as its ok to do so. Gonna have to do ALOT of research on the laser clinic tho! I'm frightened they'll scar her :(
I think with laser the general rule of thumb is you get what you pay for. Apparently you can buy "cheap" machines for around $5-$10k so that's what home-based "clinics" use, but they tend not to be properly trained. I went to Australian Laser Clinc (they have locations all over - if you go to a big chain and pay through the nose you should be ok. If it's cheap then it's probably shonky.
Awesome - I'll keep that in mind when we start looking at laser :)
Thank you all for the wonderful advice. It is truly appreciated :hug: both from DD and myself