Hairy legs

[Lisa]

My 14yr old DS has really, really hairy legs. He wears shorts around the house, but if we go out somewhere he will put on jeans.
It has got to the point that he flat out refuses to wear shorts at school. With the weather warming up, he is not going to be able to get away with wearing long pants all the time.
I am wondering if anyone has any tips for me to be able to help him? I remember my hairy chested cousin used to use hair clippers to tame his hairy chest, do you think something like this could work for my son on his legs?
He obviously doesn't want to wax, shave or use depilatory creams, but is willing to do something to make him feel better in shorts. He will not go to school in shorts no matter how hot it is outside because of the reaction he receives from the kids at school (mean, I know) so just making him do it is not an option (and I wouldn't anyway)
Any advice would be most appreciated.
TIA

[LaDeeDa]

Hey Lisa,

clippering the hair on his legs will make it look a little funny .... if he doesn't want to remove the hair maybe he could have it bleached??

The funny thing is - is that as he gets older women will prefer the hair ....lol

[Lisa]

Yeah I was worried that using clippers may make it look funny.
I keep telling him that women will love it when he is older... it doesn't help him right now though lol... he is at that sensitive age I guess.
He is going to be one of those hairier type guys, he already has more hair on his chest than my DH. No idea where he got it from... neither his father nor I are very hairy people (I can get away with not shaving my legs for ages!)

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

More body hair is a sign of higher testosterone... guess your son has more "man-hormone" than those other little boys.

Would that outlook help him any?

I know with my incredibly hairy body (I have high testosterone for a woman) home waxing just thinned out the hair a bit, didn't get it all off, but it's not really ideal as for some it can be permanent. Otherwise taking an hour or so and just thinning the hair, like they do at the hairdressers, may be an option - ask a hairdresser friend you can trust to keep it secret if she'll give a hand with this. Or do it with scissors at home.

I'll second the "hairy guys are sexy" movement too.

[Lisa]

I totally agree... hairy guys are sexy... I definitely prefer my husband when he is unshaved, and love him to have a goatee... but I know my 14 yr old doesn't see it the same way
Thanks for the suggestions... I might try the scissors... at least it is something we can do at home

[Neenee Jellybeanie]

I agree with the waxing; I did this recently and it only removed some of the hair, not all of it. Perhaps he could try a little strip somewhere inconspicuous on the leg to see if it works that way for him?

[[M]umma[M]ia]

lol dont worry about it. He will get over the fact. If he wears pants to school just let him.. dont make a huge deal out of it coz then he will be more insecure about it. He will grow out of it.

[~clover~]

More body hair is a sign of higher testosterone... guess your son has more "man-hormone" than those other little boys.

lol! So funny....my DH can't grow hair to save his life!!! He is 26 & doesn't have a single hair on his chest!!
When he was 16 he was paranoid too, coz he was the only one without hair under his arms!!
Sorry I'm not much help, just letting you know it works the other way too.

[AliBaby]

I asked my DP about htis and he said that if he didnt want to have bare legs he would just trim the hair with some scissors. This will make it look less dense but will still leave him with some hair cover.

I agree with Hollye about just letting him wear pants to school until he feels more secure in himself to wear shorts. I know I like to cover my legs becaue I hate the shape of my calf muscles. I'd rather be a bit hot than to have to worry about ppl looking at my legs.

[Lisa]

Thanks for your advice everyone

I do let him wear pants to school, the only issue with this is that he then gets picked on for wearing long pants when everyone else is in shorts! Kids are mean and really, he can't win.
He has started trimming his legs with scissors and that seems to be making him feel more comfortable in shorts.

[Sair]

Clippering would be the easiest and best option, it looks obvious for the first couple of days but then starts to look natural after that. DP clippers his belly and chest all the time otherwise you wouldn't know he had one

[Carmey]

I really feel for your son! Kids can be so cruel and it's such a sensitive age.

I spoke to my DH who actually shaves his entire body - he's a triathlete. He says to encourage your son to get into a sport where they have to shave their bodies (including legs) so he is with like-minded people. Cycling, swimming, gym training and even some football codes are very open to having a hair-free body.

And, on a more holistic level, getting into these kinds of sports are so good for health and wellbeing - including sweating out all that pent up testosterone!

I hope it all goes well.