Facial hair on women

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
41

[QUOTE=Lissa]
It could be that some of these ladies are laboring under the delusion that shaving/waxing/Nair-ing it off will “only make it grow back in darker.” It’s a very common old-wive’s-tale.

When I was a young lass, the hair on my arms was dark.* Since my skin is very pale, it was very obvious and I was really embarassed by it. I wanted to remove it but my grandmother gave me dire warnings that doing so would make it come back thicker and darker and my arms would start to resemble the face of a man with a five o’clock shadow. “Once you start, you can never,* ever* stop,” she said.

  • It’s not even noticible now that I’m an adult. Weird, huh?
    [/QUOTE]

My mom always told me this, but I waxed it off anyways. It never did come back thicker and darker, though I did give up on waxing it eventually. Now, like yours, mine is lighter and finer than it was when I was younger, same with my leg hair.

Shaving can make hair appear coarser and darker as it grows back in, because the tips of the hair are blunt instead of pointed, but the hair itself doesn’t actually get thicker. Waxing can actually make hair finer and sparser over time.

42

[QUOTE=Broomstick]
If waxing is such a great way to deal with unwanted facial hair why hasn’t it replaced shaving in men?
[/QUOTE]

expense? tradition? we’re afraid it’ll hurt enough to make us scream like girls? an irrational fear that we’d tear our faces off?

43

[QUOTE=Broomstick]
If waxing is such a great way to deal with unwanted facial hair why hasn’t it replaced shaving in men?
[/QUOTE]

Because it hurts? Plus most men have a lot more facial hair than women, so it’s a lot bigger of a production to do it.

Also, your hair has to be long enough for the wax to grip it, you won’t be totally smooth all the time. You’d be stubbly for a few days, depending on how fast your hair grows. Not necessarily that noticable on a woman with sparse facial hair, but it would be on someone with a full beard.

If shaving didn’t leave visible stubble, I bet more women would shave their facial hair off themselves instead of getting it waxed.

44

In my case, I have very, very fair skin and coal black body hair (eyebrows, lashes, legs, etc). So all hair, no matter how slight is glaringly apparent. I make an effort to keep it under control, but waxing, chemical depilatories and bleaching all irritate the beejesus out of my skin - to the point of red inflamed rashyness that lasts up to two weeks. 'Cause that’s not noticeable at all.

Plucking is basically my only option, which a) takes a long goddamn time and b) is reasonably painful for me.

I’m saving my pennies for laser hair removal.

45

[QUOTE=Mrs Johnson]
Haha yes there is - and it’s edible!
[/QUOTE]

Yum! :smiley:
How well does it work?

46

[QUOTE=Nava]
Nah, this was true when Washington Irving came to visit and almost fainted at the sight of all those gorgeous brunettes with what was, to his English sensibility, pretty much a Drill Sergeant’s moustache but it’s not true any more.
[/QUOTE]
I hate to break it to you but Uncle Wash* was not (natively anyway) English. He was the original New York Knickerbocker. Although I doubt he harbored any fantasies of kissing drill sergeants.

*I can call him this because I live in the town named for him, Irvington, NY.

47

[QUOTE=Broomstick]
If waxing is such a great way to deal with unwanted facial hair why hasn’t it replaced shaving in men?
[/QUOTE]

Because men are wusses.

:wink:

48

[QUOTE=Aangelica]
In my case, I have very, very fair skin and coal black body hair (eyebrows, lashes, legs, etc). So all hair, no matter how slight is glaringly apparent. I make an effort to keep it under control, but waxing, chemical depilatories and bleaching all irritate the beejesus out of my skin - to the point of red inflamed rashyness that lasts up to two weeks. 'Cause that’s not noticeable at all.

Plucking is basically my only option, which a) takes a long goddamn time and b) is reasonably painful for me.

I’m saving my pennies for laser hair removal.
[/QUOTE]

I’ve heard that laser hair removal is not as effective as they would have us believe (if it was good and effective, I too would be saving my pennies for it). Last I heard, the only truly effective permanent hair removal is still electrolysis.

49

[QUOTE=AuntiePam]
Really? Tell me why. If it’s dangerous, I’ll reconsider.

Mine aren’t really moles, I don’t think. They’re skin bumps, more like. I have two. I hate them, but doc said removing them would leave a mark.
[/QUOTE]

IANAD so it’s up to you really. I have heard conflicting accounts of the relative dangers/safety of plucking hair from moles so until I get a definitive answer I’ll just err on the side of caution.

50

[QUOTE=featherlou]
I’ve heard that laser hair removal is not as effective as they would have us believe (if it was good and effective, I too would be saving my pennies for it). Last I heard, the only truly effective permanent hair removal is still electrolysis.
[/QUOTE]

What I heard was that it was only truly effective on people with dark hair.

51

[QUOTE=The Weird One]
Yum! :smiley:
How well does it work?
[/QUOTE]

Nads works well once you get used to it. You have to figure out how thick to apply it. That was the hard part for me. Trial and error.
It’s NOT painless. For fine hairs it works well and only hurts for a few seconds. Thicker hair hurts like hell. I will never try using it on my underarms again! :eek:

52

[QUOTE=TroubleAgain]
What I heard was that it was only truly effective on people with dark hair.
[/QUOTE]

I would love for that to be true. I’m a perfect candidate - dark hair and light skin, and my skin doesn’t scar or discolour easily. It’s awfully expensive to try something that a little research shows to be questionable at best. If I had the extra money, I’d just try it myself and see how it goes. Some day…

53

Yesterday I saw a lady with a moustache that would have made Pancho Villa look effeminate. I just couldn’t stop staring. :smack:

In my case I have a fine Cantinflas-like moustache that I wax religiously. As a matter of fact I went for a loong waxing session this morning. I hate body hair, it serves no purpose whatsoever. It should be growing on my head. :mad:

54

Years ago, I bumped into a woman in a sandwich shop–she had thick sideburns, the muttonchop variety. It startled me to see so much facial hair on a woman and to be honest I kept glancing at her, I guess in horrid fascination.

I’m not sure why it bothers me so much, but it does! Fortunately, my body hair is very light and very fine; since menopause I’ve had a bit of fine down above my upper lip, but not enough to use Nair (IMHO, that is!). I also get an occasional hair on my neck which I pluck out.

Now here is an unusual situation that I’d like to toss out here for the thread (and I really hope it might provoke some discussion): one of the tenets of the Sikh faith is uncut hair, which is why you see the men wearing turbans (they’ve got really long hair underneath them, folks!) as well as beards, which some roll up (using a device). Particularly if they have taken Amrit and are Amritdhari Sikhs (Amrit being akin to adult baptism or confirmation in the Christian faith is probably the best way to describe it). This includes women - which means no shaving or waxing or plucking. I guess in some cases it depends on just how closely they follow the tenets, because I’m sure that some women probably do use depilatory on facial hair, but to be honest, uncut hair means just that - uncut. Unshaven. (As an aside, I lived as an American Sikh for about 3 1/2 years, and I gotta say that it really disturbed me that I couldn’t shave under my arms!! When I decided to leave that lifestyle, it was one of the very first things I did.)

55

[QUOTE=tarragon918]

Now here is an unusual situation that I’d like to toss out here for the thread (and I really hope it might provoke some discussion): one of the tenets of the Sikh faith is uncut hair, which is why you see the men wearing turbans (they’ve got really long hair underneath them, folks!) as well as beards, which some roll up (using a device). Particularly if they have taken Amrit and are Amritdhari Sikhs (Amrit being akin to adult baptism or confirmation in the Christian faith is probably the best way to describe it). This includes women - which means no shaving or waxing or plucking. I guess in some cases it depends on just how closely they follow the tenets, because I’m sure that some women probably do use depilatory on facial hair, but to be honest, uncut hair means just that - uncut. Unshaven. (As an aside, I lived as an American Sikh for about 3 1/2 years, and I gotta say that it really disturbed me that I couldn’t shave under my arms!! When I decided to leave that lifestyle, it was one of the very first things I did.)
[/QUOTE]

Y’know, I live in an area that has quite a high Sikh population, and I have to say I’ve never noticed an abundance of hair on the women. Than again, I hardly ever see the women (or at least don’t notice them as Sikhs the way I do the men), so that might have something to do with it. Or they’re buying Nads off the Sikh black market.

Honestly, if I knew it was for a religious reason, I’d be able to let it go (the ick, that is.) For me, a lot of the discomfort comes from curiousity and cultural mores - and the knowledge that to simply ask why someone doesn’t remove her facial hair is nosy and rude and my grandmother would come back from the grave with a hickory switch if I asked it out loud! But if I knew the reason - whatever the reason, I wouldn’t have to agree with it - then I’d feel, “Oh, that’s OK then. Carry on.” (I can’t make that sound right. It’s not as if I’m giving permission, just that I’d internally feel better about it. Once acknowledged, it’s no longer a big deal.)

Like when I see a person with a run in their nylons. I get anxious about it and just itch to point it out so it can get taken care of. But if a goth friend runs her nylons on purpose, it doesn’t bother me. It’s the idea that the “flaw” might be unnoticed (and more importantly, might embarrass the person if they knew about it) but I can’t politely point it out that’s unsettling, even more than the flaw itself.

But I hang out with hippies and only shave my own legs thrice a year (although I do, against all community values, still shave my pits at least once a month) so who am I to judge, right? :smiley:

56

[QUOTE=Mrs Johnson]
Nads works well once you get used to it. You have to figure out how thick to apply it. That was the hard part for me. Trial and error.
It’s NOT painless. For fine hairs it works well and only hurts for a few seconds. Thicker hair hurts like hell. I will never try using it on my underarms again! :eek:
[/QUOTE]

Plus it attracts ants in the warmer months. :eek: You get tiny little drips here and there in your bathroom, and on the container, and unless you’re extremely careful in your cleanup, you might find a patrol of ants going to and fro from your bathroom like I did.

If you like Nads (snerk) an easier and cleaner method is a roll-on sugaring container - I think Nair makes it. It looks like a big broad stick of deodorant. You heat it in the microwave until it’s just warm enough, then use the roll-on bar to spread layers, lay down the cloth strips, and pull. Re-nuke when the sugar cools too much. It’s not as drippy since you’re not having to dip in and out of the container to get the stuff out.

57

I do think culture has a lot to play. Growing up, my mother never told me about shaving my legs. Why? Because she never shaves her legs. Her hairs are more sparse than mine (I indeed inherited my father’s legs), but she still has them. When she discovered that I shave my legs, she remarked that “only white girls do that.” Which seemed to have a grain of truth in it, since none of my black friends shaved theirs and all the people who made fun of my hairy legs ( :frowning: ) were white.

I’m constantly keeping my facial hair at bay. I have a little 'stache and a few errant hairs that pop up on my neck and jawline. Every couple of days, I drag a razor across them and make them disappear. But I hate doing this. It’s yet another inconvenience in the morning. If I had the money, I would go the electrolysis route.

But that’s me. I think some people look fine with their facial hair. My older sister doesn’t remove her mustache, and it’s not really the first thing you notice about her. Nor do I automatically squirm when I see hairy legs on women. If it’s a carpet, well, that’s strange. But a few hairs doesn’t bother me. In fact, if I were a braver person I would probably go without shaving my legs.

58

My everything gets hairier as I get older. I want to let it all grow out fuzzy and long. Then color or bleach it and use styling gel to fashion a hairline up the back of the leg.

I need pomade for my legs.

But the chin and stache I will forever pluck!

59

I agree with monstro, it’s culture alright.

The progressive, liberal in me says, “the heck! why should women be slaves to fashion? Why should we be the ones plucking, waxing, electrocuting hair all over our bodies. This is how nature made us”, but the rest of me screams “we draw the line at facial hair!”

I don’t know, do you think some days we won’t wince at our moustachied selves in the mirror? Will hot models some day have a lady beard and an underarm wig?

60

[QUOTE=Mighty_Girl]
…
In my case I have a fine Cantinflas-like moustache that I wax religiously…
[/QUOTE]

You mean with moustache wax? :confused: