Well, it took me a quarter of a century to work up the nerves, but I just did it… I Naired my arms (I’m a girl, btw… makes this thread a lot less weird).
I was a very fuzzy baby (appropriately, born in the year of the Monkey). A lot of the fuzz dissipated, the fuzz on top of my head is socially acceptable, and it is normal to shave off some of the fuzz. But my arms… I just never knew quite what to do.
They aren’t… weren’t… hairy. The fuzz on them was blonde and very, very fine. It was just… too long. And there was too much of it. In long-sleeve weather nobody saw it, no boyfriend has ever objected to it (and some liked it), but I just… I just… don’t want to be so fuzzy.
My arms look naked. They have a lot of little moles on them (I’m doubly cursed!) that show up a lot more, without blonde fuzz. And there’s Nair after-burn. I think that when the hair starts to grow back, I’ll try having it waxed off.
So, anything to share? Do you do something to your own arms? Do you have any thoughts about what I just did? Did my blonde and fine but long and fluffy fuzz deserve to die?
How I hate hairy arms on women. I really do. Some people are into that sort of thing which is fine; but, that said, I am not. Good on you, my friend. Good. On. You. heh
Anyway, if the Nair burned you, don’t leave it on as long (I’m sure you are saying, “Yeah, I knew that, ya’ idiot.” But I am saying…just in case :)). I Nair my fine, blonde, fuzzy arms about once a month. I Nair, exfoliate, then shave. The smoothness maintains for a few weeks, then I do a quick shave and am good for a while.
There is nothing like soft, smooth arms and legs on soft sheets. It’s a nice way to sleep, lemme tell ya.
I’ve been lucky that I don’t have too much fuzz on my arms. There are other parts of my body, however, that aren’t so lucky. I’m not a big fan of hair so I think your blonde, fine fluff deserved to get the boot.
The thought of waxing my arms just makes me cringe. Ow!
Now you can dig out all those sleeveless tops you’ve been meaning to wear.
Last year, on a whim, I had my arms waxed. For two, maybe three weeks, they were things of beauty. I loved 'em. Then the hair started growing back - way faster than I thought it would, and because the hairs were now all short, they stuck out really bad. Had a kid ask me if I shaved my arms.
If I had the money, I think I’d get it done regularly.
This topic really elicits my sympathy for women. I personally have never had any problem with women who have hair anywhere, regardless of color or length. That kind of thing is completely overshadowed by personality. But popular culture, and advertising, put so much pressure, that a woman really feels it necessary to do all kinds of things. And if it makes you feel better, great! But in the end, it’s not going to affect how I feel about a woman. For me, appearances last for about 30 seconds; then it’s other stuff that attracts me.
So I say, do whatever you want with your hair; just don’t hurt yourself.
BTW, the blond hair on my arms attracted some attention when I lived in Colombia. At the same time, I understand (correct me if I’m wrong) any kind of hair is considered “unattractive” in Japan on men. As this world becomes more “global” and people move around more, I’d hope that more acceptance of diffrerence would be the result. It’s only a hope, but I continue. Maybe it’s time to post my sig…
I don’t have much hair on my arms, but it sticks out all wonky and this just will not do. Shaving, and Nair to a lesser degree, will leave stubble. I did waxing for a while but it took too much time and was messy.
My mom had bought a little doo-hickey, the little Silk-epil from Braun, doesn’t use coils like the epi-lady, it uses disks that rotate and open and close, pulling out the hair.
That seems to make a big difference. The disks grab solidly and the hair comes out quickly, usually the first time it passes over the hair. Those darned epi-ladies would torture you by pulling over and over. Mom decided she didn’t want hers for some reason and so I snagged it. The good news is that over time I actually have noticed most of what fuzz there was has given up the ghost and my arms are virtually fuzzless.
I’m not sure if the exact one I have is still made, but I do know similar items are available. That’s how I’d go if you were going to keep up the smooth arm look. Which won’t look so nekkid once you adjust.
I shaved my arms once. But just with clippers on the lowest setting - not with a razor. I was going through some pretty intense medical training that involved several IVs a day and getting taped up all the time. Removing the tape with hairy arms gets annoying really fast!! OUCH!
Plus hairless arms have the benefit of allowing your buddy to better see your veins. So pretty much everyone in the class shaved their arms. I kinda liked it actually. But it’s way too much a pain in the ass. I spend ENOUGH damn time keeping my chest,abs,back,pubes and ass under control. The last thing I need to do is start doing my arms too!!!
I’d also like to add that I love smooth skin everywhere on a girl.
I did it for awhile in high school, the did it for awhile a few years ago, when I thought my arms were ridiculously hairy. Now I think I was just being silly, unless the hair on my arms has thinned considerably in the past 10 years or so, and I don’t think it has.
My fiance (when we first started dating) asked me to grow it back because he is squicked out (not his words) by the hairless look.
Once I got a sandwhich at Ralph’s Deli. The worker making my sandwhich was a pretty, 20ish, blonde girl. We are chatting away as she is making my lunch and I notice her arms out of the corner of my eye. THICK, BLACK, LONG arm hair. I had to throw out my sandwhich because I was so grossed out (I found one of her lil hairs in my sandwhich). If you work in food, you have to pull your head hair back, so why not shave your monkey arms? I don’t want someone’s arm hair in my sandwhich, damnit.
Anyway, the point is: I have, in fact, seen quite a few women who would benefit from an arm shaving.
They still look naked to me, this morning, though the burning has thankfully subsided. You know, my mother says that once she Naired some eyebrow hairs, and they never grew back. Maybe my arm hair will never grow back? That would be nice.
It hadn’t occurred to me that my arm hair might not grow back with the same speed and ferocity that my leg hair does. But, it is much finer, soooo… here’s keeping my fingers crossed.
Oh, and to all those who would want to wax their arms at home, it’s not that easy. When I did it, I ended up bruised all over. You see, when you wax legs or whatever, you can pull the skin taut. However, you can’t do that with your arms since you can only use one hand, which is used to pull the wax strip. Since the skin isn’t tight, the pulling can cause bruises.
This probably wouldn’t happen to everyone, but I’d still advise you to either get it done professionally or at least enlist some help if you feel the need to wax.
So now you can’t even have blonde, fine hair on arms? What is a hairy brunette to do? Oh, I know - spend hours every week removing hairs that Og saw fit to give me. I tell you, if I had fine, blonde hair, I couldn’t be bothered to remove a damned one.
And you know what else? You lose a whole lot of sensitivity on skin that doesn’t have hairs.
When did our society lose its collective mind?
featherlou, damned tired of fighting the battle of the thick, dark hair
I have longish arm hair, but it’s bleached out a lot, and it’s enough of a PITA keeping up with my hairy legs (we’re talking thick, dark hair) and pits that I’m not going to add my arms on top of it. Especially since I live in a warm climate and only wear long sleeves off and on for a few months of the year.
I’ve heard of arm hair removal but never contemplated doing it. Too much trouble, if nothing else.
Especially if you rip the hair out repeatedly! I used to tear up at each eyebrow hair I plucked, now I can pretty much take the tweezers and rip clumps out if I have to, without wincing. Between pulling out hair on my legs, eyebrows, “bikini region,” and armpits, I have enough to deal with.
I had a friend who Naired her arms in high school. And then had horrible ingrown hairs all over them when the hair started growing back. From then on, if she wanted her arm hair (which really was not bad at all) less visible, she bleached it. Obviously if your hair is already blonde this won’t work, but you may find that Nairing is…less than an ideal solution.
I myself dislike the hair on my arms (especially when I’m not out in the sun so it can lighten), but it’s never bothered anyone else and I’m barely motivated enough to keep up with my legs, pits, and minimal maintenance on my bikini area. Especially with all the hassle figuring out the depilatory process can entail.
All right: I am now welcoming advice re. what I should do when the hair starts to grow back in.
Facts: the hair is blonde and fine. It is, however, visible against my skin and rather long, with some hairs growing up to an inch. No one has ever criticized me for it, and no boyfriend has ever supported an initiative to get rid of it. Sometimes it does show up in close-up photos, though.
Well, I shave everything except the top of my head. This might not be an option for some people, but I don’t have a job or kids, and once a week, I take time for what I call a “spa day” - it doesn’t involve going to the spa, just staying at home and spending time on me. Today was my spa day, incidentally. I wake up, drink water, draw a nice warm bath and take the time to either shave or Nair (if something seems particularly shaggy) everything. Go slowly and carefully, never rushing. Sharp razor, good shaving cream if you’re shaving. The rest of the week is for the hurried shower shaving, touch ups, etc, but spa day is the day to go over everything completely. If you can’t have an entire day, just take at least one hour in the week to sit in the tub (soften up those hairs, first - water shouldn’t be too hot or too cold!) and make sure everything is the way you like it. Exfoliate and moisturise. Arm hair in particular doesn’t seem to grow back very fast, even if you’ve shaved it. (not IME, anyway.) I don’t have any trouble keeping my arms soft and smooth.
Like DiosaBellissima, I love the way it feels on the clean bedsheets.
I don’t mean you have to sit in the tub the whole hour, just sit in there to soak and relax and get those hairs softened. Unless you like the prune look, but I find I’m aging at a decent enough rate that I don’t feel the need to see what I’ll look like at 80 years old until I actually get there. YMMV.
I wake up, drink water, draw a nice warm bath and take the time to either shave or Nair (if something seems particularly shaggy) everything. Go slowly and carefully, never rushing. Sharp razor, good shaving cream if you’re shaving. The rest of the week is for the hurried shower shaving, touch ups, etc, but spa day is the day to go over everything completely. If you can’t have an entire day, just take at least one hour in the week to sit in the tub (soften up those hairs, first - water shouldn’t be too hot or too cold!) and make sure everything is the way you like it. Exfoliate and moisturise. Arm hair in particular doesn’t seem to grow back very fast, even if you’ve shaved it. (not IME, anyway.) I don’t have any trouble keeping my arms soft and smooth.