getting rid of down there hair

[sosurreal09]

this is probably a shot in the dark but is there an alternative to shaving besides having to pay a stranger $70 a month to wax me?

i have course hair and tried waxing myself....it was a no go....

hairy is not an option, i hate it and feel very uncomfortable hairy and DH does not like it either...

[weliveintheforest]

The only thing that comes to mind for me is shopping around for a cheaper waxer... and maybe if yo had it done a couple of times it would be easier to do yourself? and would only need to be done every 6-8 weeks.

[Rani]

I have so been there. The hair removal stuff (like Nair?) didn't work. Shaving causes horrid bumps. ...so yeah I pay a waxer about 70 a month to do it for me. I couldn't get the hang of waxing myself. When I thought about the price, I realized that it was not really that bad if you consider what she has to do lol...

[taramoon13]

yeah i do nair only because i can barely afford to get my eyebrows & 'stache waxed let alone down there and shaving makes me break out right away. nair isn't that great either though; if you don't leave it on exactly long enough it doesn't get all the hair off, but 1 min. too long and you get broken out
i wish i could afford to just get it all lasered off

[mamamoon89]

Do you need to go completely hairless? I occasionally use my partner's electric beard trimmer...it can keep hair really short but doesn't create the same problems with razor burn.

[DBZ]

I saw some alternative way to remove eyebrow and other facial hair when I was at the mall. I didn't pay much attention because I felt weird watching...it was in the middle of everything like other kiosks. She used something that looked like a rubber band string. Let me see if I can find it.

[eclipse]

That's called threading - I don't know if it works for pubic hair, though. I've never done threading, but I have friends that do it for their face and love it.

[DBZ]

It's eyebrow threading. Apparently it does work on other places http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-eyebrow-threading.htm

[hibana]

DBZ is talking about threading. There are plenty of video tutorials out there on how to thread.

I'd trim to a convenient length, then use sugar wax. (NOT hair removal wax from the store, that stuff is EVIL) Google can tell you how to make it. Sugar wax hurts way less than regular salon wax because it doesn't pull off your skin with the hair, but this means you need to exfoliate regularly.

If you do it in small sections, with proper waxing technique, it isn't painful. I do my armpits with sugar wax, and I'm a wuss.

[Mulvah]

This may be blasphemy here (), but laser hair removal.

It is expensive. However, if you are paying $70/month, try shaving for a year (make homemade Tend Skin for the bumps) and use the $70/month you saved to get laser hair removal. Also, check out Groupon.com in your area because they may have a coupon making it very affordable.

ETA: I just realized this was in natural body care. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to suggest laser hair removal, but if you have already tried the natural route, you may want to go for it. It may help improve your situation greatly to where you can just use sugar wax or threading for upkeep.

[LCBMAX]

Originally Posted by Mulvah

This may be blasphemy here (), but laser hair removal.
... It may help improve your situation greatly to where you can just use sugar wax or threading for upkeep.

OK, mulvah, I'd like to hear more on this. Waxing etc is not exactly natural either so for my money, you're in the right place.

Like the op, I've got coarse hair, and lots of it. Like - lots. My skin tone is medium and the hair is dark, so I think I'm a good candidate for laser.

If you don't mind, would you share your hair type, skin type and laser experience, and what kind of "upkeep" is then necessary? Anything and everything you're willing to share about this is great for me, and mods or mamas, if you think this is better as pm, that's fine too of course.

OP, I'm still waxing (since I'm still waxing and waning about the laser option) and my fabulous person uses a good semi-natural soft wax product on my legs, and another good semi-natural hard wax on the bikini line. It makes a big difference. So if you go that way, ask for someone who has and does both.

[Mulvah]

Originally Posted by LCBMAX

OK, mulvah, I'd like to hear more on this. Waxing etc is not exactly natural either so for my money, you're in the right place.

Like the op, I've got coarse hair, and lots of it. Like - lots. My skin tone is medium and the hair is dark, so I think I'm a good candidate for laser.

If you don't mind, would you share your hair type, skin type and laser experience, and what kind of "upkeep" is then necessary? Anything and everything you're willing to share about this is great for me, and mods or mamas, if you think this is better as pm, that's fine too of course.

OP, I'm still waxing (since I'm still waxing and waning about the laser option) and my fabulous person uses a good semi-natural soft wax product on my legs, and another good semi-natural hard wax on the bikini line. It makes a big difference. So if you go that way, ask for someone who has and does both.

I'm sending you a detailed PM that may be TMI for the main board (), but I will say for anyone else reading, look into it. I had issues with ingrown hairs and scarring, which led me to have my hair removed. It's the best thing I've done for myself (in terms of my body); it improved my self-esteem greatly.

As for upkeep, it will depend on the number of treatments and how your body responds. I rarely shave now.

[sosurreal09]

forward me the PM!

[Thystle]

Originally Posted by Mulvah

I'm sending you a detailed PM that may be TMI for the main board (), but I will say for anyone else reading, look into it. I had issues with ingrown hairs and scarring, which led me to have my hair removed. It's the best thing I've done for myself (in terms of my body); it improved my self-esteem greatly.

As for upkeep, it will depend on the number of treatments and how your body responds. I rarely shave now.

Oh man pm it to me too! I have horrid issues with everything else but I dont know anyone in person who has lasered it off.

[GoBecGo]

I shave (waxing makes me ill, i have very pale, very thin skin, and very coarse, very strong, but very pale (platinum blonde) hair, i feel dizzy and "shocky" for about 4 hours after waxing, then have a generalised red swelling (like an allergic reaction) which fades to reveal areas of pinprick bruising (VERY obvious on my pale skin) then a multitude of ingrown hairs (surrounded by redness if i try to exfoliate to prevent them) then finally regrowth, this cycle takes about 6 days, and does not have a single day where i could go swimming without my bikini line looking like there is a serious problem with my undercarriage...). I found the problems with shaving began to fade after 3 or 4 months of continuously doing it. I do still get ingrown hairs sometimes. Best of a bad bunch for me. I had a laser consult and was told with my pale fine skin and platinum blonde wiry hair i'm in the category of least-likely to help.

[sunsetdancer]

I trim up the main area and DH helps by waxing the sides with a product called "Nads". Go ahead and laugh...but it's a real product. If I were going to take it all off, I might pay someone to do it, but since I'm only trimming up the sides and not getting near any really sensitive areas, DH helps out.

[sosurreal09]

i dont feel comfortable and no where near sexy with any hair at all...i have been shaving since i was 12....not that anyone was seeing it lol

i hate shaving my hair is back the next day...im all prickly and never smooth. plus the ingrowns..

[sunsetdancer]

Now that I think about it, I think I did use the Nads to take off most of the hair with DHs help. I only did it once though. I guess if I were goig to go full out brazilian, I don't think I would trust DH to help. However, it doesn't sound like you want to do that. The only other options I can think of is to find another salon that doesn't cost as much or do laser hair removal.

[shelbean91]

Around here, there are some salons that charge a discount rate if you return within 9 weeks - so when I was going regularly, it was $65 the first time and $50 if it was a 'touch up' - so I'd schedule something at like 8 1/2 weeks.

I don't like shaving - too itchy with regrowth. I found a thing at target that's a regular razor for legs/pits on one end and an electric trimmer on the other. I found I could trim to a length that was short, but longer than the itchy regrowth stage - it has adjustable guards to go longer or shorter. I'd rather do the full wax, but something in the budget had to go.

[mkat83]

I do laser hair removal.  I've had bothersome facial hair since puberty, and tried lots of methods to get rid of it.  When I first heard about laser hair removal I was in college and couldn't wait to try it.  What I didn't know at first was that it takes multiple sessions to permanently remove the hair.  My first experience was at a dermatologist office, and then I went to a place that was specifically for laser hair removal.  I'm not sure what kind of laser they used, but I found that it didn't really work for me at all.  It was expensive, so I felt cheated.

I later moved to a larger city and saw advertisements for a laser hair removal place that guaranteed their work.  I decided to give it another try, and I had success on my lip and chin.  They are always running specials, and I eventually decided to get my bikini area, butt, and lower legs done.  I would like to have my entire legs done, but they considered upper and lower legs two different areas, and the special deal at the time was for 3 areas.  I don't have my entire bikini area done, but they said that some women do the whole thing.  I basically shaved it into the shape I want, and they laser around the area leaving the hair in the middle.  Was really awkward the first time, but I've gotten over it.  They are all women at the place I go, which helps. Now my pubic hair is always in a neat arrangement.  I still have some hairs that grow in the lasered area, but not many.  I nearly never have to shave the area.  I don't think my backside has responded quite a well, but my lower legs are great.  I hardly ever have to shave them!

The downsides to laser hair removal are the costs and it hurts.  I think I paid $800 for the "deal" on my bikini, butt, and lower legs.  But as I mentioned, it is guaranteed, and I basically get to keep going back as many times as I need beyond the normal regimen.  Definitely make sure the place you choose has a guarantee.  As for the pain, its kind of like a rubber band sting.  It sucks, but I get through it thinking of the results.  The more times you have the treatments, the higher they turn up the lasers.  Sometimes there are two of them working on me at once, which keeps me from focusing on one area at once.  Although I don't have my entire bikini area done, I do have them do a small portion of my lower labia.  Yeah, that hurts.  Last time I was in I asked about the procedure during pregnancy, and they said they would not do the bikini area during pregnancy, and it was my choice if I still wanted to do the other areas like lip/chin or lower legs.  If you don't come in at the prescribed intervals it can "void" your guarantee, but they will give you an exemption for pregnancy.

I've kinda struggled with the best alternative for "natural" hair removal, and other than shaving, there really doesn't seem to be a perfect answer.  I recently switched to an old fashioned steel safety razor because I hated buying plastic laden expensive blades for a fru-fru lady razor like a Venus, etc.  At least with the laser treatments I have to shave those areas MUCH less, and hopefully eventually not at all.  Although I've been having the laser treatments on my lip and chin for at least 2 years now and the hair isn't 100% gone, but it is SO much better than before I started the laser treatment.  Hopefully one day we won't find out that the lasers are super dangerous........

Sorry for the long post, but I really wanted to share my experience with this!