My best advice is to leave it alone. Don't use those products unless you want to use them frequently and forever.

Try consulting with an endocronologist. It could be hormone imbalance.

just a girl, let us know how it grows back and how fast.

Well it's not any stiffer. But it seems like it grew back sort of fast because it's been 4 or 5 days and it's already growing back a little. What do you think I should do?

I bleach mine (not to the point it is white, but just paler light brown), it seems to work better than when I've tried to remove it. You can buy those hair bleaching kits (not for your head, but the kind you can use on body/moustache area), it usually lasts about a month or so. Try that when it grows back.

Well see it's already pretty light. My problem is that it's thick & long. Do you know what to do about that? I'd just like it to be a little thinner.

I can feel for you. Mine is so long but it's dark. I am going to try the lighten thing. You said you used nair. I was wondering if you used it on your legs before because I tried once and it didn't seem to work so I wasn't sure if I was doing it wrong on not leaving it on long enough or maybe I should let the hair grow out a little more to get it better.

Well, I used it on my legs and it didn't work well for me either. I'm not sure why though, you should try one more time because it worked well the second time for a friend of mine. I guess everybody gets all kinds of different results.
While I'm here, does anyone know about thinning the hair on your arms?

If the Nair did not work you probably got a tube of old stuff from the store. Like so many products, Nair will start to loose it's effectivness after a while. I do not remember if the expiration date on Nair is coded or readable.

It is better to let the hair grow out a bit before the first time you use it. Using it on stubble from shaving does not seem to work well. After using a depilitory, the hair will grow in softer. There is no "blunt end" on the hair like there is with shaving.

Then, with subsequent uses of Nair you do not have to have a 'grow-out' phase, and can use it when ever the hair is getting unsightly.

Or, if the Nair did not work, maybe you did not leave it on long enough for it to work. The instructions on the tube are very conservative to avoid lawsuits. I have also found that once I open a tube of depilitory that as the product get older it takes a longer time for it to work.

I know that this may be bad advice, and I am not saying you should try this, but I leave Nair on until it starts stinging my skin a bit. That way I know it has removed the hair and I rinse it off.

Actually that was really really helpful. Thank you sooo much. But I have one question. What is a depilitory?

Yea thanks for all the advice. I am going to try that. I have brown hair so it's very sightly when any hair begins to show at all. When using the nair though my skin breaks out with little red bumps. Is that normal? I mean, do I have to just get my skin used to it first probably?

Over the years, I tried:
Nair - gave me a bad rash, plus wouldn't work on the returning stubble until it got long -

a sort of sandpaper glove (OUCH! It took off the skin and I had like rug burns all over my arms)

bleach - okay, so then I just had BLONDE hairy arms, plus black roots. BTW Jackie Onassis used arm hair bleach.

shaving (Well, why not, you shave your legs, don't you?)

Waxing - what a mess! Plus the hair has to be long enough for the wax to grab

and finally the lazer. Only the lazer really worked.

Actually the little red bumps could mean you are allergic. The same thing happens to me,so i can no longer use nair. (unless yours doesnt bother you that much)

have you ever considered waxing? It keeps the hair off for much longer and seems to grow in thinner when it comes back. They have at home waxing kits.Some that dont even require the strips.

just_a girl, a depilitory is a chemical hair removal. Nair is just a brand name for one of the many ones available in the stores.

If you are looking for a recommendation of a good depilitory I would not recommend Nair, but Veet. I find that it works better than Nair. Veet does make a depilitory that comes in a tube, but I am talking about the Veet that comes in a *an aerosol can* with a little plastic "scraper" that you use to remove the cream along with the hair (then rinse off any residual product).

Veet has been sold in Europe for many, many years and has been introduced to the American market a few years ago. I do not know if it is sold in Canada but I think I read that it is. They have a website.

Think that one of the reasons Veet aerosol works so well, is that the can keeps it fresh, and it doesn't break down and degrade, like depilitories in the tube do when they get old.

I have no experinece with at home waxing but I have read, and have heard from firends who tried it, that the results are not that good. Two problems encounterd - the hair does not come off OR you cannot get the wax off of your skin.

I did try professional waxing in a salon ONCE. It HURT so bad having it done, that I will never try it again. My skin was raw for days too.

One of the downsides of waxing is that you have to let the hair grow out enough for the wax to grab onto. So half the time you will have smooth hairless skin and the other half of the time you will be "growing it out" so waxing can be done again. You will have to plan your appointments around vacations or events because of this.

If you are getting red bumps after using Nair it does not sound like an allergy. (It could be, but allergies usually will give you red puffy skin.) The red bumps sound like Folliculitis, also know as "razor burn" but it can happen anytime the hair follicules are damaged - like with a depilitory or waxing or shaving , or even with tight clothing, for some very sensitive individuals.

See here for Folliculitis:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000823.htm

Someone gave me a tip once how to avoid this. After hair removal, use Desitin on the area. Just pat it on you don't have to coat it on thickly. No more red bumps after shaving! Really. I didn't think it would work but it solved the problem. You can find Desitin at the drugstore in the baby care section. It is made to treat diaper rash in infants. It smeels very strong and medicinal so I find it is best to shave in the evening and use it, and then wash it off in the morning.

I have a friend who tired the laser and it works BUT it is really, really expensive. It cost her *hundreds of dollars* just to do her mustache and chin hair. If you are doing a large area like legs or arms I can't even imagine the cost. $$$$$$$$$$$$.

I can't try the laser as I am pale with very blond hair. Laser works when you have dark hair on pale skin. So dark hair on very dark skin does not work either. The reason being is that the laser light is attracted to "dark" and will zap dark hair and ignore pale skin. If you are dark with black hair, or pale with blond hair, you will not be a good candidate for the proceedure.

If you are going to try using the Nair again, maybe leave it on a bit longer and then use some Aloe Vera on the skin to soothe it. Aloe Vera is good to use after waxing too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Folliculitis

It is true it takes practice to master waxing,but hair grows back much slower in MPO.
Are you sure it's folliculitis? cuz it actually felt like it BURNED my legs. I couldnt wear pants for like a week.

It just stinks to be a woman and have to go through all this...seems like such a chore.Exspecially in summer when hair seems to grow twice as fast. Like,you have to remove hair at least once a week and more often every few days.

So do you think that I should try waxing? I'm very open to try that. With waxing though, is it true that the hair stays gone for longer? Because if it is, then I think I'd like that better.

coolmama, well, you could have burned your skin with the depilitory if you left it on too long. A depilitory is a PH *base*, like oven cleaner, and it will breakdown anything organic - skin or hair. If it felt more like a burn, then it probably was a burn.

If it was an allergy it would itch, rather than burn, and an antihistamine would take care of the problem.

It could also have been a case of contact dermatitis, as some individuals have skin that is much more sensitive to irritation.

try taking a small "fiskars" scissor and cut it off. works for me...mine is light colored. slide the scissors right along your skin and take short cuts so you can stay close to the skin without cutting the skin. It only takes a few minutes. Also works great on the throat (over the adams apple area). You will want a fairly new sharp one.

Any recommendations on at home waxing kits? I've tried a couple but had no luck. They wouldn't remove hair and I did let my hair grow out.

I like the desetin idea because I have a lot. lol. I have an 18 mth old daughter so that works.

I am however going to have to try that veet cause it looked easier and cleaner. Does it remove hair below the skin? I mean with the nair it worked except i still had stubbles and could see the hair (I have dark hair on light skin) I can't afford the laser though. I am wanting something so smooth. I don't really care if it only lasts a couple of days just as long as it's silky smooth. I hate being able to see the hair under my skin. Its embarrassing. I want to be able to remove it and go to the lake or something and not be self consous about it.

Jess, sounds like waxing would be a good option for you. After being waxed, there's no 'shadow' of the hair under the skin. I wouldn't really recommend home-waxing kits, though - you'll have to pull the skin taut and be able to give it a very quick yank in the proper direction.... which I would find to be very awkward. This may be why you had less than desireable results with your home kits so far.

Just a girl, I agree with hamster. I have VERY light, blonde arm hair. It's just too long and abundant for my taste, so I thin it out and trim it with haircutting scissors. It works well, looks natural, completely painless, and couldn't be easier.

I have the same problem with my "happy trail". It starts just under my bra line and goes all the way south. It's super embarassing in the summer when I'm in a bathing suit. I have tried bleaching it, but apparently my hair (body or head) doesn't take to coloring/bleaching AT ALL! Lately, I have just been thinning it out with haircutting scissors, and I LOVE IT! Obviously the hair is still there, its just so thin and short that its barely noticable!

i have the easiest anwser for you. over the counter hair bleach for body-sally hansen. you can get it at walmart or most anywhere, its about $5. it doesnt get rid of it, but it appears so blonde that you barely see it and it is a lot less maintanence that shaving or using a cream. atleast try it before you start shaving or anything else. i do this and i only have to re-bleach every month to month and a half or more.