At what age did your daughter start shaving her legs?

[Dani784]

I was 11. I remember getting teased mercilessly while standing in line to go into school. I went home and told my mom I was gonna shave. She went out and got me a razor and showed me how. As soon as it starts getting noticeable you should talk to her about it.

I don't agree with that. My three year old has noticeable leg hair. I'm not about to talk to her about shaving. My six year old has it too. She is also too young. How about we stop making girls grow up faster than they have to. It is perfectly fine to wait to shave until middle school when they have to start showering after gym class anyway.

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[firecracker725]

I can't remember the exact age but I was somewhere around eleven or so. It was one of the only times I disobeyed my authoritarian mother. She wouldn't let me, but I was tired of being teased and just went for it. She reacted badly (as expected), but it was worth it.

 

[okeydokey]

I walked into the bathroom one day and my daughter was shaving. I think she was around ten. We had never discussed it before, but she wanted to. They are her legs, her decision. I did suggest she stick to below the knee only.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

German and Slavic descent, so my girls started shaving when they needed to. Age is not even a factor in the decision for me.

I started shaving a 8yo. Yes, 8. I had to.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I started with an electric razor when I was 9 and a regular razor about a year later.

 

[Kies99]

I have two daughters and the one just started in the past couple of months. She's 11.

I'm not ready for this!!! I grew up with two brothers, no sisters. I'm starting to go nuts!!! If I plug my ears and cover my eyes, will it all go away?!?!?!

 

[pocomom]

My daughter was 9 just about 10, but she swims competitively and had an early puberty (period at just turned ten). I felt she was too young at the time , but it is her body, and I didn't want her to be embarassed at swimming or anything, I mean even the boys shave for team...so I showed her how , and she has handled it fine ever since.
Probably the least traumatic of all the growing up milestones

 

[Jaime4004]

I've been wondering about this recently. DD will be 10 in a few months. She has joked about her hairy legs (I look like Daddy). They actually are pretty hairy but it's blonde so you only notice up close. She's a gymnast and practically lives in a leotard. I figure when it starts to bother her, she can start. Her teammates are all older so i'm surprised it hasn't come up yet. She is dying to wear a sports bra.

 

[mfd25wife]

So, my daughter is about to start middle school (6th grade). I was noticing her legs yesterday...she inherited her Daddy's hairiness (his nickname was bear in school). Luckily, the hair is blond.

She clearly is going to have to shave her legs regularly. I was raised by hippie parents who never shaved their legs and never taught me to shave mine. I didn't start shaving my legs regularly until I went to college so I have no idea what age the girls normally start. Shaving your legs sucks, so I don't want her to start too early, because once you begin you can never stop.

So, what age have you found that girls start shaving their legs? The LAST thing I want is for her to get teased in school. I'm worried enough about middle school and the mean girl stuff without her giving them ammo unknowingly.

(I'll throw a poll up, but I'd love comments too on how you taught your daughter....did you go straight to razors or do an electric first?)

I told mine that it is customary to shave them when she was ready. When it started bothering her, I let her. I believe it was 10-11. She fortunately has blonde hair so it was not noticable. My parents did not let me until I was 13, and I remember being embarrassed about it.

 

[pocomom]

For those of you who have tackled hair on your DD's upper lip, what method of hair removal do you use? I am not going to use a razor but would the hair removal creme work? A few of the girls have made fun of DD9 about her supposed moustache. Sadly she takes after me with dark hair.

Aw, this makes me sad... kids can be so mean. If it is just a few maybe tweezers might be the way to go for now? I suppose the cream would work, I would just be concerned about a chemical burn on that tender skin! I got a horrible burn once doing the bikini line with that stuff , I got in the shower to rinse it off and my baby daughter who was playing in room pinched her finger in the door, so I jumped out to help her , it was probably an extra 5 minutes before I got back in the shower and my skin was BURNING!
Growing up I had a friend with dark hair and her step mom took her for mani/pedi/lip waxing when she turned ten. Made it a girl's day out thing and fun ...and all the girls at school (who used to make fun of her) were jealous! Thought that was such a positive way of handling it.

 

[Kae]

For those of you who have tackled hair on your DD's upper lip, what method of hair removal do you use? I am not going to use a razor but would the hair removal creme work? A few of the girls have made fun of DD9 about her supposed moustache. Sadly she takes after me with dark hair.

the new stuff by Olay has a buffer cream. I like it I use it between waxing sometimes, If she won't go to a salon to be waxed. I will say I have been waxing my DN since she was 11.

Kae

 

[Sgt Mickey]

She was around 12. Maybe 11 almost 12.

 

[branv]

I think I was in 6th grade? I will say that I think letting your child know how to do it, where the razor is, and that they can do that whenever they feel they're ready is a great way to handle things. I had blonde but a lot of leg hair, and was so self-conscious. But I was too afraid/embarrassed to ask my mom if I could shave my legs (ahhh, preteens). I honestly, for some reason, thought I was going to make her mad if I asked, so I suffered in silent angst instead. I just think it's nice to start a dialogue with these things without pressure, so they know they can talk to you.

I suppose it just depends on how you view it. I look at shaving as basic grooming, like teaching them to use deodorant. So their age to me is more about whether they can handle a razor safely and are mature enough to keep up the maintenance. If you put more meaning behind shaving, then their age is going to be an issue for you. Different strokes.

Incidentally, I tried to explain to DH what it was like getting under the bed covers the first time after shaving my legs. How surprised and wowed I was by the way the sheets suddenly felt like some kind of amazing silk against my legs. Yeahhhhh, he just didn't get it

 

[tzolkin]

I probably started around 4th grade.
It was after I started getting my eyebrows waxed (and that was around 8)

I believe my older DD (now in HS) started around the same age (9-10)

My younger DD just turned 9 (going into 4th grade). Last spring/summer she said her leg hair bothered her and asked if there was something we could do about it. I shaved her legs for her, probably 2-3 times over the course of the summer. (So she was just turning 8)

She just mentioned it again a few weeks ago, so I helped her shave them and taught her how to do it.


I am very hairy, milky white skin, black hair, and I have hormonal issues. I grew up in FL and did not own a pair of shorts and almost always wore long sleeves or a sweater. Every day I think back with regret about the fact that I was a thin, attractive teen but I felt I had to hide my body at all times and had horrible self-esteem that led to other problems.

My older DD started getting teased in early elementary school. Over the last few years we have dealt with bulimia, self-mutilation, and other issues. If my child feels more self-confident and receives less teasing without body hair, I'm going to let them shave.

I don't want her to start too early, because once you begin you can never stop.

Just curious what you mean by this?

It's the same hair regardless of how often (if ever) you shave it.
I know several adult women who chose to stop shaving their legs.

 

[kinntj]

Oldest started last summer at 10 and my youngest is shaving her legs now. She asked to, so I have no issue with starting her off this summer. They both use the Venus Breeze and it has that protective edging to prevent cuts. The intuition was used by my oldest and she thought it was bulky and heavy to hold. We switched to the Breeze and they like it.

 

[carrie1626]

the hair was there
it wasn't blond
another girl commented- it became an issue
I shaved my daughters legs myself for 2 yrs- she was that young
most of the time I was the one " come on, let's do this"

there is no certain age!

 

[cousinbb]

I started at 13 didn't really have hairy legs and only started BC I was going to wdw the next day for the first time and wanted to look my best lol. Crazy... I know

 

[Tinkerbell53]

My daughter started at 11. She probably didn't have to - she's very, very blonde and while she did have hair to shave it wasn't visible unless you're within a few feet and looking for it. But all her friends shave their legs and she was feeling self-conscious about her blonde, almost invisible fuzz so she started shaving it off.

This is my DD also. She starting shaving her invisible hair around 11 too. She still shaves her invisible hair when she feels like she needs to. I am a little jealous of her as she did not inherit that from me. LOL

 

[Jessica14]

I talked to her about it. She said none of her friends are shaving yet. I said that we're going to need to talk about it soon...I think the underarm hair is going to be the telltale sign. She turns 11 next weekend. I am SO not ready for this puberty thing....with me starting to get peri-menopausal and her hitting puberty, this is going to be a FUN hous.

Us too! My DD is 10.5 and has no interest on shaving (I snuck shaving when I was eleven). I did tell her that when she goes to camp on a few days, if it should come up with other girls, it's OL to try. She looked at me like I had three heads'

 

[Dizneefamily+4]

My dd is only 8, but my ds12 has a lot of friends who are girls. I'm good friends with all of their moms and this has come up during this past school year when they were in 6th grade. Nearly all of them decided to start shaving their legs sometime during the last school year. I suspect my dd8 will be starting before then. She has dark hair on her legs and it's pretty noticeable already.