Arm Hair Removal for Women

27 comments

I have had a decent amount of dark arm hair since I was in junior high. I was extremely self conscious about it and wore a jacket through most of the spring, sometimes into the summer months. I was picked on by many of the upperclassmen but I was too scared to remove the hair worried it would come back darker and thicker. When I got older I decided to bleach it, but only for special occasions, like my wedding. I got use to my arm hair and it doesn't bother me. So why get rid of it? Long story short I saw gold and silver Flash tattoos on people who attended Coachella and wanted to wear some. I immediately realized that would look really weird with all that hair. So I decided to give it a try. Here is a look at my experience as well as what I learned in researching arm hair removal before I gave it go. 

Why Do You Have Arm Hair? Is it Important?

I've heard a lot of people say that body hair is the result of evolution and the need for body heat, and although that may be true it tends to be quickly disregarded as we have mastered the art of clothing and central heating. The more important reason you have body hair, especially on your arms and legs, is to warn you. It lets you know before your skin knows, that something is getting close to you. It helps you to keep from getting burned along with other other very preventable injuries. You take away the hair you take away that detection system. So before you go removing the hair you'll want to take a serious look at what your daily activities look like. If your working around hot objects, ovens, etc. your hair is probably best left where it is. 

If I Don't Remove it What Are My Options?

Bleaching will help disguise the hair very well. As I mentioned before I did this for my wedding and you could not tell in any of my photos that I had hair. Some have recommended trimming the hair to make it less noticeable but I did not find that helpful and it just make my arm a bit prickly.  

Waxing or Shaving?

I thought about shaving since it is by fair the easiest, although you have to do it more often. I decided I would wax first so I could tell you guys about it, let you know how long it takes to grow back, and how it feels when it grows back. Then once it grows back I will shave it for a comparison. I decided to try waxing first and used Nads Body Wax Strips which are less than $7 at Walmart. I did everything they tell you not to:

1. I had a margarita in my system (they say alcohol is a no no as it can
make you bleed more but I've never known anyone who drew 
waxing!)
2. I did it very close to my period (its never advised to wax closely 
before or after your period as this will increase you pain.)

Small list I know! But those are usually the two big things, right up there with having enough hair to even wax. So I gave it go, forgoing a professionals help at $30, and did it all by myself. I exfoliated with a dry brush and placed small strips of wax on my arm. Many YouTubers mentioned that larger strips hurt more which was quite accurate. The areas near your wrist and elbow will sting more but I found it much easier than my legs. I cannot do my legs! I found it equivalent to doing my sideburns, unpleasant but doable. 

The Results

I am more tickled than I expected! They are so soft and smooth! Its a lot more work than I expected and I can imagine that shaving would be so much easier but the results are amazing. I have no issue with women having body hair I just wanted to give it a try and it will be nice to do from time to time. I will keep track and document how fast it grows and how it appears once it comes back. Until then I'll be showing off my newly naked arms that are just as nice as my hair ones. I could have them either way!


2 Week Waxing Update

The regrowth hasn't been as awful as I imagined it would be. My hair is dark and is slightly darker than before only because the hair hasn't had time to be bleached in the sun. After two weeks it is still much better than what I originally had but I am surprised it came back as quickly as it did. I would say the hair I have now is almost an 1/8 inch or around 3 mm. 


If I were to wax it now I would be able to get the longer ones, and by leaving the super short ones behind, would have a much thinner regrowth. As you can see its not as noticeable from a distance and wouldn't show up in a photograph, unlike my arms before. 


After waxing I can honestly say I'm extremely apprehensive about shaving since all the hairs are at the same starting point and have a flat top, making them more blunt and prickly. Since I have an event coming up this weekend, I will wait to shave them that morning, and will be sure to post more pics. 

1 Week Shaving Update


It's hard to see how much hair I really have on my arms after 1 week, but it is more then I had after 1 week of waxing, which is to be expected. Texture wise it's not much different, if at all, but the initial results were not as smooth as the waxing. After shaving my arms twice, I have still not found a way to get them as smooth as when I wax. I exfoliate for both the waxing and shaving. After trying both methods I feel that the shaving works best for every day and the waxing for special occasions. This is mostly based upon convenience and cost. Although I am able to wax cheaper at home, it is still costly and I prefer to wax once every 10 days, or every week, depending on the hair growth.




27 comments:

  1. I have never tried waxing, how is it growing back so far?

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    1. Not bad actually. I need to take an updated picture tomorrow as it will be 2 weeks. I don't feel the same kind of harsh prickly that I do when I shave my legs. It doesn't seem darker than it was before but I will have to wax every two weeks. Not bad when you consider the cost at $30 for a professional to do it and it cost me less than $6 each time, however it was costing me $0 to do nothing! :)

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  2. I`m more inclined to go the shaving route I think but I have never shaved my arms. I might wait for your results with shaving. Will you let the hair grow out fully before you try shaving?

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  3. $0 is definitely cost effective! A friend told me that shaved arm hair grows back slower than leg hair, I`m not sure if that is possible, what do you think? Maybe when you do your shaving test on your arms you can shed some light on this.

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    1. I don't know that it'll grow back slower or faster, i'm pretty sure it all grows at the same rate it just appears to be growing slower. Perhaps this is due to a closer shave etc. In my case the hair on one part of my body doesn't grow faster than the other; instead its the hair on the left side of my body, as well as my nails, and it drives me nuts.

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  4. That`s crazy! I`ve never seen that. I think I will shave mine, where do you stop though? at your elbow or higher?

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    1. I stopped mid upper arm. It just seemed like the right spot given the hair growth and mine is rather mild the farther you go up. It didn't seem necessary to go all the way to my shoulder.

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  5. How did the shaving work out?

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    1. Not bad, wasn't as smooth as the waxing, but not bad. Its been 3 days and I'm still pretty smooth. The nice thing about the shaving is not having to wait for the hair to get soooo long. I made sure to exfoliate like a mad woman first. I'll post photos before I shave again but so far I'm pleased.

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  6. Getting ready to shave mine I think, how did that re-growth turn out?

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    1. Not bad and to be honest it is nice to be able to shave every week instead of having to wait. However, it does come back quicker and that might be a problem for some. I would say shaving is great for everyday but maybe wax for special occasions or if you're going on vacation.

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  7. Did you post the "after" pictures yet? It would be interesting to see the shave vs wax regrowth.

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    1. I have to wait for it to grow out a little more so I hit the one week mark. Had to shave it for an event and forgot to take a picture.

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  8. Appured that the thicker regrowth is actually a myth, because of course hair starting from their thickest point look thicker when they reach the same length. I'd say the main disavantage of shaving is having to do it more often, depending on hair growth speed, but that's ok because it's painless and you can shave again as soon as the hair starts growing back and be smooth again.
    Waxing is more effective and you can stop thiking about it for long time, but hair has to be at a given length, it can be a bit painful but that varies.
    Shaving also can take off any single hair, where waxing, leaves some leftover shorter hair in different growing phase, yet shaving can be slightly less smooth inherently, especially when rubbing from particular direction.
    Even if most of the time it's not necessary to shave the arm, as hair there is expected and imho is perfectly fine, unless very hairy and dark :), it's all about your preference and a smooth hairless arm can look very nice and glamourous.

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  9. I actually think hair arms are very attractive, you don't find arm hair like that on women anymore, the hair that was there before you shaved.

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    1. I see plenty of women with hair much worse than what mine was. I think shaving and waxing is rare for women simply because they are too worried it will grow back thicker and darker.

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    2. Liz, - can I call you so, if you don't mind :) - they don't grow thicker and darker in your experience? Because I also know it's a myth and an illusion, as blunt ends seem thicker, when a hair grows back from its base.
      And yeah, you're right, it feels weird when we shave for the first time a part of our body! Hair heighten and registers heat info and heighten the tactile sensitivity, a bit like cat whiskers, just muuch less sensitive, of course.
      That's probably why they grow back exactly at the same length as before you shave, and note how little of them are in the growing phase before we shave, except for recently shed ones.
      I think shaved or not is good, though sometimes the smoothness is a good feeling, undeniably. Unless they are very hairy, which hey goes for men as well, many of the most hairy eventually started to shave and groom, like Andre Agassi.

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  10. Your arm hair looked so soft, I know you didn't think so but I think ur arm hair was beautiful, but you're still a beautiful person even without it, I just wanted you to know that not every person hates women with hairy arms.

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  11. Did you get many comments on your arm hair, what did people day?

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    1. You mean growing up? Yes. Most people just pointed it out but I don't think that was because the arm hair particularly bothered them. There was a girl a grade below me that very dark think arm hair but I don't ever remember anyone saying anything to her about it. She was popular though, so I think people were just looking for something with me.

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  12. Which way was more prickly when it grew back? Also, which one grew back thickest, did either method result in thicker than original growth? Lastly, if you were never going to wax or shave then again, which method would be the last thing you did. Wax last or shave and let it all grow back? Thank you for your candiness about a subject not many women want to discuss. I have been teased and I have been approached by men with an attraction to the arm hair. I am getting ready to remove it for the first time and can't decide which method to do, it's going to be Summerland I'm afraid it will come in thicker.

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    1. Shaving is pricklier because you've created a blunt end whereas with waxing you've removed the hair and I find it comes in softer. The shaving appears thicker but its not, you've just cut all the hair at the same point, where waxing removed the hair no matter how deep. So with waxing some hair will come in faster because it wasn't as deep of a root and other will take longer. I shave because it is cheaper and quicker and easier to maintain. I love how it looks without and don't really notice it growing back. You will at first but you get use to it. If I decided to give it up I'd probably wax it all off because it wouldn't grow in all at once, or appear to be. Good luck :)

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  13. Your arm hair was probably very visible and noticeable in the sunlight.

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  14. I will always encourage waxing all hairy areas regardless of sensitivity. I also encourage you when it’s affordable to get waxed and watch the esthetician as she waxes you, so you can do it at home on your own

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  15. For hands and legs, waxing is considered as the best method. It is easy and economic. While if you want permanent removal you can go for either laser or electrolysis hair removal.
    Nice post and briefly described. Thank you for sharing your experience.

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  16. wonderful review and results, thanks for the great share!
    تجارب الليزر المنزلي

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