Excessive Bikini Line Hair Growth

jessr23 · 04-03-2009, 03:48 AM

since i was a teenager i've had excessive hair growth on my bikini line (i'm 25 now). the hair grows about 2 inches down the inside of my thighs. it is not covered by any underwear and even "boyshort" underwear doesn't cover it all. i shave it every other day but the hair is so thick you can see it under the skin even when it is shaved. with summer coming up i am feeling more upset about this because for once in my life i wish i could be normal and just put on a bathing suit and go to the beach. but no bathing suits cover my excessive bikini line hair growth. i am really thin with a nice body except for this problem, and my friends don't understand why i won't put on a swimsuit. does anyone else have thick bikini line hair that extends down your thighs? i looked all over this website and haven't been able to find anyone else with this problem and i've felt so alone for all these years. no one knows my secret.

joyblack · 04-03-2009, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jessr23

since i was a teenager i've had excessive hair growth on my bikini line (i'm 25 now). the hair grows about 2 inches down the inside of my thighs. it is not covered by any underwear and even "boyshort" underwear doesn't cover it all. i shave it every other day but the hair is so thick you can see it under the skin even when it is shaved. with summer coming up i am feeling more upset about this because for once in my life i wish i could be normal and just put on a bathing suit and go to the beach. but no bathing suits cover my excessive bikini line hair growth. i am really thin with a nice body except for this problem, and my friends don't understand why i won't put on a swimsuit. does anyone else have thick bikini line hair that extends down your thighs? i looked all over this website and haven't been able to find anyone else with this problem and i've felt so alone for all these years. no one knows my secret.

I think you're probably unaware of the range of pubic hair growth that's common among women.

What you've described doesn't sound all that unusual, but let's take it from basics.

For a start, pubic hair comes about because the pubis and surrounding area are, along with the axillae (armpits) the areas of the body most sensitive to testosterone. That's why women who are not otherwise hairy still have pubic hair and pit hair.

There are some women who have very low levels of free testosterone and who are not very sensitive even to the levels they do have. Women like that may have only a little wispy hair where their outer labia meet and a few traces of armpit hair.

Much more common than that are women who have "female pattern" pubic hair which covers just the area of the pubis and has a straight, horizontal top margin. There are many such women who don't actually need to shave their legs at all, because their legs haven't been sensitized to testosterone and they don't have high enough levels of testosterone to cause hair growth there anyway. That's the classic "female" pattern of hair growth around the world -- hair on the scalp, pubis and axillae.

More common in the US among women is a greater extent of hair growth In other words, most American women come somewhat nearer to the "male" pattern than the "classic female" pattern. e.g. most of us have leg hair; it's extremely common to have a male-type snail-trial from the pubis to the navel, most women develop at least some moustache growth at some point in their life, and so on. Most women in the US have hair growth that's not too different from that of many oriental males (who have, in general, much less body and facial hair than most western males)

With PCOS there's little difference between the hair growth pattern of some -- but not all -- of us and that of our male counterparts in this country, so it's not surprisign if pubic hair extends down the legs some distance.

I think your best course of action is to get a beard trimmer (they're usually better made than similar devices sold as "bikini trimmers" and use it to remove all your pubic hair, then use a men's type electric razor to shave the areas which might be seen outside an ordinary swimsuit.

You're not alone in this.

RunnerDuck · 04-03-2009, 06:21 PM

Shaving that area is a nightmare for me. It gets red, bumpy, irritated. It's like my body is laughing at me. "Ha ha. think you can hide the hair? Take THIS!!!" (nasty red bumps... )

So I wax it, or epilate. Waxing ay home is messy as hell, but less painful because it's QUICK. Epilating is cleaner but you have to have more fortitude. A glass of wine helps.

Or weed, if you're into that.

Now a caveat - not all my hair responds well to epilating. On my lower legs I get ingrowns, irritated follicles... but over the years waxing in the "bikini region" has really thinned out and improved the hair. So that's the only place I ever do it now. Your mileage may vary.

Get a wax job to get rid of it fast - then maintain with an epilator.

ttara123 · 04-03-2009, 07:53 PM

I second the waxing/epilating idea. Ripping the hair out at the root will take away that look of being able to see the hair under the skin (I know just what you're talking about). You do have to grow it out long enough for the wax to grip, but then at least you can wear a bathing suit more than it sounds like you can now.

I did just buy an epilator and while I don't find it to be too bad most places, I CANNOT for the life of me epilate around the "lips" - SO painful. I've had mixed success with at-home waxes.

jeminijad · 04-03-2009, 11:59 PM

Wax, wax, wax. The tops of the thighs are not difficult for me at least to do. A kit you can microwave would work well.

februarystar · 04-04-2009, 12:09 AM

I'm with the epilating. Start with painkillers or a large glass of wine then tackle it. Persist with it for 3 or 4 times and you'll soon have the pain down to a more than bearable level.

Epilating has done fantastic things for my lower legs - I'm now confident with wearing skirts and shorts even if there is a bit of growth there because the epilating has made the hair much finer and more 'wispy'. I'm slowly working my way up to my bikini line. Its a great feeling when its all done because my legs look like all the other legs I've seen!

OhDarling! · 04-04-2009, 11:29 PM

i suffer from this as well. since i'm single at the moment i don't worry about it too much but in the summer time i tend to shave or use depilatories. they aren't the greatest but they don't irritate my skin (or hurt! hehehe) This summer i'm hoping to wax everything off... but having a bit of a tan i find helps with the "shadow" of the hair under the skin. if you get a nice glow -- it helps! (i know tanning is bad but if it makes me feel better...)

ANB614 · 04-05-2009, 07:03 PM

You are definitely not along Jess! I hate that look of hair still being present even after shaving... little dots all over my legs. Do you have a pale complexion? Maybe tanning could help make it less noticeable?

Have you looked into laser hair removal? I go to a place here that is $99 a session for the bikini area and the lady will do pretty far down and all around. I had pretty dark and thick hairs that grew pretty far up my stomach and now its almost smooth 4 sessions later. Some places will even offer buy one get one free packages, so you could get another area done (I've also had underarms done before). I wish I had some pictures to show the difference (on my underarms anyway).

lightfello · 04-05-2009, 07:22 PM

I had my bikini line and navel done by American Laser. I had great results and no longer need to shave it. I've had some hair regrowth on my navel and it's light and whispy. You can barely see it and it doesn't bother me. It's worth it if you can find something affordable. The place I went to did 6 paid sessions and then you can come in for up to 2 years after that for free.
Good luck.

KristinMJ79 · 04-07-2009, 07:39 PM

I also had the same problem and I had 5 sessions of laser hair removal at Reveal MedSpa. It wasn't super cheap but it has helped a great deal. They usually say that the hair can be completely removed after that many sessions but that's not the case with everyone. After my 5 session, the hair is mostly gone but not completely. I would be able to shave with no problem if I didn't get the terrible razor burn, so I just get the rest waxed once a month for $60. I think its worth it if its practicle with our budgets. The laser hair removal tends to work best for people who have a paler complection and darker hair. The only drawback to it is that it hurts temporarily and can sometimes very slightly discolor your skin. Good luck!

Chrissstine · 04-16-2009, 04:15 AM

It's best NOT to shave. I use cold wax strips, in combination with an epilator and tweezers. It takes some time and it is very painfull, but it's worth it. The hair grows back a lot thinner afterwards! The pain also gets less after a couple of times. It helps when you put some ice on the area before the hair removal. It also helps to take a paracetamol / ibuprofen an hour before...!The areas that really are TOO pain full to wax are probably the areas that are covered by your bikini, so you can shave that.

I use Braun Silk épil and can't live without him anymore!