Like most of us growing up, I was insecure about sooooo many things. So. Many. Things. Some of those things were just growing pains of course. You remember the days don’t you? Buck teeth, awkward body, acne, female body hair growth… the list goes on and I’m sure it looks a bit different for you.

Me? I’m blessed to come from genetics with dark brown, almost black, body hair. In excess according to some, and I was so insecure about this as a teenager. Why did all my girlfriends have this delicate, fine, blond body hair? Why did mine look more like my Dad’s?! Now don’t get me wrong, I know there is nothing wrong with this. But for me, in adolescence, it just didn’t feel good.

Female Body Hair Growth and Self-Esteem

I was made fun of for body hair once or twice and it was “mentioned” more than a few times. Having attention on it from other people ultimately created the sensitivity for me. It sucks being called out for something you have zero control over and in the end, too much of my energy was spent worrying about it.

As an adult, I think that if you want to make changes to something about yourself, and it improves your quality of life, then go for it! That doesn’t mean we can’t work on accepting the wound or reason behind the insecurity. But it does mean that life is short. If you have the means or opportunity to get rid of that insecurity, either mentally or physically, please carry on my friend!

Pregnancy Body Hair Changes

After having two children my hormones went into a tornado of chaos. It can take years for hormones to “even out” and they may ultimately change forever. It would have been nice if my female body hair growth lessened a bit from the fluctuations, but it didn’t. Instead, it became even more coarse and difficult to manage. Shaving every single day was a must and razor burn was a luxury I came to expect.

One year for my birthday my husband gave me a gift certificate to a med spa where they offered laser hair removal. Pricey? Yup. But I decided this whole body hair issue had gone on long enough and splurged on the service. At the time my underarms were my biggest annoyance. I was often afraid of raising my arms up in the summer because I was embarrassed by how dark it appeared. A five o’clock shadow was there 24-7 and I longed for body hair freedom.

My Laser Hair Removal Experience

If you aren’t aware, laser hair removal is not a guaranteed service. You can expect the best results from laser hair removal if you have light skin and dark hair. It can take more treatments than you expect meaning a higher price tag but for me, I didn’t really give a shit about complete removal. I cared way more that it lessened and thinned the hair enough that I didn’t feel so embarrassed in my skin.

By the way, laser hair removal treatments can hurt! But beauty is pain and after the first session, I purchased a lidocaine cream I found on Amazon. I’d apply it about 30 minutes before the session, cover it in saran wrap, and drive to my appointment. It made a huge difference! I have a pretty high pain tolerance but maybe it was that area specifically?

After a session, the area feels prickly after for a few days. Almost like it gets worse before it gets better with a very coarse hair feel to it. This is all part of the process.

I’m happy to report that even after a single treatment, I noticed some changes and was more than a little excited!

When the treatments were complete, there was a massive improvement in hair growth on my underarms and thus, my frickin self-esteem. I can’t begin to explain the freedom I felt from simply not having to shave every single day and for that reason alone, I wanted to write this post so that you too find body hair freedom!

Treatment Expectations – Body Hair Growth

As a lover and investigator of all things beauty and skincare, one of my pet peeves is that people expect an all-or-nothing solution. They expect that what works for someone else will work for them and when it doesn’t, they claim and share with others that it’s a crap method or product. I believe it’s important to change your perspective on this a bit. For example, if you’re someone who stresses over body hair and someone you know said it “didn’t work for them”, well what does that mean?

Were they the right candidate in terms of skin and hair? Did they commit or fall out of treatment? Did they use a reputable professional? And lastly, do their expectations and values match up to yours? What makes you feel good could be very different from Sally down the street.

The boost in self-esteem I received from a decrease in female body hair growth made treatments well worth the money. But it also made me want to do more of my body of course! As I often do, I started investigating at-home laser hair removal, if it works and which devices provided the best results. If you prefer a little DIY beauty instead, check out this blog post to see how it compares to the spa.

Have you invested in any beauty treatments that were 100% worth it? Let me know in the comments and don’t forget to subscribe.

Remember friends, just as the great Ice Cube once said… Chickity Check yo’ self before you wreck yo’ self.