I have very hairy arms. I’m pale and I have dark brown arms hair. It’s never really bothered me, but now that I’m 30 I’m starting to feel self conscious about it. I used to shave my arms, but I deal with folliculitis when I shave, so my arms would just been bumpy and itchy. I’ve let my arms hair be since 2018.
But now I’m just feeling very aware and unattractive with my hairy arms. Maybe I should start waxing? Any women here with hairy arms, what do you do? Or do you just let it be? Maybe I’m overthinking? 😅
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I think some people choose to lighten the hair instead of shaving or waxing if hair removal causes skin issues. I have medium-ish hairy forearms but the hair is light so it’s not as noticeable.
Laser hair removal, it will solve all your problems!!!
have you tried epilating? i usually have a couple glasses of wine, then epilate my arms when im feeling self conscious about them. i am pale and have fine black arm hair. i usually don’t care but then sometimes i do care (no rhyme or reason, sometimes it just occurs to me that i don’t like it). you’re not alone!
I let it be. I have light skin and pretty dense brown arm hair. I didn’t notice it until I was a teenager and my mother tried to point it out in a positive light (“I had a cousin with arm hair like yours and I was so jealous of her growing up” “wait, arm hair like what?”) I shaved it a couple times but didn’t like the look or feel of it growing back so I’m just a mammal and it’s fine.
IPL. It’s long term, inexpensive, painless, and you can do it at home.
i use Veet sensitive skin cream. it works well and lasts a long time. i’ve done laser on other places and had good results with that, i just didnt wana pay for it for my arms so i just continue using the cream! it lasts pretty long and doesn’t grow back spiky lol
I have PCOS, and my arm hair used to be very thick and coarse. It’s come down quite a bit since I started medication (Spironolactone & birth control) – but before meds my management of choice was bleaching it.
I have hairy arms lol they’re not that dark, but they’re kinda long 😂 I only shave them for vacation. Otherwise, I leave them be because idc that much. My husband has never cared 🤷♀️ He’s hairy too, so it works out, I guess, hah
I got laser hair removal, and it got rid of 70% of the arm hair. It makes it much less noticeable so that I don’t feel I need to shave all of the time, but I do still shave my arms sometimes. Waxing is my preferred method with epilating a close (and much cheaper) second.
Hi! I’m an extremely hairy Jewish woman with pale skin and black hair who used to shave everything but now I don’t even shave my legs or armpits.
Living in a queer community has been extremely liberating. Almost all the women around me don’t shave. I tend to date very progressive or queer men who have had no issues with me being hairy. It’s when I leave my town that I feel self conscious.
I feel very passionately that women should not be expected to shave. And the only way we can shift this expectation is by refusing to shave. I find this difficult and absolutely experience self consciousness, but it’s worth it because I know that by walking around with all my hair, I’m showing women and men that my natural body is good enough. It took some time but I now find it extremely empowering!!
You can bleach it
It sounds like at home IPL would be a good fit for you. I have the Braun device and highly recommend it
I used to bleach mine when I used to be very hairy 😅
Then it all fall out. No idea what happened.
My best friend has very hairy arms. She bleaches the hair.
I am actually kind of envious—I have no hair on my arms and my scars and crepey skin are very apparent.
if you shave again, what is your aftercare like? that makes all the difference for if you get problems after
for instance a decade ago, women on reddit were vouching for slapping some Tendskin toner on it after, then exfoliating (Stridex counts btw because it’s a BHA chemical exfoliator) into moisturizer in the days after
women have used stridex wipes on their legs for many decades too for same reason, it breaks through clogged pores
I used to be very self conscious about it, but men aren’t shamed for hairy arms. Why should we feel shame over something our body does naturally? To fit a beauty standard that doesn’t naturally exist? No thanks.
Its exhausting to fit into someone else’s box of what they think I should look like.
I have half of a sleeve on one of my arms and you can barely see the hair on that side, so thats always an option if you’ve been thinking about tattoos 😛
I’ve been using epilator since I was aroud 13, on my arms as well. It works perfect, after the first couple of times I don’t even feel any pain.
Yeah, I have pale skin and thick, dark arm hair. I’ve never thought of trying to remove it, frankly. In my head, it’s not one of the types of body hair that anyone actually gives a shit about? Like, I went through a rebellious phase in my early 20s where I didn’t shave my legs or pits, and somewhat frequently I’d be wearing a sundress with my hairy legs out and I’d notice someone giving me dirty looks. Nobody’s ever given me dirty looks over my hairy arms. Obviously that’s not an airtight reason not to remove it if YOU hate it, but social pressure plays a pretty big role in what modifications to my appearance I feel the need to make, and socially, I always got the idea that having hairy arms was kind of a nothingburger.
I honestly don’t think anyone cares, so you shouldn’t feel self-conscious. I shave mine but I do it because I want to, not because of what people might think. And as an arm shaver, I don’t even notice if women have dark arm hair. If someone does judge others for it, then they’re not worth anything anyways
Did laser hair removal. Best thing ever!!
Laser hair removal worked for me! Expensive but so worth it
I got mine laserd off and it was the best thing I ever did for myself.
I’ve kind of embraced mine as I’ve gotten to late 20s. For funsies I attatch those clip on extensions sometimes to just have fun with it. Like, I forever keeping my hairy arms rather than feel the prickles of shaving or having to pay to remove it. They’re you. And beauty is subjective to everyone. Of course societal standards exist but there’s nothing wrong with not conforming to them because they’re trends anyway. It’ll change into something else soon enough.
I let it be. Honestly, not worth the money, time or effort to worry about it. Im also not trying to attract people or give a fuck what they think. If they are really upset about it they can go punch my old man who gave it to me. 🤷🏻♀️
My arms are pretty hairy and idgaf to be honest, I barely shave my legs and bikini and that is annoying, expensive, and time consuming enough that I really don’t want to add more body parts to the routine.
I wax them. I’ve waxed them so much that they are now barely there at 40+. I also have the opposite problem to you. I am beige/olive toned/brown depending on sun exposure and have blond body hair and I get asked if I bleach my body hair or get snide remarks like “ you know bleaching them doesn’t make them go away” or something equally stupid. Like no shit Sherlock. I don’t actually feel shame as much as when I am sweaty they can feel uncomfortable.
I have hairy arms. I was called a Sasquatch, I was made fun of growing up for it. Now it doesn’t bother me. Sometimes I remember that it’s there, but I’m not going to shave it or wax it, I just move on with my day. No one cares about my arm hair, and I don’t care about it either.
I use hard wax on my arms every 4-6 weeks.
I usually don’t do anything, but if I’m wanting to feel less like a gorilla I use my husband’s beard trimmer with a short guard on it. It’s still visible but isn’t as alarmingly long.
I have the same thing, but it’s never been brought up to me in a negative way by anyone before.
However, if you want to address it for your own comfort, I’d recommend lighting it? In the summer, it doesn’t take much time at all for the hairs on my arms to get bleached by the sun.
Those hairs stay blonde probably into early winter. I’m sure there’s a very gentle hair bleach you could use. It wouldn’t take much product or time at all to get long-lasting results.
Light skin brown hairy arms here too. I don’t care. I’ve never shaved my arms. Someone mentioned it in high school and I thought it was crazy that they would even do that. So then I was self-conscious about it for a little while but not enough to shave. Now I never even think about it except for when I go for a manicure and they rub lotion all over my hairy arms. But shaving your legs is hassle enough. I’m a mammal and mammals have body hair. the end
Rock em. I don’t shave my armpits, either. Never had a problem attracting partners. I had a friend tell me once she admired my armpit hair and decided to stop shaving after seeing mine! It’s all about confidence, babe.
My niece’s 7 year old friend looked at me and said “hmm… you have hairy arms!” and I looked down and said “you know what, you’re right!”
I had REALLY hairy arms but it never bothered me. Early thirties and I got my arm hair lasered off, and I’m 95% hairless on my arms now. It’s great! Super easy to do, just a little spicy, and I think it cost me $700 total for 7 treatments.
Note: make sure it’s laser and not IPL, which is always advertised as laser but it’s not
I’m medium-tan most of the time but working from home the last few years has given me a ~winter glow~ that lasts longer than I’d like. So I started bleaching my arm hair with the boxed sally Hanson kit. It’s like $11 or something and it lasts about a month til the roots come in dark. I used to shave my arms because I’ve always been self conscious of it but in my mid-20s my skin got really sensitive and I’d break out. So I let it grow and started bleaching it so I’d have the sun-kissed feel.
Laser it off. Youll wish you did it sooner
I bleach mine every few months.
Just trim them with a bikini trimmer
If I do anything I use clippers on them instead of shaving. However, I have a substantial amount of both arms covered in tattoos so you can’t even really see the hair anymore lmao
I mean, at the end of any day we are only mammals lol
I wax or epilate mine once in a blue moon… And only because other people make comments about how hairy they are from time to time :/ I don’t think they’re even that hairy, it’s thinned out a lot from when I was a kid so I don’t see what the big deal is but every now and then I’ll feel insecure about it and take it all off.
Appreciate all of the comments/advice and glad to know I am not alone! 🩷
When I was younger, I was very embarrassed of my arm hair, even though it turned blonde in the summer and was never particularly dark.
I shave it now, but not a close shave because I don’t want stubble. I use a regular disposable razor and just give it a few light swipes up and down the arm – not across against the grain which would be a close shave. That way it gets thinned out and there is no stubble.
The only reason I’m told I should care about my body hair is for the pleasure of men. So, when I am dating men, I use it as a litmus test. I’ve always had better sex with men who don’t care/actively enjoy hair. I’m not going to waste my time with anyone who had a problem with it.
Also, I did wax my arms once for a wedding. It made my wrists look fat, and I hated that more than the hair.
It’s normal to have hair on your body.
I just let it grow.
I only shave my beard, that’s about it. Everything else is just growing as intented by nature, with a little trim here and there.
Never even considered shaving my arms.
Men aren’t usually shaving their arms, so I don’t see a reason to do so as a woman either.
I use Sally Hansen’s full body bleaching cream. They have a new formulation that’s super easy to use. It lightens and softens the hair , making it less noticeable. I’ve been doing it for years on my arms and my upper back. I did laser in the past, but it just grew back. This has been the best option for me.
My hair is medium brown but I’m pale so it’s visible. I epilate twice a year and that sorts it – it grows so slowly that I don’t need to do it more often as it just looks naturally sparse while it’s growing back. Been doing it for 20 years and don’t intend to stop.
Just leave em be!
I don’t have hairy arms but as a child my nanny had very hairy arms and I loved it about her! I don’t know why exactly but hairy arms on women is so beautiful to me!
I use to bleach mine. But at 30 i dont care that much. I might do it occasionally for an event, like a wedding. But i say let it be.
I go out in the sun a bit and it turns my hair blonde.
How hairy is hairy? Next to my Asian bestie, I’m a beast. Next to my middle eastern coworker I’m baby smooth.
If it bothers you, get rid of it. It’s literally on of the easiest things to do. BUT it doesn’t have to bother you.
Hello!
I’ve literally just bought myself one of those “magic eraser” things for hair removal. Used it yesterday and went from hobbit arms to baby-smooth in just a few minutes.
I was super sceptical about them, but they seem to work! (For me, anyway.) So IF you want to remove the hair, this is a very affordable option.
I shave the fuck out of my arms and have for years and years bc I have very dark hair and nothing else dark
I have hairy arms, too. They’re light and thin, but they’re LONG, like an inch +, and all over the place.
I trim them from time to time in the summer.
I have very hairy arms (and everywhere else) but it’s improved since using a home IPL device. They are such a worthwhile investment if you can afford it.
I epilate mine! Lasts about a month. Not too painful.
One of my roommates in college was a pale blonde girl. All her body hair was blonde. Even this girl shaved her arms. Truly shocking cuz no one could see it anyway.
Idk if this helps you at all, but women just need to stop changing their bodies for others. Do what makes YOU comfortable.
Same, but with legs instead of arms. I have a very light skin, but coarse dark hair. I just gave up..
I have hairy arms, hands and fingers. I typically shave them once a week. Yes they’re stubbly towards the end of the week, but no one seems to pay attention to that. Although I don’t have as strong contrast between my hair and skin color, as my hairs are more like light brown in that area, so that might be a reason the stubble isn’t standing out a lot.
I have fuzzy arms. I think it’s just fine. But do with it as you see fit.
I have extremely hairy arms, I always joke I have the arms of an Italian monster. I’m Hispanic but pale so all the hairs are black. It was really hard on my self esteem growing up, I remember being called a wooly mammoth. I bleached and shaved them a few times in high school but eventually stopped because it was too much of a hassle. I’m 32 and have totally made peace with them, all mammals have hair, while some women are hairier and it’s a normal variation!! Beauty standards are made up oppressive patriarchal capitalist bullshit and the most progressive thing to do is challenge them.
I have PCOS and Im part Latina, Im hairy everywhere except my back thank god.
Pre pandemic I would shave my legs, pits, sideburns and mustache constantly, I never cared about my arm hair though. Its so fine and thin I dont think it matters, same for the hair on my thighs.
During and post Pandemi, I dont shave or wax at all, maybe Ill use a face razor on my eyebrows and sometimes my mustache but thats it. I have sensitive skin on my legs and breakout after shaving and waxing is so expensive, and frankly I dont care anymore.
Body hair is natural and normal.
Laser hair removal
The weird thing is that my arm hair completely disappeared at menopause. There’s not even the slightest bit of fluff. I kind of miss it a little.
I used to be so self-conscious about my arms! I would always wear long sleeves even when the weather was nice 🙁 At one point I just gave up, stopped paying so much attention and now it doesn’t bother me at all
Good luck 🫶
I have hairy arms!!! black hair + pale white skin. I am 27, and working to overcome my internal shame. Previously shaved my arms since 14.
You’re entitled to do whatever you’d like with your arm hair. Do what feels right, but just try to examine if you are doing it out of shame and if you could overcome that. If not then just do whatever you need to
I stopped caring about this in my teens, I’m hairy, that’s who I am 🤷🏻♀️