Upper Lip Hair

E.,
So sorry your daughter has this problem at such a young age. But I too had the same problem.
Plucking won't work, it is too painful (speaking from experience). Chemicals should not even be considered, so what is your option?
Laser hair removal. Maybe some moms here could recommend a laser treatment place, but find one that your comfortable with, and if you can't afford it, they will work out a payment
plan for you. It would be well worth it. And, it's the most permanent way to get rid of the hair, and I think, probably the safest.

Just see if it lightens up in the summer sun..

jolene is the best but you need to do it for her, OR better yet make her go to the salon, I believe this is a young age but if she has the hair and its enough for you to feel concern for her then use your mom instincts and teach her

in general i think 13 is a better age.
But you don't want her being teased either. Specailly when its something you could prevent fairly easily

Good lUck

M

I am Italian/Puerto Rican (dark & hairy), and when I was 12 I used a bleaching product. I have to say, I don't recommend it for a 9 yr old. I was never really happy with the results anyways, because instead of a dark upper lip, you can get an oddly light patch above your lip from the bleach.

The ingredients in these products are not safe for a child (or anyone). Your skin absorbs up to 60% of what you put on it, and it gets absorbed directly into your bloodstream. At least when you ingest toxins in foods or drugs, they are filtered by your kidneys first. Cosmetics go right through your skin and into your bloodstream, not to mention the horrible fumes of bleach you inhale when it's sitting right under your nose for 5-10 minutes. Consider that people are now using birth control patches and nicotine patches- even pain killer patches in hospitals- as science has learned how much we absorb into our bodies through our pores. Back when all these products were developed, people thought skin was more like shoe leather and didn't really take in what was applied to its surface. The FDA doesn't regulate cosmetics with the attention food and drugs get- so YOU must discriminate and educate yourself on what is safe. The basic guideline would be- IF YOU WOULDN'T PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH, DON'T PUT IT ON YOUR SKIN!

I just pluck any unwanted hair- safer, cheaper, effective. Plucking can be painful at first, but if your daughter is bothered by the hair, she will not be deterred.

As Beth said, Nads has great products for hair removal and bleach. However, at 9 years old your daughters skin, and body image are way too young and sensitive to deal with hair removal yet. Let her come to you. My daughter will be 9 next month and it's all I can do not to pluck between her eyebrows!

I find that Nads hair remover is great for tother areas. How brave is your daughter and does this really bother her or just you? It takes a little time to learn how to use it most effectively so I would try it on your legs first and get a feel for it. When you are comfortable with it, let her watch. Then ask her if she would like to try it on her lip. This removes the hair, I don't know anything about bleaching it.

I think your daughter is way too young to be concerned with this. Once you/she start(s) messing with this, it'll be a lifelong thing. I hope you consider this deeply before telling a 9 yr old that she needs to be concerned with facial hair.

Hi E.,

Is she getting hair anywhere else? If so, I would have a chat with her pediatrician about nonclassical congenital adrenal hyperplasia, a genetic endocrine disorder that is not-too-rare among people of Mediterranean, Hispanic or Ashkenazi Jewish descent. To make a long story short, people with the milder version of NCAH make excess male hormones and experience precocious puberty in varying degrees. Carriers of the gene can have symptoms. I spent years being told by internists, endocrinologists (!!!!), gynecologists and aestheticians that my hairiness wasn't anything that couldn't be explained by my ethnic background (Hispanic and Mediterranean, coincidentially enough). It wasn't until my daughter started growing fuzz that her pediatrician and ped endocrinologist ran the necessary tests and diagnosed her with NCAH. They then turned to me and said, "Umm, maybe you should see an adult endocrinologist?" I did -- I have it too! If only I'd been diagnosed earlier and started on the right meds, I might have saved thousands of dollars in hair removal and been spared all sorts of grief as a tween-teen.

For more information, please see www.caresfoundation.org.

Hopefully your daughter doesn't have NCAH. However, when I read Greek descent, nine years old and dark shadow, it reminded me too much of my history. Best of luck and please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Take care,

Y.