Body Hair Why do bees have sticky hair? Because they use honeycombs! Here is a surprise you may have noticed already: Hair does not just grow on top of your head! In fact, hair grows in a lot of places on your body. Places like your arms and your legs but even a few more places you may not have considered, like your underarms and your pubic area. We will discuss your pubic area (the V-shaped lower part of your belly right above your private part) soon. For now, let''s focus on your overall hair growth. Is it normal to have body hair? Absolutely! Body hair is something that you should not be ashamed of. It simply means that you are growing up and your body is making the necessary changes for you to mature. Guess what? Your parents have plenty of body hair! Did you know that your body hair protects you from different things like dust? Yep. That''s right.

The hair in your nose, ears, and especially your eyelashes are there to keep your body safe. Hair on your legs, arms, and other places is there to protect the skin. If you are really hairy, then your body hair can also keep you warm! Hair Changes & Textures You may notice that your hair texture changes depending on where it is located on your body. Your pubic hair may be thicker and kinkier than the hair on your head. Your arm hair may be softer than your leg hair. The hair under your arms can feel wispy and barely visible. Your hair is unique just like you are. Remember earlier, we talked about how body hair is normal and nearly everyone grows hair? While this is true, you may notice some adults and even older siblings don''t have any body hair.

Why is this? When you become older, you have the option to either keep or remove your body hair. It is important to know you should never attempt to remove body hair on your own for the first time. Talk to a trusted adult about your options for hair removal or if you should remove it at all. You are perfectly okay if you decide to keep all your body hair. Take a moment and look at your legs, arms, armpits, and pubic area. Do you have hair in these places? If so, is the hair different or the same as the other places on your body? Can you count the number of hairs under your arms? Describe the hair on the different parts of your body. To Shave Or Not To Shave, That Is The Question There are two main ways you can go about hair removal: shaving and waxing. Neither should be tried without talking to a trusted adult first.

Shaving involves using a razor pressed up against the skin to cut the hair down to the skin. The hair will normally begin to grow back within a few hours and by the next day, you will notice prickly hair has sprouted again. When shaving, you want to use a good and lathering shaving cream to protect and moisturize your skin. Razors are typically safe but shaving on dry skin can cause skin irritation and ingrown hairs or hair bumps. Ingrown hairs happen when the hair grows under the skin in the wrong direction, resulting in a dark or painful red bump on the skin. Avoid hair bumps by shaving in the direction that your hair grows. On your legs is the only time you want to shave against the hair growth. Remember, talk to a trusted adult before attempting to shave.

You could cut yourself and become injured otherwise. It is also important to change your razors. Do not use a razor more than 5-10 times. You can then discard your razor and replace it with a clean one. Knowing your hair texture is also important when it comes to shaving. Depending on your race (the color of your skin as it relates to skin and hair texture), you may be more prone to ingrown hairs. If you are White or Asian, your hair may be whisper and softer. If you are Black, Native American, American Indian, or Pacific Islander, your hair may be thicker and coarser.

Thicker hair tends to grow as ingrown when shaving incorrectly than thin hair. Knowledge is power! Learning about what makes you uniquely different matters all the way down to how you may shave in the future. What About Waxing? The other way to remove body hair is by waxing. Waxing is when you use wax (wax is created by honeybees!) or very hot sugar to remove hair from your body. The wax grasps the hair, and you pull the wax back quickly to pull the hair from the follicle all the way to the root of the hair. The hair follicle is the shaft opening in which the hair grows through the skin. Some girls experience fuzzy eyebrows during puberty, and you may feel the overwhelming urge to have hair removed from your face to give your eyebrows more shape. This is typically done by waxing.

Do not attempt to shave your eyebrows! You may end up looking like a one-brow bandit! Funny story: When I was in 7th grade, I wanted to have my eyebrows waxed, but my mother told me, "No! You''re too young. Wait until you get older." I did not listen and tried to shave my eyebrows without my mother knowing. I accidentally shaved my entire eyebrow off and spent my summer without eyebrows. Moral of the story: listen to your parents! Is Pubic Hair "Normal"? Did you know that pubic hair can begin growing as young as 6 years old?! The average girl begins growing pubic hair between the ages of 8-13 years but if yours comes a little early, do not be alarmed! Pubic hair is completely natural. What is the purpose of pubic hair? Pubic hair actually does a lot of really cool things, like protect your body from bacteria. Think of pubic hair like your eyelashes and nose hair. It protects your vagina skin from allowing dirt to touch your body the same way your eyelashes protect your eyes from dirt entering your eyeballs.

Your pubic hair also produces natural body oils called sebum , which also protects against bacteria. Earlier, we discussed how your hair texture can change on different parts of your body. If you are melanated, you may notice your pubic hair is much curlier on your vagina than on your head, arms, or legs. Your body is so smart! Your hair can be thicker and curlier below to prevent friction from your clothing and to catch the pheromones (or your body''s natural odor through your sweat glands) that are released when you are active or hot. Later in your journal, we will discuss the importance of hygiene, especially during puberty and your period. A gentle reminder: Your private area is exactly that: private . Using proper names for your sexual anatomy is extremely important. Let''s finish up with the stages of puberty first, and together, we can learn the correct names for your private body parts.