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It's embarrassing to be a hairy beast. At least that's how your daughter feels when she suddenly realizes that she has a layer of fine black hairs blanketing her legs or dangling from her underarms. Or worse, if someone's pointed the offensive hairs out to her before she's noticed them herself, she's humiliated. And, she needs your help to learn to get rid of it. You've got to teach her to shave.

SET THE STAGE
She is on the path to becoming a woman and this is one of those times that you need to make her feel special with her own things. Take her to the store and let her pick out her own shaving supplies. Get her a basket or a plastic tub, whatever works, and tell her what she'll need to put in it. Let her pick the brands but make supplies. She'll need a razor, shaving cream and lotion.

LATHERING UP (THE LEGS)
She's going to normally shave in the tub or in the shower, but you obviously won't be with her then, so this time, fill the tub with about 2 inches of water and ask her to put on a pair of shorts or her bathing suit and have her sit on the edge. While your daughter will ultimately need to learn to shave her underarms and her bikini area as well, start with the legs. Teach her how to lather up with the shaving lotion, showing her how much she'll need for the legs. It's probably a good idea to do one leg at a time.

THE RAZOR
Show your daughter which way to hold the razor, which way the head goes and which way the blade faces. You'll want to explain how much pressure she'll need to use. Some people suggest practicing on an orange first, but that's probably not necessary and you'll be assured of getting an eye-roll and a sigh, and most likely a shout of, "Lame!" if you suggest it. Just make sure that you remind her that minimal pressure is necessary. Remind her that even less pressure is necessary on the knee.
A good tip to give your daughter is to remind her to use warm water, or to make sure she's taking a warm shower when she shaves, otherwise she'll get the dreaded goose bump effect. If it's cold when she shaves, she'll be more likely to end up with cuts and nicks.

LOTION
If your daughter shaves too close, you might want to advise your daughter to hold off on applying lotion until about an hour or so after her shave as it might irritate her sensitive skin. Otherwise, make sure that she applies lotion after she shaves to lock in moisture that she lost from shaving.

THE "OTHER" SHAVING
It's important to make sure that you remind your daughter to lather her underarms before she shaves them. A lot of women, in a hurry, skip this step. But, perspiration and heat can cause excessive irritation in this area, compound that with deodorant applied to broken skin from shaving and you have a potential for irritation overload. Help your daughter with shaving this sensitive area for the first time.

Once you've gone through the leg and the underarm areas, your daughter should be comfortable holding the razor and with working with the lather. Explain to her that she has her bathing suit on and that she can see the line where she would want hair to stop, but that skin there is very sensitive and that she needs to be especially conscious of this. You should let her do this area by herself.
Finally, make sure that you explain to your daughter that she needs to clean up the bathroom when she's done. Part of shaving and growing up is being responsible for her space.

Shaving is a big step for her and for you. It's one of those little reminders that your little girl is becoming a little woman. Approach the subject with tenderness, fun and humor.

References:
http://parentingtee ns.about.com/od/teenhealth/ht/ girlshowtoshave.htm

Learn more about this author, Rachel Mcclain.
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