personal hi gene and shaving

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my girl is 13 and has b o problems. she hates to shave but is very hairy. any ideas for de sensitising her skin so she can shave her arm pits. she uses deoderant but it isnt enough. she is at high school and the other girls are making it hard for her and saying she stinks.i have 2 children but the oldest is very vain and looks after her personal hi gene well ?any ideas for my lovely girl and me please?

Very few men shave their armpits, and not all of them stink. I'd guess it's the deodorant, not the hair. I only shave mine when I have to wear something sleeveless or go to the doctor, and I don't have a problem. I use Mitchum gel, and it works very well. Also, wash there every day or use one of those baby wipes instead at the very least. I hope that helps.

I also had this issue at puberty...very embarrassing....frequent cleaning with wet wipes can help and I also highly recommend Mitchem....You really can skip a day....it's also something I think she may outgrow....I have very little BO even without deodorant now,unless its very hot.And if she does feel willing to shave...make sure she strokes down and maybe some alovera gel instead of shaving cream...havent tried this myself but seems like it might help.

what about one of those hair removal creams instead of shaving ?

I cant touch the under arm area. I have big problems. But then again i do dress in an odd way so no hair shows.

this is tough for most of us Americans, but shaving is not a hygiene issue, it's cosmetic. When sleeveless tops/dresses were introduced in (circa) 1913, the ads featured bare armed women. Then Gillette jumped on the opportunity to have it instilled in women that it was cleaner to shave.
It took me years to deprogram myself that it was okay not to shave.
Some deodorants work better than others. Tom's isn't helpful for gnarly BO. I use it now because my system has tempered. Body deodorants (sprays) or fragrant soaps and lotions may help.
Diet may also be a factor, her body may be excreting a lot junk food or stuff and that stinks.

Did you know,

Its better to not shave than it is to shave.

You didnt mention if she showers every day or not. This was a big issue with my son. He hates to shower. I frequently buy new and interesting (different bottles) soap/body washes and shampoo to keep him interested. I told him its not a choice, he HAS to take a shower before school and so far its been ok. I dont know if this will work with your daughter... good luck.

There's nothing inherently wrong in having hair. You can wear clothes that hide the armpits if you don't want anyone to know.

With the odour, an antiperspirant deodorant would be best. You can get deodorants for "problem perspiration" which are very effective. They are expensive but often you do not need to apply them every day.

ok is your daughter on any meds that could be promoting this? meds and certain foods she might be eating could promote her to have more odors. taking a shower every day is also very important to this. i don't agree with the person who think shaving does not help with the odor. take it from someone who has been there and done it.. when my arm pits are over grown (beacuse I hate to shave in the winter unless I must) they can become smelly in an instant. also certain meds can make a person sweat more than others... i really think it should be something she is introduced to gradually and remind her thats its important fro her to not have body ordor when she is a young person because people never forget this and it follows her into adulthood.. washing with deodorant soap in that area also helps and then she should apply deodrant. my mom said I started having an odor like that when I was in 2nd grade.. my skin was and is sensitive. i always used Secret and they changed their formula and i used Ban and now I use DOVE because it is very smooth and sensitive for my skin.

Stress can also generate lots of B.O. because it releases homones like adreneline into the body, and also makes one sweat more (even when they are not hot) Excessive B.O. may be a sign of other issues going on at school that she may be having trouble with. You did mention that the other kids were giving her trouble with these issues. It may be a visious cycle...other kids make fun of her, she gets stressed and breaks out in cold sweats, gets B.O, & the kids make fun of her BO, causing more stress....etc. You may want to look into some underlying stressful issues that may be affecting her and starting this.

If she's not showering, which may be the start of the issue to begin with, there may be something with the act of bathing and showering itself that she's trying to avoid. Is the water pressure too high? What about the shower head you have? She may like bathing versus showering, encourage her to try that. It could also be the pungent smells of the soaps, deodorants and other hygene stuff. I know I don't particularly like the strong smells of soaps and lotions. This issue may be as simple as buying unscented hygene supplies.

Shaving can be an issue with anybody. Rubbing blades and other things across one's skin can be particularly uncomfortable. If this is the source of the difficulty, like others have said, this is something that can probably be skipped, but I would recommend that your daughter wear clothing that would not expose areas that need to be shaven, and thus avoid the other kids ragging on her (and starting the B.O. cycle) For instance, she sould wear slacks, or opaque pantyhose that would cover her legs, and have her wear sleeved shirts that would not expose her unshaven armpits. Also, you could pick out some looser clothing for her. While this may not be that particularly in style for girls, clothing that "breathes" better will allow sweat to evaporate off her before it has a chance to build up and create undesireable odors.

I would not worry too much about the shaving, as the others here have indicated, this is a social norm here in the states that has been dictated to us by the media. I would however, insist that she shower on a daily basis, even if it results in daily battles. It has been a battle that my son and I have been going through for years. Eventualy, it will become habit. Mitchum deoderant is awesome! The even have an extra strength formula that can work miracles.

Adolesence is hard enough on kids that we consider "neurotypical". It is a time when we struggle with how we are going to fit in. Children with asperger's have a whole different set of challanges thrown in, and how their pits smell might not be high on their list of priorities. But these children are creatures of habit, so teaching them good hygene at an early age, and turning it into habit, is the best bet.