I just bought my daughter her first razor today...

Usually girls can't wait to start shaving and usually bug their moms for equipment and permission, so I have no idea. Maybe just give it to her with some shaving cream and tell her if she ever wants to shave, here you go... leave it up to her.

Tell her how much guys hate hairy legs -- I assume we are talking about her legs, right?

or you could buy her ani difranco or lisa loeb cd's, maybe introduce her to the lillith fair type vegan hippy culture

ha ha ha ha

I've said this before, but using a little hair conditioner is so much better than any shaving cream I've ever used.

linkat...I was left on my own learning to shave my legs, so I can say a couple of tips from you would really help.

maybe I'm stupid, but I just discovered after all this years that after taking a few strokes with the razor, to take a back stroke on a part of your leg you've already shaved, to get all the hair out from behind the razor.

this is the stuff moms are around for.

No pits.

Although the hair on her legs are starting to darken - it is the beginning of light arm pit hair.

Yeah - I never really got much input. As a matter of fact - a friend told me I needed to shave my arm pits. It didn't click to me until she did. Then I refused to wear tank tops or anything that showed my pits. My mom finally got the hint and gave me this crappy plug in shaver that ripped the hair from you by the roots. I began stealing some of my dad's razors instead and finally got her to buy or I bought my own razors.

so before my daughter gets embarassed, I decided to go buy her something that looks at least teenish.

I agree about the hair conditioner, works great. This is one of those goofy social things that I think you should be up front about with her. Give her the razor and tell her she can start using it whenever (if ever) she feels the need, and if she has questions you will be happy to help her. Maybe mention the fact that no one helped you into the rituals of adolescence and you would like to be there for her. I had a babysitter who used to do my hair and make-believe shave my legs telling me it's what women do before they go out on a big date. I don't even remember when I started doing it for real.

Those soleil razors are nice.

they come with pink or orange accents.

that's what I'm using now.

I just used conditioner on my legs - why is it better than shaving cream?

Her favorite color is green - I found this one that was green with flowers and looked appropriate for her age.

It one less speciality product to buy. I use Suave brand for .99 cents a bottle and it's fine for all the hair in my house, including the dogs.

Ah, so it's the money and convenience - I thought maybe it softened the skin.

I never did a comparison, so I can't give an answer on that. You'll have to try and let us know. Do one leg with shaving cream and the other with conditioner and report back.

For me it does.

I used all sorts of gels and stuff with moisturizers....always ended up with itchy skin no matter how well I rinsed/ washed it off.

I don't get that using conditioner. No itch, I'm happy.

I'll let you know if it works that way for me, too. Feels nice now, though.

It's great being a guy. No shaved pits.

i know of a person who's father (now deceased, but would be in his late 70's if still alive) shaved his underarm hair for years, claimed he didn't have to use deodorant if shaved