Ladystaches. Discuss.

Do you ever catch your face in a certain light and think, "Good GOD man!  I am the proprietor of a ladystache!"

I had one of those moments today. As usual I just altered the angle of my mirror and pretended it never happened.

Ladystaches of course, are those little faint moustaches we ladies get that kind of perch on the corner regions of our upper lip. They are not serious, nor are they something to get all obsessed about and start peering at your face in your compact at 45 degree angles in sunlight every chance you get and go create a blog called Ladystachette or anything wild like that. No, no, no. But if you are genuinely worried about it may I suggest not to pour hot liquefied wax on it, but rather you purchase a little home bleachy kit, like the ones our friend Andrea makes, and bleach your little ladystache until it's all invisible like.

Trust me on the wax thing. *Whispered* I've seen what happens when girls wax their 'stache; it grows back. In a kind of "more" way. Bleach better.

Donna knew the babies breath might
make her a laughing stock with her
big city friends, but in her heart
she knew she was going to be the most
beautiful bride there ever was, and that
was all there was to it.

Comments

[Rosie]

I used to use Nair on my top lip, but the regrowth is straight away and the hair was quite prickly when growing back. Once, a guy was kissing me, and he commented about the roughness of the regrowth. So that was it. I threw out the Nair and had a lip wax at a salon. Bingo! It now feels oh so smooth and the regrowth is soft. I get it done every 2-3 weeks at a cost of $13. I don't drink alcohol or coffee, or smoke so that $13 is my little luxury I can afford. It makes me feel so much more confident. I have a mixture of fine blonde hair and darker hair. In between waxes I pluck the odd dark hair, if I can see it.

I would not recommend bleaching. I have two friends who bleach and it looks terrible because they have quite a lot of hair. It just looks like a blonde moustache. So it's not getting rid of the problem, just changing its colour.

[Alou]

Do not bleach - repeat - do not bleach. A trusted friend who is also a beautician confirmed that bleach actually thickens the hair shaft and makes them grow thicker, wilder and more unruly.

Therefore, I wax!

[Naked truth]

Ladies, I have one word for you: laser.

I've tried it all.

In the early days I bleached but it only masks the problem for a short while and is for people who like to pretend they don't have an upper lip issue.

I've had electrolysis - because I like torturing myself - and that is a slooooooooow and painful process.

Waxing is so last centuring.

Laser gives long-lasting results - if you can afford it and have the right skin type. I question whether it's permanent because I've had several treatments and it ain't totally disappearing.

Another option is threading - I've had it on my eyebrows and they seem to have grown back slower than from waxing. It can also be done on the upper lip.

It's not easy being us.

[Tee]

I know this is way off topic but my GHD was stood on the other day and it broke (I cried!!) I was just wondering if anyone knew where I could send it to get fixed or if its not worth my while.

Thanks heaps for any help xx

[Sarah]

I am currently having IPL on my underarms, it is fantastic. I have had three treatments and it has decreased the amount of hair heaps. I strongly recommend it to anyone.
I would try it on my upper lip for sure.
It doesnt even hurt.

[Jo]

I'd have to say the best thing - better than bleach and waxing is depilatory cream! A special formula for the face, the hair is gone in 5 minutes, no bumps, and very little grow back!

[Tara]

hahaha!

[Nearly30PanicMerchant]

okay - just went to get the usual mo wax last week when my beautician insisted i have a chin wax as well. She even included a (not appreciated!) look of incredulity when I say "oh no, i don't think I had chin hair".
So I caved.

I thought i was meticulous about unwanted hair! Apparently not! And more disturbing again, where was the hinting/intervention from my friends?!?

[Gnjalrrc]

Very funny pictures movie analyses lwdxpp

[Lorra]

Totally disagree...I bleached when I was really young (like....10) and it didn't do much. You can still see it, and I am pale as hell. It still casts a shadow. Mine is very faint now from years and years of waxing. I still wax is because it casts a minor shadow. I always look younger when I get rid of it.

There is also always threading, as another option.

[Rach]

I don't really have a ladystache, but I do get mysterious gorilla-like chin hairs. I'll be sitting at my desk and suddenly I'll notice this... thing growing out of my jawline. I dont' know which is worse, ladystache or mystery hairs.

[Zainab]

I have to disagree- I think bleaching is worse for the majority of people. The only people it sort of works on is fair-skinned individuals. A much better alternative to waxing/bleaching...would be threading. It doesn't encourage more hair growth because the hair is plucked straight out of the skin, follicle and all. It's more painful, but we're women. We'll deal.

[emma]

hahahahahah!!!!!
so true, so true!

[Kim]

IPL only works on dark hairs because the laser is attracted to the dark root of the hair. You need about 6-8 treatments but everyone is different.
The bumps you get after waxing should go away, but you can try taking an antihistamine before your appointment to lessen the bumps.
I also agree with the make-up and blond hair. Mine always show up in photos because the flash reflects off them.

[Jiji]

I have tanned skin so bleaching will just make it look worse. trust me, i tried! I've also waxed it a few times and that irritates my skin so I try to avoid doing that unless it's an emergency. Now my preferred method is threading. Arabs and Indians alike do this threading technique for the eyebrows, ladystach or even your whole face if you're really hairy (as Arabs and Indians tend to be). I just do it on my eyebrows and upper lip. I'm telling you ladies, your eyebrows will never look better! All hairs are pulled out by the roots and it looks so nice and clean. And it's faster than plucking each hair! I highly recommend you trying it, although I noticed that they aren't that many places that you can do that here in Melbourne.

[Alice]

I used to have quite a noticeable one, but then I started waxing and instead of it growing back more, it sort of thinned it out and made it grow back less. I don't even need to wax really anymore - I just pluck when I get self conscious.

So my advice to tee - wax it. After about 6 months it will pretty much disappear

[Lauren]

Hmm...IPL might be a good solution if it's something that really bugs you and you don't like the idea of waxing or bleaching, but it might leave the area quite red for a few days afterwards and you might need more than on treatment - so I'd wait until you're not going anywhere for a few days to get it done.

[Fruity]

Everyone read the post about waxing by the spooky ghost with no name above Fiona's comment, please. It's roughly 78% more helpful than my post. Mustachy Thanks.

[Shannon]

I have been waxing my upper lip for years and I don't have a problem when it grows back - I have dark hair and was never brave enough to try the bleach. Fruity, you are hilarious, I love this site!!

[Bea]

I too find that make-up sits on top of my ladystache (bleached or un-bleached) creating an unslightly shadow which makes said 'stache more noticeable. I've resorted to waxing mine, but I'm not a particularly hairy gal, so perhaps thats why I dont experience the dreaded "grows-back-10-times-worse" thing many other girls do.

PS Fruity - its good to know even goddess' like you get them!

[tee]

WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU HAVE DARK SKIN AND OBVIOUSLY CAN'T BLEACH?

[Charlotte]

oh thank god you posted this today Fruity - I just noticed my slight ladystache last night and was seriously considering waxing. But considering the way my eyebrows react to waxing I thought it might not be such a good option...will definitely be bleaching instead.

[Chinalilly]

I'd have to agree with the poster below that bleach can make it look worse if you put makeup over it. Makeup does not sit as well on 'peach fuzz' as smooth skin.

I think bleaching can sometimes make it look worse, when you bleach something it swells the hair up so it feels coarser and thicker. When you put makeup over it, then it just sits on the hairs and makes it more unattractive. I wax but only once over each edge of the lip that way there are still some fine hairs there, it doesn't grow back more. It just seems that way because you get used to looking at your lovely smooth upper lip and then ...its not. If you do get a breakout after waxing a tip is to wrap an ice cube in glad wrap and hold it over the site of waxing for ten minutes or so. This calms inflammation and reduces the chance of breaking out. After you wax keep your lip entirely clean of makeup or antiseptic creme etc until the next morning. Hope this helps those of you who already wax and can't go back to bleach!

[Fiona]

Whenever I've waxed, I always come out in bumps! So bleach much better!