Girlology: A Girl's Guide to Stuff that Matters

So the lesson here is that it’s fine to trim any hair, anywhere. Trim means cut or shorten, not shave or remove completely.

Fuzzy?

What do you do with all that extra hair you get after puberty? The amount of hair you get will depend on your genetics. For instance, girls with Italian heritage will usually have more body hair, and girls from Asian descent may have very little body hair. Whatever your background, most girls have hair somewhere that they want to get rid of. What’s safest? There are lots of hair removal products and procedures out there. Some are cheap, some are expensive, some work temporarily, some are permanent, some hurt and some don’t. If you want to get rid of it, it’s up to you to find the way that works best for you. Here is a table of the various ways to remove unwanted hair and some comments about each method. It may not include every method out there, but it will give you some information on the most common ones.

MethodHow It WorksThings You Should KnowTweezing or pluckingUse tweezers to pull individual hairs out by the rootVery inexpensive and easy

Lasts longer than shaving

Hurts a little depending on the area you are pluckingShavingUse a razor to remove hairInexpensive

Easy and most common method of hair removal in the U.S.

Works best if you shave skin that has been lubricated with soap or shaving cream/gel

Temporary, sometimes requiring daily or twice daily use

Hair that grows back is coarse

Can cause skin irritation ("razor rash") or cuts; avoid this by using a clean, fresh razor and shaving hair in the same direction that it grows

Can transmit diseases through sharing razor with someone elseDepilatoriesCreams that are applied to the skin and unwanted hair; this dissolves the hair to the level of the skinEasy and inexpensive

May cause skin irritation

Should not use around the vagina or on sensitive areas

Some have an unpleasant odor TemporaryWaxing and other sticky gels or products that work by pulling hair out from the rootWarm or hot wax is applied over the unwanted hair and covered with a strip of cloth or paper; once the wax cools, the paper/cloth is quickly pulled off and pulls out all the hairs with itCan do yourself (buy a "kit") or have it done at a spa or salon by a professional (more expensive)

May cause minor skin burns, irritation or ingrown hairs

Hurts as the hair is ripped off, but the pain is over with quickly

Temporary, but lasts longer than shaving or depilatoriesPrescription creamCream is applied to areas of unwanted hair twice a day every dayRequires a prescription from a medical professional and is only approved for use on the face

Takes about 6 weeks to notice results

Stops hair growth at the root as long as you use it every day; doesn't work unless you use it every day

Expensive to use all the timeElectrolysisA very small needle is inserted into each hair follicle, sending a mild electrical current that destroys the follicle; the hair is then pulled out with tweezers and hopefully won't grow backRequires multiple treatments to remove all unwanted hair in an area

Can be painful, but prescription numbing creams can help

ExpensiveLaser hair removalA special type of laser or light is flashed from a device that is held over the area of unwanted hair, causing damage to the hair follicle so hair won't grow back out of itRequires multiple treatments depending on the amount and location of hair

Uncomfortable, but numbing creams can help

Works best on darker hair

Having a tan or sun exposure in the area will make it less effective and more difficult to get good results

Can cause skin burns and scarring

Safest and most effective when done by an experienced professional

Can be very expensiveBleachingBleaches dark hair blonde but doesn't remove hairWorks well for fine hair

Is not a hair removal method, but just "camouflages" the hair that is bothersome

Inexpensive and easy

The Inside Parts

Your inside parts are obviously hard to see. Kind of like seeing your heart or lungs. We know they are in there, but don’t expect to see them except in books or pictures. You’ll just have to trust us on this one. Let’s start on the outside and work our way to the innermost parts.

Vagina—the connection between your outside and inside parts. It is the passageway for menstrual blood, for sperm and for a baby at birth. It is a really cool body part for a couple of reasons (you think we’re weird, don’t you?). One, the vagina is very stretchy. If you put your finger in your vagina, you will notice that it is moist and wrinkly. It obviously needs to be stretchy for a baby to pass through it. The wrinkles or folds allow it to stretch more.It’s also really cool because it cleans itself (don’t you wish your room could do that?). Clean may not be the first word that comes to mind about your vagina, but this is no joke. The vagina is cleansed constantly, and vaginal discharge is created as it cleans. This discharge will start to leak from the vagina around puberty. It is usually a white to yellowish liquid that will feel moist, sometimes wet. When it dries in your underwear, it will look more yellow and may feel kind of stiff or sticky. Don’t panic—it’s normal. As long as it doesn’t stink, itch or change colors, it is normal.

Sometimes even normal discharge will make you feel itchy, especially if you don’t have much pubic hair (whether it hasn’t grown in yet or you’ve shaved it off ). The pubic hair helps pull the discharge away from the skin, but if the discharge can’t be pulled away from the skin, the moisture and pH (that chemistry thing) will cause the vulvar skin to get irritated and itchy. You can prevent this by using panty liners to help absorb the discharge or by using an ointment that contains zinc oxide (like a diaper rash cream—good for girls out of diapers, too!) around the vaginal opening. Okay. Enough vagina chat.

Cervix—at the inner end of the vagina is the cervix. It’s like a very narrow two-way street, meaning it allows stuff to go in (sperm and some bacteria) or out (menstrual blood or baby). The opening is usually so small it can be considered “closed.” That’s why a tampon can’t get lost in your body—the cervix acts as a dead end for the vagina. The cervix is also an amazing part of your body because it keeps a baby inside but then opens wide enough to let the baby pass through during birth. Wow.Uterus—the womb or where a baby grows. It’s a strong hollow muscle with a thick and lush lining that will allow a baby to grow! It is usually about the size of your fist, but can stretch and grow to hold a baby . . . some babies weigh up to 10 pounds or more (talk about Girl Power!). The uterus has three openings: the cervix that heads into the vagina (you already know about that one) and the other two, the right and left fallopian tubes that connect the uterus to the ovaries. These serve as the passageway for the egg (coming toward the uterus) and sperm (going into the fallopian tube to find the egg!). The fallopian tube openings are about the diameter of a hair, very tiny.Endometrium—the lining of the uterus that is shed each month—as a period—if pregnancy does not occur. If pregnancy occurs, it’s where the embryo (a fertilized egg) implants and starts to grow into a baby. It is a thick, lush lining that has a lot of nutrients, fluids and blood that are necessary to grow a baby.Fallopian tubes—the tubes from the ovaries to the uterus that carry the egg once it is released (that’s called ovulation). They are about three to four inches long on each side, and they are soft like a ribbon, not like a pipe. This is the place where the sperm and egg come together if fertilization occurs. Remember, the fallopian tubes are only as wide as a hair, so you can imagine how tiny the egg and sperm actually are! At the end of each fallopian tube is a fluffy opening called the fimbria, which are constantly but gently swishing over the ovaries to sweep the eggs into the tube. Visualize the gentle movement of a sea anemone. Can you feel your fimbriae swishing now? They are. Anyway, the inside of the tubes are made of special cells that continue the swishing to keep that egg moving in the right direction.Ovaries—two oval things in the pelvis that are small, about the size of a medium strawberry. Each one is next to the fimbria of the fallopian tube. Girls are born with all the eggs they will ever have, which is way more than you could ever need! Can you believe we start off with millions? We save them up until puberty, then we only use one, maybe two, per month. Each egg is held in a small, fluid-filled sac called a follicle.