Personal questions

[natickgirl]

OK I have two personal questions. (Or, maybe, they are TOO personal questions. Guess I'll see by the response.)

#1. I LOVE to swim. I was even on the swim team in HS for a while. However, I hate the whole bikini shave/wax thing. I guess I'm just not good at it. I tried waxing, but (Ouch!) had a rash for a week (did I mention Ouch!). Maybe it gets better/easier if you are consistent. Shaving leaves me with redness, and stubble the next day. Don't know if depilitory creams work well. I've just been covering up with shorts or a skirt, but it's not very practical for swimming laps. Any suggestions? Am I alone in this frustration? I mean, I've seen grandmas who look better in a swimsuit than I do.

#2. Another how-to-look-good-in-a-swimsuit question. My dear mother bequeathed me with her pale-as-a-ghost skin. I am always very self-conscious when I wear a swimsuit because I don't want to frighten people away with my flourescent skin. I will not go tanning because all types of cancers run in my family, including skin cancer, and I only burn & peel anyway. What sunless tanners, or other methods, have you tried? Do they look fake/orange? Do they go on evenly? Have you tried the spray-on tan offered at salons? I don't want to look like Malibu Barbie, I just want to be downgraded from "flourescent" to merely "pale." Any suggestions?

[Dia Minha]

I don't think they are too personal. I have the same problem with bikini shave/wax thing. I don't have a solution. I am not really a swimmer. I'll shave, before I go to a public pool, but I hate public pools. When I'm hanging out with my kids in the backyard, running through the sprinklers or in the wading pool, I just don't worry about it much.

As far as sunless tanners go, I have never tried any, but have been tempted. I know Jergens makes a daily moisturizer that is supposed to give you a natural glow over time. I have been meaning to try it, and just haven't had the money in my budget. There is one for the face and one for the body. Because it does a natural glow overtime, it is supposed to prevent any streaking or orange coloring.

Can't wait to see what others have to say about this.

[PhillyGirl]

Not too personal in the least. I have been swimming laps consistently for about a month now (I am training for a triathlon). I too have problems with the bikini area. I just shave the day or night before I know I am going swimming and that will have to do. The more gentle you are the better. Also, I have tried waxing and the more you do it the easier it gets. The hair actually thins out so the more you do it in the beginning the less you will have to do it until eventually you should rarely have to do it. I just don't have the time to grow it out to be able to wax it right now. I also, just don't care what I look like too much right now because it is mostly old ladies in the pool doing water aerobics. They don't care what you look like in the least.

As for the tanners; I have tried the jergens natural glow lotion and loved it. It is a little pricey but well worth it. It went on so evenly and I gradually got dark. I didn't go from being pale to super tan over night. It was the best thing I have tried. I always have to put on lotion anyway because my skin is so dry so I was killing two birds with one stone. It worked great for me. I know there are other brands out there now that are very similar so maybe you can even find one for cheaper. And the cost really wasn't too bad. Anyway, hope this helps.