Today, Emily Yoffe, Slate advice columnist tackled the issue of how to tell a family member that she should remove her excess facial hair.
Read the excerpt below:
Bay Area, Calif.: I love my mom dearly and am not sure how to tell her (or even if I should) that her facial hair is out of control. After she went through menopause (many years ago) I noticed she had a substantial mustache and beard, but she must have started taking hormone replacement drugs because they disappeared. Now, she is in her late 60s and the mustache is back and very thick and noticeable. Surely she knows she has it; do I need to butt out or is there a gentle way to suggest she do something?
Emily Yoffe: When Mom is mistaken for Dad it’s time to speak up. I think any woman would prefer to be told by a loved one she looks like Groucho Marx, rather then go through life having people think, “Hey, there goes one of the Marx Brothers!” Before you tell your mother, investigate where some electrologists or laser hair removal places are in her area, so you can simultaneously break the news, “Mom, while you otherwise look great, I’ve noticed that your facial hair is getting a little heavy”, and propose a solution.
[Slate via The Washington Post]
Laser Gal has also given us a few tidbits on recommending laser to friends and family. Check out her Dos and Don’ts for recommending laser hair removal to friends.
Looking great ain’t easy! Sometimes, even celebrities could use a few tips.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I always thought laser hair removal was some kind of drastic procedure that people like dancers needed to get done. I mean, it’s not that my monthly waxing appointments didn’t really bother me but it all just seemed so extreme. Call me old fashioned but zapping off any hair sounded a little crazy to me, even if the hair would never grow back. That was, until my sister drgged me to the Assara open house last week. She figured that the only way I’d try it is if it was free (she figured right!) and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a little high tech, but this is one instance where technology really helps! At the open house I treated my underarms. The laser technician kept stressing to me that she was doing it faster because lots of people had come to the open house. She said that if I came for a real appointment the experience would feel much more personal. Well, this woman must be a crazy perfectionist because my underarms don’t have a single hair. I’m smooth and soft and there isn’t even the hint of stubble, even a week later.
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At some point in life EVERYONE will have some wired facial hair. The best way to tell friends and loved ones they need to control their excess facial is to be blunt, use humour and empathize. Like: “Mom, your chinny chin chin is looking hairy. It’s happened to me on my upper lip so I had laser hair rmeoval. The hair never greew back. Let me give you the number of this place where I had it done.”
DONE. and done. Honesty is the best policy.
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