YOU CAN WIN AN AQUA BEAUTY SPA KIT!

Like most girls, I have battled leg hair since middle school (or junior high as we used to call it).  I had to use a men’s razor or I’d get razor burn, I had to use gel shaving cream or I’d get razor burn, and I couldn’t apply lotion right after or it would just BURN.  As if those years weren’t awkward enough, they were also painful.

Waxing has never worked for me and I honestly don’t know why.  It’s like those thick hairs are anchored in there with cement.  I tried at home waxing and was eager to endure the pain for some relief but all I did was waste my money.  Professional waxers got the job done but every visit they would talk amongst themselves about how unusual it was that they had to go over a spot several times.  Sigh.  That’s not exactly what an awkward teen wants to be known for.

I tried those chemically creams that promised to melt away my hair.  Nope, they did nothing.  Didn’t even soften it.

I followed beauty magazine directions closely as I mixed my own natural body pumice hair removals.  Those were cruel jokes.  Coffee, honey, and oatmeal are all great for breakfast but not for removing hair (in my experience).  Pumice stones were rough on my skin but not on my hair.

To my embarrassment, I’ll admit that on lazy summer days I would take tweezers and pull out the hairs on my legs.  I would only get a small patch (say one knee) each time but I hoped that would damage the hair follicle and keep it from growing back.  Because I did this all over I can’t say that it worked or not but I do know that it was painful and I still have a lot of thick hair on my legs to this day.

My mom loves her epilator but I never had the guts to try it.  If you don’t know what an epilator is, it’s a torture device that features multiple rotating tweezing discs.  I’m a wuss, I admit it!  I just couldn’t do it.  I wanted to and attempted to on occasion but I never had the courage to bring it to my skin.

I tried an at home-electrolysis system where I would insert a little needle near each hair and it would send a low-level electrical current through destroying the hair follicle.  It wasn’t too painful but didn’t give the results the infomercial boasted.

I had a doctor in high school recommend that I get a professional electrolysis or laser hair removal for my awkward hair growth.  She said that my hormones must have been out of whack to produce hair like that and she put me on birth control.  It made me sick and was unnecessary for other reasons so I quit taking it.  I then researched electrolysis and laser hair extensively and while it was fascinating to understand hair growth and the treatment possibilities out there I knew it was out of my parent’s price range.

My leg hair is not only thick and pesky to get rid of but it also appears very quickly.  Five o’clock shadow?  I wish!  One cool breeze sends those little prickly hairs through the skin.  As you can imagine, this made swimming a little daunting.  I would shave immediately before going (shaving up, to the left, and to the right to get every angle)  I would jump in the pool and quickly rub my legs to get them warmed up as fast as possible.  Even then I was conscious of everyone around me so I didn’t bump into them and scratch them with the mini razor blades hairs on my legs.  I have always loved swimming and I hated having to turn down invitations to the pool because I didn’t have time to go home and shave before going.

Fast forward a few years, okay decades, and I’m still battling leg hair.  However, now it’s not just the hair on my legs that are bothersome but hair, well, many other places.  It’s embarrassing, annoying, and at times downright painful.  A few years ago I won a radio contest for a gift certificate to a laser hair removal place.  It was a big amount so I was stoked until I went in and saw how expensive the packages were!  After I talked it over with my husband we put down money, a lot of money, for a series of treatments.   The treatments were drawn out over a long period of time and they worked fabulously.  I have very little hair growth in that area and the hairs that are there are so very fine that they don’t bother me.  Laser hair was a little painful but nothing too terrible (I’m a wuss, remember?).  Now that I have little ones around the house I can’t justify spending so much on myself.  I want to but I just can’t.

This March, I was invited to join Tria’s blogger review program.  Try a new inexpensive, at-home method of hair removal?  Yes, please!  I was given an FDA-Cleared Tria Hair Removal Laser 4X in exchange for sharing my honest opinions on it.

What are my opinions on it?  You’ll have to wait till next week for the full-review but here’s a quick overview!

• –  Tria 4X has the same diode laser hair removal technology found in the doctor’s office.
• –  Tria 4X is a one time investment of $449 (equal to one or two treatments of laser hair removal)
• –  Tria says that when used once every other week for three months, you can achieve permanent results!
• –  …and I LOVE IT!  Come back next Monday for more information!

This is a sponsored post with Mom It Forward. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When I was in high school my best friend convinced me into volunteering for the Girl Scouts with her.  I had no idea what a troop was or  what to do with it. Ha!  We had a lot of fun together teaching the girls, encouraging them, and being active with them.  When I look back on my time with those girls my heart smiles.  There’s nothing like pouring your life into kids…giving them self confidence, being real with them, and teaching them how to be responsible.  It’s the best!

Have you heard that Together Counts and Girl Scouts are partnering together?  Yep, they are!  This Together Counts Program is active nationwide and provided by the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation to inspire active and healthy living via physical activity and nutrition, a fundamental underpinning of efforts to reduce obesity. The principle behind the program is called Energy Balance, which just means balancing the calories we consume with the calories we expend.  That makes sense, doesn’t it?

• – Energy In: the calories you get from eating and drinking.
• – Energy Out: the calories you burn from physical activities

Free Healthy Habits Journey Booklets

There are now three Healthy Habits Journey booklets available for download here which include the following titles:

• – Between Earth and Sky with Healthy Habits
• – WOW! Wonders of Water with Healthy Habits
• – Get Moving! with Healthy Habits

My daughter is too young for the Girl Scouts now but it’s never too early to begin teaching her healthy habits. By the way, the picture at the top of the page is my daughter (in green) and her friends.  Boys are not part of Girl Scouts and I didn’t want there to be any confusion. : )

Be sure you join in on the #gno (girl’s night out) Twitter Party with Mom It Forward happening September 9.  If you’ve never been party of a #gno Twitter party then you’re missing out.  They’re so much fun!  Follow the hashtags #HealthyHabits and #gno. I hope to see you there!

Would you like more information on these great programs?  Here is a handful of useful resources.

• – Healthy Habits Journey booklets download: Here you’ll be able to download three free booklets for Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors, Girl Scout volunteers and families can guide girls in fun, easy ways to achieve “energy balance.”
• – Girl Scouts of the Nation’s Capital Twitter: On Twitter, GSNC shares council information including awards, resources, highlights from council events and volunteering opportunities.
• – Girl Scouts of the Nation’s Capital Facebook: Similar to Twitter, the GSNC Facebook page shares photo albums of troop activities, news from around the region, and partner content from Together Counts.
• – Together Counts Website –The website is consumer friendly—aimed at parents and educators and provides resources, tips, recipes and more.
• – Together Counts Blog – The Together Counts blog is the main source of all consumer-friendly news including HWCF campaigns, announcements and content from HWCF partners around the topic of healthy eating habits and incorporating more physical activity.
• – Together Counts Twitter – On Twitter, Together Counts shares everything from digital assets (video, infographics) to industry or conference news related to food in addition to campaign and partner news.
• – Together Counts Pinterest – Together Counts’ resource for sharing recipe inspiration from across the network, family activity ideas and pins from partners that relate to family eating and activity including Girl Scouts, Healthy Dining Finders, etc.

I’ll see you at the party on the 9th, right?