Dancer Passionista

“Dad’s shaving cream makes me smell like a guy,” my ballerina remarks one day after showering in my bathroom.

“Did you use his shaving cream on your legs?” I ask.

“There was nothing else to use!” she explains, slouching against my bedroom door–all wet, drippy hair and exasperated sighs. “I need to shave for ballet, but I don’t really have a razor or shaving cream that works for me!”

I chuckle, remembering my own first attempts at shaving, perched on my mother’s bathroom sink, lathering up my legs with a bar of soap. More often than not, I ended up with little red bumps and dry skin.

“I’ll try and find something that’ll work better for you, OK?” I say. “Maybe a razor and shaving cream made for women.”

She sighs, nodding.

I clip coupons and purchase a couple different kinds of razors, hoping we’ll find something that works. She tries them out but none of them seems to consistently work for her. Either the razor base is too narrow or the handle too slippery. She gets frustrated by how loosely attached the razor heads are and hates having to scramble around the shower after they accidentally pop off.

Eventually I notice she’s still not shaving regularly–which is a problem when it comes to ballet. As a passionate dancer who was recently accepted to American Ballet Theatre’s summer intensive, she understands the need for maintaining a clean, crisp appearance. She always wants to look her best and present a professional, serious look for her teacher.

But shaving has become an exercise in frustration. Something has to change.


This week we tried the Venus Embrace razor and Satin Care Passionista Fruit shaving gel.

At first, Jewel was skeptical. “Another razor?” she said.

“Yeah,” I answered, “except this one is specifically made for new shavers.”

She cocked an eyebrow, turning the razor over in its package. “I guess we can try it.”

Her skepticism quickly turned to delight, especially when she smelled the shaving gel’s sparkling, fruity scent.

Satin Care Passionista Fruit lathered up beautifully–without the overwhelming billows of other brands we’d tried. Jewel especially appreciated how easily the Venus Embrace razor glided through the shaving cream.

With 5 replaceable blades, a Ribbon of Moisture, and a soft grip, pink handle, the razor is designed to provide a comfortable, super close shave.

“Those other razors left behind little hairs,” she said. “This one shaves really close.”


Best of all, she loved the lingering apricot scent after she finished shaving.

No more smelling like a guy!

American Ballet Theatre, here she comes!

I know my daughter is starting to pay more attention to her appearance and I wanted to make sure I was there for her–helping her find a beauty regimen that worked for her.† What are some of the ways YOU tackle conversations like shaving (or other tough “firsts”) with your daughter? Leave a comment to be entered for a chance win a $50 Visa gift†card, courtesy of BlogHer and Venus!

Rules For Entry: No duplicate comments. You may receive a total of 2 entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a.) leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post,
b.) tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post,
c.) blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post,
d.) for those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 or older. Winners selected via random draw, and will be notified by email. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 5/21-6/30.
Be sure to visit the Venus Brands feature page on Blogher.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!
If you have a first-time shaver in your home, you should check out some of these great tips.†

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  • Anonymous

    I love my Venus razors. They are the only ones that work for me (which is unfortunate as the replacement blades are EXPENSIVE!). Those combined with the Satin Care for sensitive skin is the best combo for the least amount of razor burn. I still get it more often than I would like, but this system really is the best I have found.

  • Margaret

    Without a daughter I can only imagine the “welcome to the hell of shaving” conversation I will someday have. I hope she doesn’t have my Mediterranean coloring, she’ll need to shave twice a day. And possibly wax her feet.

    Does a snarky comment still enter me in the contest?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Liza-Knowles-Ritchie/1557816363 Liza Knowles Ritchie

    My daughter is only four, so I’m taking notes on how other mothers approach these topics.  Right now it’s mostly, “a Princess always brushes her teeth before leaving the castle,” or “you never see Cinderella with tangles in her hair.”  Today she told me that it was ok to skip brushing because she was not a real princess like in the movies, so I better come up with something else quick!

  • http://www.momsnewstage.com/ Moms New Stage

    My daughter just turned two, so is years away from shaving (though I know it will be here before I know it).  I just wanted to congratulate you and your daughter on being accepted into the ABT summer intensive.  How wonderful!  I wish you all the best.

  • Sue Michaels

    I did the same thing with my (now) 16-year-old daughter – she tried a number of different razors.  Amy decided she liked the Venus Embrace the best.  But as far as the shaving cream goes, we usually go with what I can buy with a coupon or a store brand.  We might just try the Satin Care sometime – I know she likes to smell good, especially after working all day with her steers!

  • http://www.facebook.com/jenniferalyce Jenn Murray

    I don’t have a daughter, 

  • http://humbled-pie.blogspot.com/ Kari

    With my oldest (13), I quietly put a book or an article or, in the case of shaving a razor and some cream to try, in her room where she’ll find it and can mull it over for a while.  Then when she’s ready, she brings the topic up with me.  A couple of years back, I suspected it was what would work for her when it was getting to be time to talk about some of those adolescent “firsts” on the horizon and left a book for her to read.  She’s the kind of person who needs to think things over and process them for a while (like me).  Ater I did it that first time she came to me one day and told me what a smart idea that was to let her read about it first and then come to me when she was ready.  She may grow bolder in the coming years and we’ll adapt as she does, but it’s working for us so far.

    We’ve navigated these firsts together pretty well so far, learning from each other.  I’ve been very honest that she’s our “experiment” and we’re going to make parenting mistakes, so she feels very comfortable honestly confiding in us when we do make them.  Often.  And then we try to re-calibrate.  

    My younger daughter is more of a mystery to me.  On the one hand, she, too, totally clams up if I am the one to bring most things up for the very first time.  (If I know she’s already wondering about something, she’s much more comfortable talking about it.  She does not want new ideas sprung on her!)   But when she is wondering about something, she has to talk (and talk and talk) in order to think…which is pretty exhausting for me most of the time.  Thankfully, at the moment she feels more comfortable sharing a lot with her older sister before she shares it with me.  I think they even, almost, have a nonverbal agreement that the youngest will tell the oldest whatever she needs to talk to me about, and the oldest tells me, and then I bring it up with the youngest.  I’m sure some therapist would probably be highly offended at the triangling going on therein, but for the moment it seems to be working for all of us…

  • LizzyZ

    My daughters are almost 3 years and 5 months old so I can’t think of an applicable situation here. However, I can think of one way NOT to do it: that is to ban my daughter from shaving her legs or under her arms for over a year past puberty because she might be growing up too fast and then ground her from a yearly sleepover with her AWANA group – kindof a big deal – for doing so anyway. I mean, come on! I had curly black hairs poking out from my armpits even with my arms down! It’s the small portion of Jewish genetics that simply insists on being noticed; DARK, CURLY HAIR IN EMBARRASSING PLACES. 

  • Ann Bowen

    My daughter and I both use the Venus. We buy them in the utility size packs at Costco. As far as the shaving gel we like Skintimate. But I’ve used Aveeno bath gel when I have outbreaks of chronic urticaria and it’s the softest I’ve found. When you’re itching all over, something that stops it is a good thing. 

  • Didi K

    I don’t have a daughter yet, but my sister is 13 and I basically just have a super open relationship with her – she knows she can ask me anything. I bought her her first deodorant – my mom flipped because “she didnt need it*, but she stunk and was sleeping over at my house for the weekend. ;-) She told me she recently started shaving her legs and that overall she is happy – the razor you got for your daughter I THINK is the first razor I had as well – does it have like a little mesh covering over the actual blades? :)

  • Lucie

    May I say that your daughter is adorable?

    I’ve been shaving for about 40 years now, and still haven’t found anything that makes the process enjoyable.  I recall learning to shave with an electric razor (made for gals, I’m sure!).    Today I go strictly cheap and utilitarian – disposable razors and the cheapest brand of shaving cream at the dollar store.  Nobody’s really looking at my almost 52-year-old legs, anyway…thank goodness….  ;-)

  • Karen

    My daughters bought their own razors and we would try new ones when we got coupons. I remember telling them to shave slowly and thoroughly.

  • Michelle

    This post made me chuckle. ha. :)
    I was begging to start shaving when I was in fourth grade!! My mother AND father both tried to tell me how horrible it would be to have to continuously shave. I truly didn’t care because I had the world’s hairiest fourth grader legs. lol. I can’t remember clearly, but I think they let me start shaving about a year later. It was an epic day in my tween life. 

    Anyways. I just thought I would share that I use a men’s razor on purpose because I get a closer shave with it! I also discovered about a year ago that Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap gives me an even closer shave than any shaving cream or gel I ever tried… and I only tried the Dr. Bronner’s because I have extremely sensitive (stupid chronic eczema) skin. The most unexpected and delightful outcome ever! Seriously – the stuff is like magic for me. heh. 

    I definitely don’t have children old enough for such firsts yet… my first child is currently incubating in my womb. Due any second..
    So my comment doesn’t answer the sweepstakes prompt. 
    But I’d take $50 any day. ;)

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_4IT4DGRFTG5EKMBMW4IAXGYCVY bbjamfan

    No daughter. But I remember just stealing my mother’s razor. My worst shaving problem now is that being severely nearsighted (seriously…severely according to diagnostic measures not histrionics like most people I know) I can’t see my legs.

    Now I buy cheap razors. I don’t use shave cream. I use cheap hair conditioner. Much more moisturizing. Even better…use body butter from The Body Shop after showering on freshly shaved legs. 

  • Falfie4

    No daughter here either, but after years of painful shaving experiences, I switched to waxing.  I’m such a big fan!!  I have to say I’m glad that I won’t ever have to deal with that conversation because I think it would be difficult to decide whether or not to take my daughter to a waxing studio at 12!  I remember my mom trying to warn me that once I started shaving, there was no turning back.  Wish I would have listened, but there was not stopping this determined pre-teen.  

  • Jeri

    My mom got me a Venus shaver and told me that she thought I needed something that would be smooth and make me feel gorgeous.

    I was 55.

    She was right.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_4QMUQWAZLLY4IXV7UKUW42HTSQ jeanelane

    It was a long time ago that I dealt with things like this.  I thought back to when I wanted to start shaving and I was basically told to forget it.  No, I know that confidence starts with feeling confident in yourself.  Not necessarily a godly remark, but my girl  (and I) were not Christian then.  She still isn’t, so….  I gave her as much leeway as I could with things that didn’t matter a whole lot to me.  She wanted fruity shave cream and I like flowery shave gel.  So I bought her what she wanted.  (I personally think it is disgusting to have food in the bathroom, even it it is only a scent!)

    When it came to senior year in high school and she wanted to attend a New Year’s eve party, I had to say no.  Not good things would be going on there.  One of her friends was honest with me so my misgivings were validated.  Thank you, Allysa!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_4QMUQWAZLLY4IXV7UKUW42HTSQ jeanelane

    The best news for all you younger folks, after menopause, you become less hairy!  I never knew!  You may even be able to quit shaving. . . eventually!

  • Elaine Murphy

    I’ve never used anything except Venus razors, and I love them!

  • Kelly massman

    I don’t have any teenage girls–just a boy, but I think it is good to be interested in their lives and be willing to make time for them… Thanks for a chance to win and have a great day!
    kmassmanATgmailDOTcom

  • Amy Tong

    It is certainly not easy to be a parent, especially tackling
    those tough “first” conversations with my kids. 
    But the best way I prefer is openness and be honest and straight
    forward.  That’s the way I preferred to
    be treated, so, I’ll do the same with my kids.

     

    Amy [at] utry [dot] it

  • Mary Michaud

    My daughter is just a wee baby, so no such conversations yet, but I do have to say, the Venus shavers finally helped me figure out shaving!

  • Mary Michaud

    tweeted (had to break up url so it would post)
    twitter. com/simplymerrier/status/206124249314889729

  • Brandy

    Be honest and just be conversational about it. If they know it’s “taboo” then they will feel uncomfortable.

  • Ashley W.

    Hope I win. Always in the market for a good razor!

  • Tiffany Winner

    I think if you have a good relationship with your kids as they’re growing up, all important conversations will come much more naturally. 
    thismomwins@gmail.com

  • Anonymous

    Being honest and being a good listener helps.

  • Cindywatons762

    Yes, my poor daughter got my hair growth tendencies, not my mom’s who only has to shave once a week! Ugh! I hate shaving ! 

  • Anonymous

    Be honest and realistic are best tips from my experience.

    tcarolinep at gmail dot com

  • http://twitter.com/anashct3 A Nash

    i start by letting her know this will keep your hubster happy so do it! Thanks for a super giveaway!
    My email: anashct1 [at] yahoo [dot] com

  • Azure

    No shaving conversations for my daughters yet.  One did want to start plucking her eyebrows (age 8), but I told her she was too young.

  • Tina M

    My daughter is too young now. I’m going to teach her just be herself and honest

  • steff

    i plan to have conversations over meals so we can both think while we chew! 

  • Calli W

    My plan is to be calm and treat my child with respect; treating them like an adult will allow them the choice of starting to act like an adult.
    geminicalli at yahoo dot com

  • http://twitter.com/chambanachik erika

    My daughter is only (almost) two, so we haven’t had those big conversations yet, but when we do, I hope to be honest and listen well.

    chambanachik@gmail.com

  • cw

     just try to be open and honest about everything so it doesn’t feel awkward or embarassing….instead it is just part of life.

  • Christina Tong

     

    Tackle conversations especially tough firsts with my daughter
    is not easy but not too difficult, some of the ways  were having the conversation with her honestly
    and to share my past experience, she was interested to listen and learn.

     

    ctong2[at]gmail[dot]com

  • Debbie B.

    things like shaving are simply a fact of life – just be open and honest –   sharing a mother -daughter day helps too! 

    debbiebellows (at) gmail (dot) com

  • Karina Lee

    my daughter is still a baby so I haven’t had to have any “talks” with her yet
     karinaroselee at gmail dot com

  • MCantu1019

     I am just honest with my daughter about everything.

  • Nuthouse

    When we have one of those ‘firsts conversations’, I just make sure my kids know that they can ask me any questions.

  • http://asahmlookingforadeal.blogspot.com/ coriwestphal

    I’d have to say that honesty is the best policy in any ‘first’ moment.  Be honest and be comfortable and your kids will trust you!

    coriwestphal at msn dot com

  • willitara

    “Special” talks are usually approached gradually as part of everyday  conversation.  I hate having any special talk because it makes it seem like it’s earth shattering instead of a normal part of growing up. My children seem to have done okay with my method.

  • Tabathia B

    Let her know that you may not have all the answers, but you will do your best to answer her questions and if you don’t know the answers you will do your best to get them and that no topic is off limits 

    tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

  • Jammie

    Just be honest, we are very open with our daughter, so these conversations are pretty easy. sweepmorey at gmail dot com

  • Debra Ford

    My best tip is to approach the conversation and answer only the questions your child has at the time – don’t overwhelm them with information they may not be ready to deal with.

  • Julie

    My daughter is a teenager…quite honestly I was “nervous” about tough
    first conversation…took the plunge and found she wanted to know things..this helped ..I believe being honest is helpful
    thanks
    aunteegem@yahoo.com

  • Anonymous

    I don’t actually have any kids of my own, but if I did, I would do exactly what my mom did for me:  be honest and open.  I came to her with all my firsts and she took them in stride (to my face anyway LOL) and gave advice, educated, and laughed and cried with me. 
     Angie
    14earth at gmail dot com