For most of us, there are a few life-defining moments that we can point to and say life was different after this. For me it would be the death of my dad, the birth of my children, and the moment Jesus became real to me. Oh, and the time someone in middle school pointed out my mustache. That was pretty life defining!

I’ve always been a hairy girl. Couple that with the unfortunate first name of Sherry and you can imagine the nicknames. Just kidding, but I’m really surprised I didn’t get called Hairy Sherry on a regular basis.

I had dark leg hair in elementary school and it never bothered me. No one ever pointed it out and it wasn’t something that kept me from wearing shorts. I always had thick eye brows and thick hair. Scientists should have pulled me into a research facility early in life and perhaps they would’ve found a cure for baldness by now. But they didn’t and elementary school came and went. No big deal.

Then middle school happened. For some reason, someone decided that it would be a good idea to put hormonal teenagers together in one, big building, which might’ve actually been that science research center I was referring to earlier. Teenagers are a unique breed in that although they are insecure over their own faults it doesn’t stop them from pointing them out in others.

This would be about the time the lip hair made its way into existence. Was I the only one? No. Did I feel like it? Yes! No one ever sits you down and says okay sweetie, this lip hair that’s about to appear on your face has been in our family for generations. No, your mom, grandmother, and aunts have all developed a method for dealing with it as an adult woman and you won’t be getting that advice until high school, so buckle up and enjoy the ride. It’s going to be a hairy one!

As a young girl, until someone points it out, you don’t really know if everyone else knows. You think your upper lip is invisible to others, like it’s a secret between you and your mirror. But then someone does point it out. And it’s not your friends. It’s not a caring adult who just wants to help you pluck it. No…it’s a boy. And not just one boy. It’s two or three. Because wherever there are two or three middle school boys gathered together, there’s a girl feeling insecure over her appearance.

And although now, as a secure adult woman, I would’ve looked those boys in the eye and said, “Jealous?” As a young girl, I did not. Believe me, I wish I had. How awesome would that have been?

So, if you are a mom of a teen girl. Or a grandmother or aunt or older sister or check-out lady at Walmart, and you see a young girl with lip hair, offer her a hug and a wax kit. She will appreciate it. Believe me. She’s dying for a solution.

And most importantly, let her know that she’s not alone. That there are thousands and thousands of other girls and woman who have the same hairy situation and she is normal. That’s really the only thing a teen girl wants to hear anyway.