Family, Lotion, and the Return of Leg Hair

Family, Lotion, and the Return of Leg Hair

🌼 Date: Sunday, May 24, 2026

⚡ Energy: Family fun, lotion testing, and suspicious leg hair

💞 Status: Reunited, moisturized, and cautiously experimenting

🙃 Outlook: Healing is weird, but at least it smells like vanilla pear

Today we had a family celebration.

A reunion of sorts.

We came together for a wedding reception for my cousin’s son and his new wife, and it was so much fun.

I love getting together with that part of my family because it is never dull.

Never.

There is always good food.

Always great company.

Always laughter.

Always somebody with a story.

And somehow, even in our senior years, we can still shut a place down.

We ended up staying past our reservation time, which honestly feels like an achievement.

Look at us.

Still causing mild scheduling problems.

Still social.

Still standing.

Mostly.

Some of us may be standing with neuropathy feet and compression accessories, but standing nonetheless.

It felt good to be around family, to laugh, to eat, to visit, and to feel like life was happening somewhere outside of doctor appointments, side effects, and my recliner recovery command center.

And as an added bonus, my youngest cousin has started making her own line of all-natural, organic lotions.

Which, if you have been following along, is either perfect timing or a very risky plot twist.

Because my skin and I have had some trust issues lately.

Radiation reactions.

Peeling.

Scabs.

Burning.

Swelling.

The Greased Pig Phase.

The alleged allergic reaction to the cream my doctor had me using.

The antibiotics that followed.

The antibiotics my stomach very firmly rejected.

So when someone hands me lotion now, part of me is excited and part of me hears dramatic movie music.

But she knows about my radiation reactions, and she brought a couple for me to try.

One of them has Calendula in it.

And I admit, I hesitated.

Because the cream the doctor had me using also had Calendula, and after that whole situation, I have been side-eyeing Calendula like maybe it owes me an apology.

But then she asked a very good question.

Did they actually do an allergy test to confirm it was the Calendula that made me break out?

Nope.

No, they did not.

The reaction happened, the cream was blamed, antibiotics entered the chat, and my stomach immediately filed for divorce.

That was pretty much the process.

So I pulled up the cream on Amazon and showed her the ingredients.

And let me tell you, that list looked like it belonged in a chemistry final.

Mostly chemical names I could not pronounce.

The kind of ingredient list where your eyes start glazing over and you think, Is this skincare or are we building a small engine?

She suspected my reaction may have been to one of those chemicals, not the Calendula itself.

And honestly, that makes sense.

My skin has been through enough lately that it is probably taking attendance and ejecting anyone suspicious.

Her Calendula lotion, on the other hand, has collagen, coconut oil, aloe, vitamin E, jojoba, and a bunch of other things you can actually pronounce.

Things that grow in the ground.

Things that sound less like a lab accident and more like something your skin might recognize as help.

And it smells really good.

So she asked me to try it on my radiated areas, but to stop immediately and let her know if I have any kind of reaction.

That feels fair.

That feels cautious.

That feels less like let’s throw chemicals at the angry skin and see what happens and more like let’s gently introduce moisture to the crispy patient and monitor closely.

Progress.

The second jar she gave me is Tallow Butter, and let me tell you, this one smells heavenly.

Vanilla pear.

Vanilla.

Pear.

Why does that sound like a dessert I would eat while wearing fuzzy socks and avoiding responsibilities?

I have been using that one on the rest of my body, and so far, my skin seems to approve.

Or at least it has not started screaming yet.

At this point, silence from my skin counts as a five-star review.

While we were talking about skin, lotion, and all the lovely post-treatment body nonsense, I mentioned that along with the hair on my head, the hair on my legs has started growing back too.

Ugh.

Rude.

I was really hoping chemo had taken that particular chore permanently.

I mean, if chemo is going to put me into early menopause, the least it could do is also cancel leg hair forever.

That seems reasonable.

But apparently no.

The hair on my head is returning.

The hair on my legs is returning.

Everybody is coming back from vacation except my energy.

Cool cool cool.

My legs and arms have also been feeling bumpy.

Almost like ingrown hairs or inflamed hair follicles.

Not exactly cute.

Not exactly comfortable.

Not exactly the smooth goddess era I was hoping to enter after cancer treatment.

My cousin asked if I was still using a razor.

Nope.

I had to stop using a regular razor at least two weeks before chemo started because my oncologist told me I could only use an electric razor.

The idea was to lower the chance of cutting myself and ending up with an open sore that could take longer to heal once chemo started.

Which made sense.

Annoying sense, but sense.

So I have not gone back to a regular razor.

Then my cousin told me about a shaving stone that she uses.

Of course, I immediately looked it up on Amazon.

Because apparently my recovery process includes medical portals, doctor messages, family recommendations, and Amazon research.

We found them listed under a few names.

Shaving stone.

Glass hair eraser.

Crystal hair removal epilator.

There were different shapes.

Different colors.

Different prices.

Some started around $7.99.

And obviously, I chose pink.

Because if I am going to experiment with sanding my leg hair off like a human craft project, it might as well match the brand.

From what I read, these little hair erasers basically work by “sanding” the hair away while exfoliating your skin at the same time.

Which sounds slightly alarming and also kind of genius.

The listing said you can use it on different areas of the body, including arms and face, but so far I have only used it on my legs.

Let’s not get too ambitious on day one.

I have enough going on.

Supposedly, with repeated use, the hair grows back lighter and finer.

We shall see.

I am cautiously curious.

The specific one I bought had instructions listed on Amazon, but there were no instructions in the box, which was strange.

Nothing says “confidence” like opening a product meant to remove hair from your body and finding zero directions inside.

Very reassuring.

Very good luck, girl.

According to the Amazon instructions, you can use it on wet or dry legs, so you could use it in the shower.

You gently rub the hair eraser over the desired area in a circular motion a couple of times until the skin feels smooth and hair-free.

The key word is gently.

Do not push.

Do not scrub like you are trying to remove wallpaper.

Do not get aggressive.

This is skin, not a cast iron pan.

Just glide it over the skin.

Light pressure.

Circular motions.

Patience.

Which, as we all know, is my strongest quality.

Please pause for laughter.

For me, I did my legs while sitting in my recliner watching TV.

Because why not turn hair removal into a recliner activity?

Very on-brand.

Very recovery chic.

Very Tina has entered her exfoliating goblin era.

The first time took about 35 to 40 minutes.

That sounds like a lot, but remember, I was learning.

And I was being careful.

And I was probably stopping every few minutes to inspect my leg like I was conducting a science experiment.

Which, honestly, I kind of was.

Now this part is important.

To avoid razor burn, itching, or irritation, the instructions said to shower immediately after finishing and then lotion up when you get out.

So I did.

Because look at me, following directions like a responsible adult.

I used the hair eraser.

I showered.

I lotioned.

I monitored.

And so far, I have not had any reaction.

Praise be.

Even better, when I was putting lotion on my legs, I noticed the bumps were not nearly as bad as they had been.

That could be from the exfoliation.

It could be from the lotion.

It could be from my skin finally deciding to stop being a drama queen for five consecutive minutes.

I do not know.

But I will take it.

Hopefully after I use this a couple of times, the bumps will be gone.

I am also curious to see how many days it takes before I feel like I need to use it again, and whether the hair feels any different when it grows back.

Will it be lighter?

Will it be finer?

Will my legs remain smooth?

Will my skin stay calm?

Will I accidentally become an influencer for tiny pink leg-sanding stones?

Only time will tell.

I will keep you posted.

Because apparently this blog has evolved from cancer updates into a full-service survival guide that includes radiation reactions, puppy nurses, lymphedema sleeves, neuropathy feet, family gatherings, and now exfoliating hair erasers.

You’re welcome.

But honestly, today felt good.

Family felt good.

Laughter felt good.

Being out in the world for something joyful felt good.

Trying something made by someone I love felt good.

Having my cousin care enough to bring me something gentle for my angry skin felt good.

Even experimenting with the hair eraser felt like a tiny normal-person activity, despite the fact that I am still very much healing from the inside out.

That is the strange thing about recovery.

Some days it is big medical stuff.

Some days it is scary symptoms.

Some days it is exhaustion and ice packs.

Some days it is compression sleeves and doctor messages.

And some days it is family, lotion, vanilla pear, and sitting in a recliner gently sanding your leg hair off while watching TV.

Healing is weird.

Life is weird.

Cancer recovery is extremely weird.

But today had laughter.

Today had love.

Today had good smells.

Today had smooth legs.

And today, for a little while, the weird felt kind of wonderful.

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One Badass Day at a Time