Heading to the beach in your bikini or wearing your favourite leopard-print skirt can easily be ruined if you forget one major thing: unwanted hair removal. Shaving, waxing, threading, lasering and removal creams are all common methods. And they all have different pros & cons! Such as, how long they remove the hair for and how they leave your skin afterwards.
Also, which part of your body you’re grooming will determine which method you go for. Keep yourself looking and feeling glamorous by picking the perfect unwanted hair removal for you.
4 Ways to Tackle Unwanted Hair Removal
The Classic Method Of Shaving
The average woman will spend $10,000 on shaving products in a lifetime with 58% of women taking to a razor as a hair removal method, according to the American Laser Centers. Shaving is a quick, at-home method that is fairly straightforward. After all, most girls will opt for shaving when entering the world of hair removal for the first time. Unfortunately, shaving usually causes ingrown hair, it’s easy to nick yourself and only lasts a couple of days before prickly hair pokes back through. Using a moisturizing shaving cream and warming your skin up for a few minutes first can stop the razor tugging on your skin, giving a nicer shave.
Laser Hair Removal
Laser hair removal is quite the commitment when it comes to hair removal. However, it isn’t for everyone. Pale skin tones with dark hairs usually see best results due to the pigment in the hair being able to absorb more of the laser’s light, which in turn produces more heat to then destroy the hair follicle. Darker skin tones and lighter shades of hair aren’t completely ruled out as the laser’s light can be used differently to yield results. Even so results may not be as obvious. And a side effect is darkening of your skin, possible laser burns and scarring.
You might think laser hair removal is a permanent option, too. It will remove a lot of the hair, but not all of it. Unfortunately, overtime the hair may grow back. With salons charging up to $1,200 per treatment and requiring up to six sessions, this one is a pricier option with no guaranteed results.
Rip It Out With Wax
When you think of waxing, ‘the Brazilian’ probably comes to mind. Having hot wax poured onto your privates so that a stranger can then rip the hair out from the root is certainly a personal decision. Waxing is also a common solution for facial hair, from top lips to noses. More than 18 million American women are more stressed about their facial hair than their finances. But waxing can present problems, including DIY burns from having the wax too heat and skin irritation. And this can result in a bigger worry than having the hair in the first place!
Nose hair can be particularly unsightly but actually serves an important function, with experts believing it is unsafe to remove it. Nose hair traps germs and dust and stops it from entering our system. Removing the hair leads to a risk of bacteria entering the hair follicle, causing painful cellulitis, an infection that can spread to the eyes, face and even the brain if it isn’t treated soon enough.
Burn It With Removal Cream
Sounds great, doesn’t it? Apply a cream, leave it for five minutes, rinse off, et voilà! Removal creams are inexpensive, quick, easy to use and results last around 3-4 weeks. You’d think this would be the go-to option for everyone. Unfortunately, people with sensitive skin, and even those without, can experience skin irritation and burning. You need to remember that if the cream can dissolve hair, then it’s probably not going to be great for the skin it’s also sitting on. Most people don’t have any side effects and can happily use removal creams as their main hair removal method and many usually have moisturizing properties to soothe and hydrate the skin.
The amount of money you have to spend on unwanted hair removal, your pain tolerance, how long you want the results to last for and whether you want to do it yourself, all play a part in your decision about which unwanted hair removal method will suit you. You can pick different methods for different body parts and experiment with what works for you. Whatever your decision is, being happy and body confident is the main thing. Of course, you could always avoid the hassle and go natural.
This ‘Unwanted Hair Removal’ post was written by Jennie Ogden for The Lady-like Leopard.