Best hair removal methods for your lady parts
IT seems as if hair grows better in the places that we don’t want it. It’s as if the products we apply to our scalps for our manes to grow are only absorbed into the skin to fuel hair growth in other places —under our noses, between our eyebrows, on our arms and legs, and of course it’s always thick and lush in the bikini region.
Some of us don’t mind a little hair here and there, and it’s really a matter of preference, but the rest of us would rather have smooth pavements instead of lush vegetation in our front yard, and all over our bodies.
But one method of hair removal doesn’t work for everywhere, as hair grows differently on different parts of our skin. What might work well in one region might cause ingrown hairs and scarring in another. Odessia Benjamin is the chief aesthetician and CEO of Hollywood Glow Beauty Studio at 8 Hillview Avenue in Kingston. She gave All Woman the low-down on keeping your body hair down low— from that pesky unibrow to the pubic hair that grows back before you can make it to his house.
Facial hair
The only hairs we really want on our faces are Kim K length lashes and well-shaped, tame eyebrows that don’t greet each other in the middle. But our skin doesn’t get it. Many of us have moustaches, chin hair, and bushy eyebrows that seem to grow more profusely every time we try to do something about it. Benjamin said aggressive hair removal methods might be too harsh for your face. “Facial hairs tend to be less coarse, and the skin tends to be more delicate as such. Laser removal might cause burning or scarring, and waxing may irritate the skin, so tweezing is advised in this case,” she said.
Arms and legs
We’ve all probably had a bad experience with a hair removal cream or a razor on our limbs—whether it’s that the hair isn’t removed evenly, some areas are overdone, or painful welts are left on our skin. We definitely don’t want to go back there.
“Sugaring is a less painful and cost-effective way of removing hair from large areas such as arms and legs,” Benjamin recommends. “It involves the use of a sugar, water and lemon juice paste, which is placed on the skin and peeled off— much like waxing. It avoids the use of toxic depilatory creams and is very cost-effective. It is also safe for all skin types.”
Pubic hair
This is a tricky one. The hair down there tends to be thick, but you have to be gently because the area is sensitive (bikini wax pain, anyone?) So what to do? Electrolysis, Benjamin says.
“Because pubic hair is often thicker, it is extremely painful to be removed by waxing or tweezing, and though shaving is easy, it increases one’s chance of being affected by razor bumps. She says the electrolysis method is similar to laser removal, but a device called an epilator is used to send radio frequencies into the skin to damage hair follicles.
“This treats individual hair follicles one at a time, unlike lasers which usually treat multiple hair follicles within a designated area. This method is best for individuals that struggle with psuedofolliculitis barbea (hair bumps),” she advises.
Armpit hair
Waxing or sugaring are the most economical methods to get rid of underarm hair. These will stave off new growth for a few weeks, and the underarm area isn’t as sensitive as other areas to make waxing, especially, hurt as much.
Whatever choice you make for hair removal, note that moisturising and exfoliating are key in preventing things like ingrown hair. Exfoliate before your sessions and during baths in between, and this will minimise your ingrown hairs.
